Managing Authoritycontracting Authority

Managing AuthorityContracting Authority

Paying Authority

Adriatic New Neighbourhood Programme

INTERREG/CARDS-PHARE

Grant Application Form

Budget line(s) < number(s) >

(CARDS funding share))

Name of applicant: / Province of Rimini
Dossier No
(for official use only)

I. the action

1.Description

1.1Measure, Title and acronym

Measure 3.2 (Institution building and cooperation in communications and research between institutions to promote systems harmonisation

Title: Adriatic Network for Institutional Cooperation

Acronym: AdriaNET

1.2Location(s) of the action

The project will be carried out on RAI territory of the Province of Rimini and the Municipality of Riccione and in 4 PAO Countries: Albania, Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia.

ITALY - EMILIA ROMAGNA - PROVINCE OF RIMINI - MUNICIPALITY OF RICCIONE

Emilia Romagna Region has an important role because of its experience in the interested fields being one of the most involved Italian regions in international cooperation and in European programmes. The Region has primary statistic position in Europe in tourism, urban mobility and youth policies. RiminiProvince counts more than 32.000 recorded enterprises, this value places the Province among the first positions in the Country. The decidedly predominant field in the economy is the commerce. All the infrastructures, included those relative to the practicability, have values going over of the national average. Through years Rimini Province has been developing a particularly interesting experience of observatory on the budgets of the local agencies through a data bank organized in network which analyses trends on single fields of competence of the local Agencies both at territorial and temporal level. Moreover the Municipality of Riccione is one of the most developed ones in Italy and Europe as far as youth policies and tourism receptivity.

BOSNIA - SARAJEVO - SERDA (Agency of regional development of Sarajevo)

Capital and biggest city of the Country is Sarajevo. Bosnia Herzegovina is among the poorest regions of the Yugoslavia having being also the most hit in the conflict originated from the dissolution of the socialist State. Some esteems reveal that approximately 40% of houses have been destroyed during the three years of war and unemployment hit, to the apex of the conflict, 90% of the active population. The macro region of Sarajevo tries to supply better quality of life for all citizens through a sustainable economic development and it will be an example of dynamic development in all financial and economic aspects, of educational life, cultural and sportive. SERDA which is a private society and agency of regional development, is directly conceived to improve territorial development collaborating with European institutions appearing therefore the most indicated to pursue project objectives and results.

SERBIA – CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF BELGRADE

The Chamber of Commerce of Belgrade is located in the capital city of Serbia, Belgrade. The city is placed in the centre of the South-East Europe and has around 2 millions inhabitants, today it can be considered a modern and dynamic city, centre of the political and cultural life of the country and willing to come into contact with the main cities and regions of the Adriatic area. The city dimensions make a priority the necessity to acquire the best practices of the EU countries in the sector of urban mobility and management of the territory, represented in this project by the Italian experiences of Riccione and Rimini, and in collaborating with actors from other countries in order to offer most effective services for SMEs and internationalisation.

Belgrade represents not only the seat of the state authorities and institutions but also a trade, finance, industry, culture, science and education centre.

Belgrade is structured in 16 municipalities, 10 city municipalities and 6 suburban municipalities, the most important economic centres are the municipalities Novi Beograd, Palilula and Stari grad.

Belgrade has relevant economic potentialities mainly represented by its more than 110.000 registered economic operators (32% of Serbia), of which 22.600 enterprises (97% privately owned) and approximately 50.000 shops active. According to the major economic indicators, the structure of the economy of Belgrade has a dominant share in industry, trade, finance and other services, transport, telecommunications and construction.

Belgrade most developed sectors are: the industrial one, domestic and international trade and the services sector. Belgrade has decisive influence to the economic life of Serbia owing to the share more than 30 % in social product and the share in number of employees. This is an advantage but also an obligation to influence to the faster development and higher standard of life.

CROATIA - ZARA county, POLA municipality

The Croatian economy, in facing the transition from the communist centralized system towards a system of market economy, has endured the weight and the consequences of the war giving emphasis to problems and difficulties in the development. However thanks to a strict plan of stabilization also concerning prices the economic situation, has favourite good perspective of increase, guided from strongly incidence of the manufacturing field and the services. This has supported the beginning of the process of adhesion to the European Union and therefore the start of reforms in the economic and administrative fields as far as acquis communautaire is concerned. The Municipality of Pola involved in the project needs technical and programming assistance also considering the huge tourist flow of the last years. This will help and facilitate the path towards stability.

