The thought "Together is much better" has always supported the peoples of our regions in their development. Cooperation between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia dates back long before the formalization of cross-border cooperation and began in 2003 with the Phare, CARDS and Neighborhood Program the Republic of Bulgaria - the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia programs in the period from 2003 to 2006.
On 11th of March 2024, in collaboration between the National Authority - the Ministry of Local Self-Government and the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg VI-A IPA Bulgaria-North Macedonia Programme, a successful training was held for the beneficiaries of the strategic project “Establishment of a New Border Cross Check Point (BCCP) Strumyani-Berovo ("Klepalo") between Bulgaria and North Macedonia”.
On 9th of February 2024, the 4th meeting of the Strategic Board of the Territorial Strategy under Priority 3 "Integrated Development of the Cross-Border Region" was held. The meeting was chaired by Mr. Zhivko Ivanov and co-chaired by Mrs. Andrea Zlatkovska.
On January 10, 2024, a highly informative webinar was conducted on the Webex platform, focusing on the successful implementation of strategic projects under the Intereg VI-A IPA Bulgaria-North Macedonia, Bulgaria-Serbia and Bulgaria-Türkiye Programmes. The event covered a variety of crucial topics, including technical implementation, reporting, monitoring, modification of contracts, financial reporting, public procurement, common mistakes, irregularities and frauds, JEMS, verification, and information and publicity.
In year 2023, the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works awarded a service contract for external performance of the impact evaluation of the Interreg IPA Cross-border Programmes 2014-2020, managed by the Republic of Bulgaria.
Dear Project partners,
In order to ensure the smooth running of the closure process of the Interreg IPA CBC Programme Bulgaria – North Macedonia 2014-2020 the Managing authority developed the following schedule and deadlines in connection with verification process of the reported expenditures by the beneficiaries after the end of the project implementation:
∙ Final date for submission of requests for first level control (FLC) by beneficiaries – 10.01.2024;
On 13th of November 2023, the 3rd meeting of the Monitoring Committee under the Interreg VI-A IPA Bulgaria - North Macedonia Programme 2021-2027 was held in Sofia. The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Angelina Boneva, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria and co-chaired by Mr. Vulnet Arifi, Head of the Department for EU Programs in the Ministry of Local Self-Government of the Republic of North Macedonia. Mrs. Gabi Hagmuller, representative of the European Commission, addressed the audience.
With the holding of several events in the kindergartens and on the bicycle lanes, the Interreg Cooperation Day was celebrated in Strumica on 26 October 2023. The celebration was attended by guests and beneficiaries of the Interreg-IPA Cross-border cooperation Programme between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia on both sides.
