On June 23, 2016 in Kyustendil, Bulgaria was held the third meeting of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the Interreg - IPA Cross Border Cooperation Programme Bulgaria - the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which were approved the first projects to be funded from the Programme.

Due to the increased interest in the program and the high performance of a significant number of the received proposals, the Joint Monitoring Committee decided to provide additional financial resources in the amount of 3 357 419 euro foreseen for 2018.

The total number of approved projects is 44 and they are distributed in three main axes - measures related to improving the environment, supporting the development of tourism, improving the competitiveness of the border region with a total value of 10 134 755,05 euro.

The main strategic objective of the Programme and the projects is to strengthen cross-border cooperation between people and institutions in the region to jointly address common challenges and using untapped potential for development of the border region through effective use of resources.

In the next few months forthcoming signing of the financing agreements and start of implementation of the projects approved for funding which will be contribute their activities to improve the environment, support the development of tourism and enhance the competitiveness of the border region.

More information can be found on the Programme website or on the website of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works in the area of ​​European territorial cooperation and on the website of the Ministry of Local Government.

The list of approved projects can be found HERE  [1]