CROSS BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAMME POLAND BELARUS UKRAINE 2007 2013 NEWSLETTER NO.1 JANUARY, 2010
CONTENT Welcome Programme events history Development of the Programme and its approval by the European Commission How the Programme is managed The first anniversary of the Programme Launching the first Call for Proposals Large Scale Projects Internet site as a tool to your applica on procedure: using the how to apply page for naviga ng your applica on for a grant Ten reasons to par cipate in the CBC Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2007-2013 Programme CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAMME POLAND-BELARUS-UKRAINE 2007-2013 The core objec ve of the Programme is support for cross-border development processes. The Programme eligible area: in Poland: Krosniensko-przemyski sub-region (in Podkarpackie voivodship), Bialostocko-suwalski subregion (in Podlaskie voivodship), Bialskopodlaski and Chelmsko-zamojski sub-regions (in Lubelskie voivodship), Ostrolecko-siedlecki sub-region (in Mazowieckie voivodship) and also as adjacent coopera on areas: Rzeszowsko-tarnobrzeski sub-region (in Podkarpackie voivodship), Lomzynski sub-region (in Podlaskie voivodship), and Lubelski sub-region (in Lubelskie voivodship) in Belarus: Grodno, Brest, seven western districts of Minsk Oblast Miadel, Vileika, Molodechno, Volozhin, Stolbtsy, Niesvizh, Kletsk and as adjacent coopera on areas: eastern part of the Minsk Oblast (15 districts and the city of Minsk) and Gomel Oblast in Ukraine: Lvivska, Volynska, Zakarpatska and as adjacent coopera on areas: Rivnenska, Ternopilska and Ivano-Frankivska Oblasts The programme Priori es and Measures: Priority 1. Increasing compe veness of the border area: Measure 1.1. Be er condi ons for entrepreneurship Measure 1.2. Tourism development Measure 1.3. Improving access to the region Priority 2. Improving the quality of life: Measure 2.1. Natural environment protec on in the borderland Measure 2.2. Efficient and secure borders Priority 3. Networking and people-to-people coopera on: Measure 3.1. Regional and local cross-border coopera on capacity building Measure 3.2. Local communi es ini a ves Total Programme budget: 202,9 million EUR (including 186,2 million EUR of the EU co-financing) 2
WELCOME I have the pleasure to present the first newsle er of the Cross Border Coopera on Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2007-2013. Our Programme is the biggest among all Cross Border Coopera on European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument programmes with the budget of 186 million EUR. The best proof of the importance Poland a aches to the coopera on with Ukraine and Belarus is the fact that our government has decided to transfer 115 million EUR from Poland s share of EU funds to the joint budget of this Programme. Cross border coopera on gains great importance in Europe in the context of con nuous integra on. Extensive contacts between the people from both sides of the border, ge ng familiar with tradi ons and customs of the neighbours and even finding out about differences in the field of culture helps understanding how similar and how different we are. Cross border coopera on has its clearly dis nguishable specificity. It is built on the cross border partnership and the success of par cular projects as well as the whole Programme depends to large extent on abili es to define and then implement common solu ons. I believe that the beneficiaries from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine have already gained a prac cal knowledge in projects implemented with the financial assistance from the European Union. We have learnt the lessons from the Poland-Belarus-Ukraine Neighbourhood Programme INTERREG IIIA/Tacis CBC 2004-2006 and I am convinced that they will be taken into account during the implementa on of the current Programme. The Cross Border Coopera on Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2007-2013 cons tutes the con nua on of the Neighbourhood Programme, but for the beneficiaries who have experience from the coopera on in the years 2004-2006 the new Programme offers new tools and mechanisms. Cross border coopera on means first of all many contacts between communi es on the local and regional level. Small scale ini a ves with their day to day contacts contribute to the establishment of coopera on networks, which usually cons tute a great start and an excellent basis for further joint projects and ac vi es. The new mechanism is also so called large scale projects. They will be focused on the investments into border crossing points and I am sure it will be one of the tangible and visible effects of joint efforts to make our borders more efficient. We all will benefit from these facili es. Cross border roads, waste water treatment facili es could now be co-financed on the considerably larger scale as the Programme gives new opportuni es for the beneficiaries from Belarus and Ukraine to implement infrastructure projects. Despite the new approach the essence of the cross border coopera on remains the same to work together to implement joint projects for the benefit of the border region. I would like to encourage all poten al applicants to submit their proposals. I am convinced that in a few years me we will all be proud of the outcomes of our coopera on. Elżbieta Bieńkowska Minister of Regional Development of Poland 3
