Strategic Projects
Besides the projects selected within the open Call, two more are currently running in the Programme: De-mine HU-HR II, as the Programme’s first strategic project, and the Beneficiary Light SME support scheme, as the strategic project within Priority Axis 1.
De-mine HU-HR II is the continuation of the first joint de-mining project successfully implemented in the previous programming period by the Croatian Mine Action Centre and their partners from the Baranya County Police Headquarters. The two partners cleared the area in the immediate vicinity of the state border of mines and restored safety for the local communities.
To capitalise on the results of the project, the programming Task Force and later the MC decided to further support de-mining efforts and included the project in the Cooperation Programme as a strategic project.
The beneficiaries/partners came together once again, this time with the inclusion of Danube-Drava National Park Directorate to de-mine a further section of the mine-suspected border area, remove the unexploded ordnances (UXO) and to rehabilitate the land within the nature-protected area and create preconditions for safe movement through the region.
The project, with the allocated EU funds reaching 3 mEUR, started in June 2016 and is already well-advanced with the implementation of activities, including among others, de-mining activities in the border area and restoration of border stones.
The second strategic project of the Programme, Beneficiary Light (B Light), started with implementation in February 2017 and is the first project aiming at providing direct support to SMEs, with a significant portion of total programme budget allocated to the planned activities. The grant scheme will see 11.7 mEUR being used for joint Hungarian-Croatian business developments.
The project is led by the Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovations and Investments (HAMAG-BICRO) as the Lead Beneficiary, and managed together with four Croatian border counties' (Međimurska, Koprivničko-križevačka, Virovitičko-podravska and Osječko-baranjska) regional development agencies, as well as two Hungarian entrepreneur's centres from border counties Zala and Somogy and the Baranya County Development Agency as project beneficiaries.
The project beneficiaries will support joint projects of Hungarian and Croatian SMEs from the border area through open calls for proposals, first of which is to be launched as soon as this summer. More information will soon be available on the Programme website, so keep your eyes and browsers open.
