BREST, 1 February (BelTA) – On 1 February, the Belarusian city of Brest played host to Information Day held to mark the launch of the Call for Proposals under Belarus-Ukraine Territorial Cooperation Program, BelTA has learned.
The overall amount made available by the EU under the Call for Proposals is €3.3 million. Applications will be open till 19 April 2016. Priority will be given to projects aimed to benefit a wide range of organizations and individuals. Healthcare, SMEs, culture, sports, tourism, and environment are in focus of Belarus-Ukraine Territorial Cooperation Program. One joint project may receive from €60,000 to €250,000.
“This is the first EU-funded program for cross-border cooperation between the Eastern Partnership countries that EU member states are not directly involved in. The partner countries can define their priorities and jointly address problems in border regions promoting economic and social development at the local level,” said Alexei Sekarev, the head of the expert group on Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Program.
Brest Oblast has many years' experience of participation in such programs. Deputy Chairman of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee Mikhail Serkov that the region expects to get one-third of the budget of the new program. “We believe that Brest Oblast will be given not less than €1 million. We should do our best to get the grant, to attract the money to the region. An initial set of proposals has been prepared. At this stage, the main thing is to develop an idea that will boost the economy of the region,” he emphasized.
The Call for Proposals under Belarus-Ukraine Territorial Cooperation Program was announced on 20 January. In the near time, potential participants will meet with experts to get advice on how to write applications keeping in mind the Belarusian and Ukrainian legislation and other aspects. Pinsk will host Information Day on 2 February, Gomel on 3 February. Similar events will be held in the Ukrainian cities of Chernigov, Kiev, Zhitomir, Rovno, and Lutsk.
