MPWDA has all the necessary amounts for payments from European funds and for the co-financing from the state budget of the projects realized through the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Romania-Serbia Programme (2014-2020)
The Ministry of Public Works, Development and Administration (MPWDA), as the Managing Authority for the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Romania-Serbia Programme, continued its activity during the emergency situation and it developed a series of instructions and information materials through which the measures that can be taken to reduce the effects generated by the COVID-19 crisis were communicated to the beneficiaries.
For the proper implementation of the contracts financed by the Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Romania-Serbia Programme (2014-2020), the beneficiaries may opt for:
• extension or suspension of the implementation period;
• requesting necessary changes in the implementation of projects, by e-MS, e-mail and using the electronic signature to approve project documents as well as the possibility to purchase an electronic signature and reimburse these expenses from administrative costs, if necessary;
• postponement of deadlines for activities or organization of events / meetings in online format, taking into account the restrictions imposed by the state of emergency;
The measures taken at the level of the Programme have in view, first of all, the continuation of the implementation of the projects, through constant support offered to the beneficiaries and the capitalization of the non-reimbursable funds provided through the Programme. In this respect, the amounts for payments from European funds and for co-financing from the state budget are provided at MA level.
At the same time, there are activities being performed like the constant monitoring of compliance with the schedules for submitting applications for reimbursement and their correlation with the physical status of the project, as well as the reasons for any delays.
Depending on the evolution of the current situation and the decisions taken at the level of the European Commission, the MA will take other measures to support the beneficiaries, which will be published on the internet and on the social media pages of the Programme.
In the period 2021-2027, Romania will benefit from non-reimbursable Community financial assistance for the development of European territorial cooperation programmes and projects, aiming at the balanced development of the entire Community territory, by encouraging cooperation and exchange of good practices between European Union regions, as well as for cooperation with third countries.
All documents of public interest related to the two programmes are published on the website www.romania-serbia.net.
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For the 2014-2020 period, MPWDA acts as Managing Authority for the Interreg-IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Romania-Serbia Programme, which continues to finance cross-border cooperation projects in the Romania-Serbia border area using the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II), sustained by the European Union and the two partner states. The Programme was approved by the European Commission on the 6th of August 2015.
The first call for project proposals, which also included the call for strategic projects, was launched on the 15th of September 2015. The budget allocated to this call was 27.9 million euros (IPA funds), to which was added 22.5 million euro (IPA funds), the budget allocated to strategic project proposals.
The launch of the second call for project proposals took place on the 27th of November 2017, the deadline for submitting project proposals being the 24th of April 2018. The allocated budget was 20.2 million euros (IPA funds).
So far, 62 normal projects and the 2 strategic projects worth about 64.3 million euros (IPA funds) have been contracted.
The eligible area of the Programme consists of the counties of Timis, Caras-Severin and Mehedinti (from Romania) and the districts of Severno Banatski, Srednje Banatski, Juzno Banatski, Branicevski, Borski, Podunavski (from the Republic of Serbia).
Romania continues to fulfil the role of Managing Authority (through MPWDA), the National Authority being established within the Ministry of European Integration – Government of the Republic of Serbia, and the Joint Secretariat is organized in Timisoara, within the Regional Office for Cross-Border Cooperation Timisoara. The audit at the level of the Programme is performed by the Audit Authority attached to the Romanian Court of Accounts.
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