On Monday, on the 18. December 2017., the initial conference on the project “Development of strategic cross-border cooperation between Letenye, Ludbreg and Prelog” was held. The conference was held at the Amalia Hotel. Mayor of Town Ludbreg Dubravko Bilić, Mayor of Town Prelog Ljubomir Kolarek, Project Manager Petra Međimurec and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the project participated at the conference.
The DESCO project is co-funded by the Hungary-Croatia Cross-Border Cooperation Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The leading partner is Town Ludbreg, while Town Prelog and Town Letenye are project partners. The project started with implementation on the 1. November 2017. and will last until 28. February 2019. The total value of the project is 263.657,80 €.
– This is another one in a series of European projects we are pursuing. This is a great success for Town Ludbreg. One of the more interesting and important EU projects is this DESCO project that we started in cooperation with the Town Prelog and Town Letenye within the INTERREG Programme. The project is interesting because it does not build anything, but the three cities are preparing for better interconnection, collaboration and future joint projects through the development of various strategic documents and methodologies that will attract European funds. The Town Ludbreg and Town Prelog will develop different strategic documents that will enable us to connect and cooperate better. In that direction, colleague Kolarek and I have been discussing for a long time that no matter that Drava River and county border separates us, we can do a great deal with common forces and show that cities can connect economically and culturally. The results of this project are particularly valuable. The project includes the entire entrepreneurial community, from the classic entrepreneurs, incubators, farmers, those who want to engage in tourism as entrepreneurship, and that is what Prelog and Ludbreg need, to merge this entrepreneurial climate and once again show that these cities are the right center for economic development – said Mayor of Ludbreg Dubravko Bilić.
The DESCO project is based on the common need, strengthening co-operation between Municipalities and all other stakeholders with the same or similar characteristics. Due to the general economic crisis that pervades most of Europe, the link between institutions, representatives of civil society, entrepreneurs and a wide circle of stakeholders has become a necessity. Cross-border areas are suspicious, they do not dare launch initiatives, joint programs, because they have no common and unique methodology of action. These are the main issues that the DESCO project addresses and which will be dealt through the implementation.
– The significance of the project is exceptional because, besides strengthening human resources, the project will bring out strategic documents that will be proven relevant for the various competitions of the ministries and funds of the European Union. The project also confirms the long-standing cooperation between our cities, Letenye, Ludbreg and Prelog. We have already completed a series of projects together and this is just a good continuation of our good cooperation. It is also crucial for us to cooperate with entrepreneurs because we want to exceed in this area, and that the number of business entities and the number of craftsmen will increase. – said Ljubomir Kolarek, Mayor of Prelog.
Planned project activities are related to the establishment of tools for cross-border connectivity of entrepreneurs, farmers, institutes, local self-government units, representatives of civil society, education sector, crafts, institutes and educational institutions. All project activities are designed in a way that as many citizens, organizations and institutions as possible are being encouraged the write and implement projects, programs and initiatives.