ALBANIA – SARANDA

The Albanian economy is considered an economy in transition. The private sector occupies the main part of the Gross Domestic Product. The strategy for the Albanian economic development is concentrated on structural reforms following the models of the countries with a strong economy, on the privatization of the strategic fields and on the stabilization of the macroeconomic index with the final objective to increase investments through the execution of the investment program publics and the attraction of the directed foreign investments. The region of Saranda has attitudes to the tourist development and of partnership with other realities beyond border, already demonstrated in the previous experiences of twinning with the city of Riccione and an important association enviromentalist which it is the WWF. The city is strongly determined to archaeological and quality tourist expansion as well as to expand youth policies, valuing its own potentialities and competences.

1.3Amount requested from the Managing Authority and the Contracting Authority

Total eligible cost of the action / INTERREG amount[1] requested from the Managing Authority> / INTERREG amount % of total cost of action
684.890,00 EURO / 380.000,00 EURO / 55,5 %
CARDS/PHARE grant requested from the Contracting Authority in Croatia / CARDS/PHARE amount % of total cost of action
53.550,00 EURO / 7,8 %
CARDS grant requested from the Contracting Authority in Bosnia and Herzegovina / CARDS amount % of total cost of action
48.200,00 EURO / 7,0 %
CARDS grant requested from the Contracting Authority in Serbia / CARDS amount % of total cost of action
71.450,00 EURO / 10,4 %
CARDS grant requested from the Contracting Authority in Montenegro / CARDS amount % of total cost of action
< EURO > / 0 %
CARDS grant requested from the Contracting Authority in Albania / CARDS amount % of total cost of action
42.400,00 EURO / 6,2 %

1.4Summary

The project aims at support the creation of a platform for exchange of idea, best practices, systems harmonisation starting from the definition of a series of common interests issues for the subjects within the eligible areas.

It is foreseen to enhance the institutional building, the harmonisations of systems, the development of the administrative cooperation, to favour the definition of system for social integration and foster the network between institutions and administrations. The beneficiaries will be mainly local bodies in the EAC involved within the project, since the will beneficiary from the exchange of best practices and from the technical activities provided by the project. Each partner will focus its activities on a specific issues on the base of its own needs, constraint and interest of the territory.

The activities’ implementation will start from the setting up of a network among the involved subjects as well from an exchange of best practices in the different sectors and the definition of Guidelines a model for each analysed issue. After that, each subject will implement a pilot project in the interest’s sector. These activities will be accompanied with a continuous and capillary results dissemination both at institutional level both at technical level. Moreover, the final phase will evaluate the project implementation and through a commitment of the partner with local stakeholders the project follow up will be defined.

The project is related to the Axis 3, measure 3.2 and in particular the Action 3.2.2 aiming at the creation of networks between organisations, institutions and administrations. The project is perfectly in line with the overall priorities of the call for proposal, and in particular the sustainable development, the development of collaboration with neighbourhood countries and entrepreneurship strengthening, institutional building and systems harmonisation.

1.5Objectives

1. General objectives

The project general objective is the exchange of best practices aiming at the systems harmonisation between different local management systems. Institution building will be enhanced through the promotion of a structured process of cooperation within entities acting in the different geographic areas.

Hence, the project has the purpose to setting up a comparison platform, exchange of best practices, systems harmonisation analysing the issues of common interest for the administrations in the eligible area. Sine the institutional building and the reinforcement of the administrative cooperation will be reached, will be mainly offered support to the beneficiaries countries for the definition social integration systems models.

Activities implementation will contribute to the creation of network between institutions and administrations. Each involved subject will individuate one of the main field of interest out of the four main selected and will act in one ore more of the specific field.

1. specific Objectives

The specific objectives should be linked to different sectors within which the tasks will be implemented and they can be defined for each specific sectors:

• Urban quality - traffic and mobility- sustainable development – within this field of action, it is foreseen to improve the street safety in the target area, to develop policies for the territorial management in respect with the new EU priorities. The activities are based on the a common strategy for urban safety and urban quality following a medium term planning. Moreover, will be provided an exchange of information on mobility strategies for persons and business.
• Social Policies – Section Youths policies and training – the project goal is to favour the link between the training / educational system and the professional sector, identifying models for the orienteering activities for the youths. The objective is fight the drop out and organise stage, professional training, meeting with enterprises in order top reduce impacts on the policies for the drop out fighting and job policies. It is foreseen to improve youth participation in civil society and increase active citizenship by, out of other instruments, a web site setting up for the exchange of information among the youths and a radio programme.
• SMEs development – at the present time, local bodies offer a series of instruments in order to support and increase the SMEs internationalisation. Aim to the actions related to the issue will define and operative model in order to develop a local system where the local associations, the categories associations and the local administrations cooperate for the definition of strategies supporting the SMEs in the foreign markets.
• Politics and financial strategies of the Territorial Bodies - point of departure is the Rimini experience of the “Observatory on Local Bodies Balances” The Network was founded in order to generate an operational benchmarking, and to share knowledge among the involved subjects thus increasing the knowledge at their disposal and favouring the analysis activities and the collaboration among them. Thanks to this analysis a more suitable interpretation of the most relevant phenomena influencing the management of local finance and services has been improved. The pilot project will manage the creation of a network and a data base for the trend analysis in each administrative sectors at territorial and temporal level.

