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Representatives
of local and regional authorities, Chambers of Commerce, SME
and Business/Regional Development Agencies, Universities and
private businesses from the border regions of The Republic
of Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia
made agreement on:
establishment as a common leadership
structure for the long-term strategic economic development
of the cross-border region.
Joint priorities for economic
development of the cross-border region, drawn on the basis
of a comprehensive SWOT analysis on regional economic development
of the Euroregion EuroBalkans;
Structure and Purpose of the Working Group
The Working Group on Regional
Economic Development agreed main purpose
and goals are:
To provide a cross-border institutionalized
framework for leadership in regional economic development,
capable of identifying and promoting priority needs in the
Euroregion EuroBalkans.
To promote the establishment of functional
cross-sectoral, cross-border networks for business promotion
and economic development, allowing for contacts and relations
to be built leading to joint ventures as well as public-private
partnerships.
To systematize and yield concrete output
in the form of a well researched common policy briefs
identifying the barriers to cross border cooperation in
the field of economic development, including a set of recommendations
to the three national governments.
To provide a venue for the systematic
exchange of best practices in a number of fields, bringing
the region closer in line with EU standards and norms and
placing the region as a whole in a favorable position vis-á-vis
potential EU cross-border funding, as Bulgaria moves towards
entering the Union, and as Macedonia and
Serbia
move towards the accession process.
To serve as a political force and constitute
a viable and recognized channel for the common presentation
of cross-border initiative vis-á-vis national and international
policy and financial institutions and the donor community
at large.
To create a set of concrete project proposals
and cooperative funding initiatives more attractive to funding,
to be presented at international fund-finding forums.
To develop a Comprehensive Regional Economic
Development Strategy for the Euroregion
EuroBalkans as
one of its its long term goals.
Membership in the Working Group on Regional Economic
Development will be voluntary and open. Its resolutions and
recommendation will have an advisory character.
It will be chaired by Three Co - Chairpersons
(one from each side of the border) and will operate through
a Core Committee and several Thematic Sub Groups.
The Core Committee will act as a think
tank, composed of 10 permanent members from each of
the three countries – including, designated experts from the
municipalities of the region, the leader of each thematic
sub group, and practitioners and local and national government
officials, to be designated by the National Coordinators,
in consultation with the larger community of leaders in the
field of economic development. The Core Committee will be
responsible for the development of a work plan for the Working
Group on Economic Development and for ensuring its implementation
through regular consultations.
The participants on the basis of the common
priorities of the Euroregion EuroBalkans identified the
following Thematic Sub groups:
Small and Medium Enterprises Development;
Steel Committee;
Public-Private Partnerships;
Infrastructure;
Information Systems;
Tourism
Research and Analysis
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