In Ljubljana on the financing of key projects within the EUSAIR strategy until 2027
In Ljubljana, the 6th Financial Dialogue took place between the Slovenian managing authorities responsible for programming the European Structural Funds and the key implementers of macro-regional strategies in Slovenia – with an emphasis on EUSAIR, the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region.
Ljubljana hosted numerous representatives of Slovenian bodies involved in the planning and management of the European Structural Funds, as well as key representatives of macro-regional strategies in Slovenia with the ultimate goal of including the most relevant macro-regional content in the program documents of the new financial perspective between 2021 and 2027. The event itself represents a continuation of the financial dialogue for the last 4 years.
This particular event was mainly aimed at presenting and discussing the macro-regional issues that the managing authorities and departments involved in the programming of the European Structural Funds have included in the draft program documents and will be financially supported under the Partnership Agreement 2021 – 2027. In 2020, an inter-ministerial discussion on investment priorities for the period up to 2027 was held under the leadership of the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy (GODC) as a continuation of initial coordination with the European Commission. An overview of the novelties and the state of European cohesion policy in Slovenia within the Partnership Agreement was given by Andreja Jerina, M.Sc., National Coordinator for EU Macro-Regional Strategies from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Josip Mihalic, M.Sc., director for cohesion policy at GODC.
Participants reviewed the appropriate involvement of macro-regional content and the development of key projects coordinated so far under the individual pillars of the EUSAIR strategy and sought synergies for funding in the new financial perspective 2021 – 2027. An overview of the negotiation process from the idea to the confirmation of the flagship priorities on the example of EUSAIR was presented by Staša Mesec, Ph.D., from GODC, while the presentation of the document “Analysis of funding sources for the priorities of EUSAIR flagship projects in the financial perspective 2021 – 2027” and the legal basis by the European Commission, were carried out by Iztok Škerlič, M.Sc., from the EUSAIR Facility Point Izola. The flagship projects of the Environmental Quality pillar, for which the Municipality of Izola carries out coordination and secretarial tasks through the JZP Izola, are oil spills, protection and improvement of natural terrestrial habitats and ecosystems, and sustainability in connection with the marine environment. More information on flagship projects reflecting unanimous priority orientations for future projects in the EUSAIR region can be found at https://www.adriatic-ionian.eu/about-eusair/pillars/green-pillar/.
At the end of the event, representatives of various programs presented the programming process with an emphasis on the inclusion of macro-regional flagship projects in the fields of rural development, maritime and fisheries, cross-border and transnational programs (Adrion, Mediterranean, Alpine Space, and Danube). Particular attention was also paid to the transfer of good operational and implementation practices from other macro-regional strategies and EUSAIR countries.
