Today in Belgrade, Minister of European Integration Tanja Miščević and Secretary General of the Association of European Border Regions Martín Guillermo Ramírez signed a Memorandum of Cooperation and an Agreement on Youth Volunteering in Interreg Programmes.
The Memorandum aims to facilitate the organisation of training sessions, seminars, and conferences on cross-border cooperation, evaluate examples of good practices, and promote cross-border cooperation. The goal of the Agreement is to engage volunteers in order to support projects and contribute to them with their ideas.
The signing was attended by Head of the EU Delegation Emanuele Giaufret and Minister of Tourism and Youth Husein Memić.
Miščević stated that the signing of those documents highlighted the significant assistance and support provided by the Association in the European integration process, emphasising that all their work was placed in the context of the process, not just for the process itself but for the results it produced.
“We are working on making cross-border cooperation more attractive, simpler, with fewer obstacles and more benefits,” said Miščević.
She added that youth volunteering in Interreg programmes is another example of empowering young people, recalling the numerous European Union programmes focused on involving young people in shaping national policies, while the programme in question offered them practical experience.
“Young people are here to participate in policy-making, to help improve things, and to point out mistakes,” Miščević said.
Speaking about the challenges young people face across European countries, Miščević noted that Serbia was no exception and that young people must be encouraged to engage in issues and decisions regarding society.
Ramírez said that signing those agreements provided them with the opportunity to work and think together, expressing hope that they would support other projects and overcome all challenges they might face.
“In the Interreg projects, we already have approximately 1,000 volunteers, not just EU citizens, same as our Association is not only related to the EU but to the whole of Europe,” said Ramírez.
He also expressed his desire for the Western Balkans to be included in various projects and stated that the Association aimed to contribute to Serbia’s EU integration, expressing hope that soon, everyone would be under the same flag.
Source: FoNet
