In Šibenik, on October 18th and 19th 2023, the annual meeting of the EUROPE DIRECT network Croatia and partners organized by the Representation of the European Commission in Croatia was held.
The meeting was attended by representatives of 11 Europe Direct centers in Croatia, representatives of European documentation centers, the Office of the European Parliament in Croatia, the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds, the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development - LIFE Program – HR National Contact Point and Europe Direct centers from Slovenia.
Meetings and workshops were held at two locations: on the campus of the Fortress of St. Ivan and the Croatian Coral Center Zlarin. The project of the construction of the Croatian coral center Zlarin and the restoration of the fortress of St. Ivan in Šibenik were financed with the help of different programs and funds of the European Union.
The topic of the meeting was the preparation of communication plans for 2024 with a focus on the European elections, other priorities of the European Commission and the possibilities of national and cross-border cooperation. The whole meeting was interactive with lots of interesting lectures and workshops.
The second part of our team was on a study trip to Zadar from 17th-18th October 2023. They attended the final conference of the Cross-Border Program INTERREG Italy - Croatia 2014-2020, where the results of cooperation in the cross-border area and an overview of the challenges were presented so as further opportunities for the period 2021 - 2027. During those two days, the achievements of the financed projects were presented, along with the presentation of an institutional book that gathers 92 implemented projects, in digital and printed versions, and a tour of successfully implemented projects.
Cross-border cooperation program INTERREG V-A Italy-Croatia 2014-2020. is one of the European territorial cooperation programs that supports the European cohesion policy and contributes to the harmonious development of the European Union by strengthening economic, social and territorial cohesion, thereby encouraging economic growth. The public institution Regional Development Agency of Karlovac County participated in the implementation of two projects from the program. The STREAM project whose goal was to improve risk monitoring and increase management capacity for quick response to catastrophic floods by creating risk maps and developing a flood risk management plan in which Karlovac County was a partner. The goal of the EXCOVER project was to contribute to an increase in the number of tourists in accordance with the cultural and natural potential of the selected destinations in Croatia and Italy and to reduce the tourist seasonality of both countries. The project contributed to a more even distribution of tourists and to the relief of areas with an excessive concentration of tourists located mainly on the coast.
