The workshop on IPA Component II, intended at familiarizing the representatives of the national authorities and agencies of Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) that are directly or indirectly in charge of IPA implementation, took place on October 23^rd 2007 in Hotel Gorenje, Pristina. Considering that this was a first event of that type in Kosovo, it has been jointly agreed with Kosovo authorities that a general picture of IPA component II will be given without entering in technical details and procedures, which will be done at a later stage.

The organisation of the meeting was carried out by CBIB Skopje with the support of the Ministry of Local Government Administration, CBIB Belgrade and CBIB Tirana. Invitation for the workshop was drafted by CBIB and sent by the Ministry of Local Government Administration. 44 persons attended the workshop.

The workshop was officially opened by Mr. Lufti Haziri, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Government Administration, and by Mr. Besim Kamberaj, Director of the Office for European Integration in the Ministry of Local Government Administration.

Outline:

The specific objective was to provide the participants with a global understanding of the implementation cycle of IPA component II, from programming to project selection. Considering that Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) did not yet enter in the programming phase, special attention was paid to the preparation of cross-border programmes and the preparation of the unilateral border development programmes (in case the submission of cross-border programmes is not possible).

East West Institute (EWI) was invited to present the ongoing GPKT (Gilane-Presevo-Kumanovo-Trgoviste) cross-border programme and lessons learned although it is not an EU project. The idea here was to emphasize that CBC initiatives already exist in Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) and that there is a possibility or a need to build on these experiences.

Seven presentations were made:

• Introduction to IPA and IPA Component II,  presented by Sirje Poder, Desk Officer, European Commission, DG Enlargement;
• Presentation of the CBIB project and next steps, presented by Natasa Gospodjinacki, Team Leader, CBIB;
• IPA CBC programming, presented by Jasminka Taseva-Jankovic, CBIB;
• IPA CBC management structures, presented by Remy Reymann, CBIB;
• Implementing the cross-border programmes (call for proposals, projects selection procedure, characteristics of a CBC project) presented by Remy Reymann, CBIB;
• Unilateral Development programme, the case of the programme for Kukes Region in Albania, presented by Albana Hana, Ministry of European Integration, Albania;
• Cross-border project: Gjilan/Gnjilane-Presevo-Kumanovo-Trgoviste (GPKT), presented by Shelly Ross, EastWest Institute;

The presentations were made in English. Simultaneous translation in Albanian and Serbian was provided.

The event was well covered by the local media (TV, newspapers and radio).

Conlusions and Lessons Learned:

In order to use the momentum launched by this event, it would be good for Kosovo (under UNSCR 1244) to enter the programming phase as soon as possible. In particular, the option to define unilateral border development programme(s) for the border regions should be considered (in case cross-border programmes cannot be submitted in 2008). These unilateral programmes should be linked, as much as possible, with the IPA CBC principles and procedures.

Considering the limited objectives (to give a global picture of the IPA component II principles and procedures), the event is considered a success by all organizers and a valuable preliminary step for further information and training activities