1.6Justification

1. relevance of the project to the objectives of the programme

The Programme should be considered as the logical consequence of the European Commission intentions to promote a New Neighbourhood Policy (NNP) with the new neighbouring countries of the enlarged Europe. On the base of the European Commission communication of July 2003 Paving the Way for a New Neighbourhood Instrument it has been reflected the main objective of the new neighbourhood policy to share with the new bordering countries the advantages of the EU enlargement of 2004, as for example peace and stability. The neighbourhood policy aims at avoiding the raising of new forms of division between the enlarged Europe and the neighbouring countries as well as at offering them the possibility to participate to EU initiatives, by a strict political, security, economical and cultural cooperation.

Moreover, the new policy will contribute to deal with one of the strategic objective of the European Union defined by the European Safety strategy in December 2003, which is to enhance security within bordering countries and at the same time respect the Goteborg and Lisbon strategic objectives.

The proposed methodologies by the Commission to reach NNP objectives define the importance to set up with the external partners a series of priorities in common action plans, in order to favour the approaching of these countries to European Union.

General objective of the Adriatic New Neighbourhood Programme is to support integration and strengthen the process of cross border cooperation. Since it is striving for reaching this objective, AdriaNET gets into the development of cooperation between the two macro-regions involved in the Programme thanks to the creation of network among local authorities and institutions and the development of a systems’ harmonisation ad definition of social integration models platform for the exchange of best practices.

At the same time, AdriaNET provides a support to the Programme priority objective: strengthen institutional, administrative and legal cooperation, and the know how exchange for the valorisation of institutional experiences.

One of the project sector fostering the cooperation between institutions and public administration of the partners EAC and IAR is related to the SMEs development and competitiveness improvement. The choice is in line with the Programme objectives to favour the cross border regions collaboration and the crossing of obstacles and exclusions conditions by the strengthen of entrepreneurship, support to SMEs development the improvement of the competitiveness on the production sector.

1. Relevance of the project to the priorities of the programme

The priority of the Adriatic New Neighbourhood Programme (ANNP) is to support thematic area fostering the stabilisation, the reconstruction and the strengthening of the political and economic system of the borders regions towards EU. One of the main instrument for collaboration promoted by the Programme is cross border cooperation and the institutional building and strengthening with entities and actors operating in Italy and in the cross border area. The project proposal aims at the creation of a platform for collaboration, exchange of best practices, systems harmonisation and raise the quality level of the services the local and central administrations provide for their communities.

Since one of the main project objectives is improve the cooperation between the involved actors in specific issues of interest, exchange of experiences, encouragement and valorisation of human and institutional resources will be pursued.

The fields of action foreseen by the project are related to urban planning and traffic management, social policy, SMEs development and the system harmonisation in the fiscal area. The choice of issues for institutional cooperation is in line with the exigencies indicated in the Adriatic area by the ANNP, which intends foster local development in all its aspects. However, the interventions will be implemented without hinder the functionality of the local administrations concerned.

The project is comprised in the actions of the measure 3.2 (Institution building and cooperation in communications and research between institutions to promote systems harmonisation), and it is in line with measure objectives and priorities. In particular is fitting with the objectives to foster institutional cooperation and strengthening for the systems harmonisation.

Moreover, the project implementation will comply with EU and National legislation for the environment protection (Goteborg Agenda) and will promote sustainable development in the target area, as well as will foster the priorities defined by the European planning policy (ESPD).

All the project partners will develop their action promoting the improvement of the employment conditions, considering the EU priorities settled up in the Lisbon Agenda and in respect of gender issue and promoting equal opportunities between men and women.

1. Identification of perceived needs and constraints in the project target area

Project idea starting point is the exigency perception to enhance integration and cooperation level between involved countries. Geographical proximity and the differences in economic, political and institutional systems require cooperation strengthening between borders countries for the definition of common solutions and the target area development. The strategy is directly linked to the dynamics and constraint characterising macro-systems in the EAC and IAR area.

The project looks at favour the sharing of experiences between different countries and the know how transfer mainly to the EAC partners.

The action aims at operate on the weaknesses perceived as hurdles for the EAC area development, as for example a weak organisation and structuring of the institutional systems and the phenomena of criminality and illegal immigration. A more efficient collaboration between the beneficiaries countries, mainly at institutional level, will have a deep impact in the middle and long term on the first weakness and will have consequences on the general stability of the institutional and administrative systems.