The First Regional CBC Forum was organized in Hotel Metropol Palace, in Belgrade, Serbia, on 21 and 22 November 2013, gathering more than 80 participants coming from the WB national authorities, Delegations of the European Union from the Region, European Commission – Directorate General for Enlargement and from the joint management structures of IPA CBC programmes.
This event was a follow-up of the meeting held in Budva on 20 and 21 June 2013, where the IPA II CBC programming exercise was formally launched.
The objectives of this Forum were the following:
- To take stock of the current IPA II CBC programming process: achievements, milestones and bottlenecks and consider the way forward in successful finalisation of the documents and meeting submission deadline;
- To discuss the implementation of the ongoing IPA I CBC 2007-2013 programmes: state of affairs, possible improvements and guidance needed;
- To formalise contacts and exchange at regional level in a more structured manner through the establishment of the CBC Regional Consultative Forum, a standing platform for permanent dialog amongst IPA CBC stakeholders in the Western Balkans, and between them and the European Commission.