PROGRAMME EVENTS HISTORY 6 November 2008 Approval of the Programme by the European Commission 19 March 2009 1 st mee ng of the Joint Monitoring Commi ee April 2009 June- October 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August-October 2009 August- October 2009 Se ng up of the Joint Technical Secretariat Prepara on and approval of the Applica on Pack for the 1 st Call for Proposals 1 st Joint Task Force mee ng on Applica on Pack for the 1 st Call for Proposals 2 nd Joint Task Force mee ng on Applica on Pack for the 1 st Call for Proposals Consulta on of Applica on Pack for the 1 st Call for Proposals with the European Commission Partner Countries consulta ons on the Large Scale Projects 20 October 2009 Joint Task Force mee ng on iden fica on of the Large Scale Projects 2 November 2009 Launch of the 1 st Call for Proposals 4 November- -30 December Submission of the Large Scale Project summaries 8 December 2009 Partners mee ng and training on the Large Scale Projects December 2009 - - February 2010 Trainings for poten al beneficiaries from Poland, Belarus and Ukraine within the 1 st Call for Proposals 4
DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROGRAMME AND ITS APPROVAL BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION The Cross-border Coopera on Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2007-2013 (hereina er the Programme ), under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) con nues and broadens the coopera on in the border zone areas of the three countries, which so far has been developed within the framework of the Neighbourhood Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine INTERREG IIIA / Tacis CBC 2004 2006 (Neighbourhood Programme). The programme has been elaborated by the Joint Task Force, which consisted of representa ves of central and regional authori es from the three countries. The coordina ng role has been conferred on the Ministry of Regional Development of Poland to be the Joint Managing Authority of the Programme. Joint Task Force mee ngs took place in Poland and Ukraine as follows : 17 th July 2006, Lublin, Poland 18 th October 2006, Bialystok, Poland 29-30 th November 2006, Lviv, Ukraine 5 th July 2007, Warsaw, Poland 6 th March 2008, Warsaw, Poland Public consulta ons on the dra Programme document were organized in all Programme countries. The dra Programme was posted on the websites of the Ministry of Regional Development of Poland and several mee ngs were organized in the regions covered by the Programme. The Programme was presented to local governments, social and economic partners, non-governmental organiza ons, educa onal ins tu ons and other poten al beneficiaries as well as na onal ins tu ons responsible for sectoral policies. Sugges ons from public consulta ons and recommenda ons made during the Strategic Environmental Assessment consulta ons have been taken into account in the final dra of the Programme. Finally, the Cross-Border Coopera on Programme Poland - Belarus - Ukraine 2007 2013 has been endorsed by European Commission on November 6th 2008. The core objec ve of the Programme is support for cross-border development processes. The Programme will enable cross-border coopera on by bringing the local communi es and organiza ons closer to each other, in order to be er exploit the opportuni es offered by the joint development of the cross-border area. 5
HOW THE PROGRAMME IS MANAGED To implement the Programme, three par cipa ng countries (Poland, Ukraine and Belarus) have established a number of bodies forming its management structure. The following joint bodies were set up: the Joint Monitoring Commi ee (JMC), the Joint Managing Authority (JMA), and the Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS). The JMC is formed of representa ves of the na onal and regional authori es from all three partner countries. Considering that its main role is to ensure the quality and effec veness of the Programme implementa on, the JMC supervises the Programme. It takes all the most important decisions concerning the Programme, in par cular the final choice of the projects and grant amounts, the alloca on of funds and resources. It evaluates and monitors accomplished progress to achieve the objec ves of the Programme. The Joint Managing Authority (JMA) is an execu ve body, having the overall responsibility of managing the Programme, including technical assistance, and implemen ng the decisions taken by Joint Monitoring Commi ee. The Ministry of Regional Development of Poland is ac ng as the JMA, on behalf of three countries, and in close coopera on with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus jointly with the Co-ordina ng Unit of Belarus for the European Union s TACIS Programme so-called Na onal Bodies. Na onal Bodies cooperate with the Joint Managing Authority and are responsible for coordina on of programming and implementa on process in par cipa ng countries. The Joint Technical Secretariat (JTS) is established by the JMA in order to assist the JMA in the daily management of the Programme. The JTS was established in April 2009 and is located at a state-owned body the Centre for European Projects, which is a budgetary unit directly responsible to the Minister of Regional Development. Being a joint structure, the JTS employs Polish, Belarusian and Ukrainian ci zens. Currently 10 persons work in the JTS. The Joint Technical Secretariat assists the Joint Managing Authority as well as the Joint Monitoring Commi ee in carrying out their respec ve du es. More specifically, the role of JTS is to organise and administer the mee ngs of the Joint Monitoring Commi ee, prepara on of the applica on pack and other documenta on, launching calls for proposals and calls for tenders, receipt and registra on of project applica ons, prepara on of the contracts to be signed by the JMA and verifica on of all the necessary documenta on, receiving and verifying reports from beneficiaries, informa on ac vi es, other tasks suppor ng JMA in its day-to-day implementa on of the Programme. For the purpose of be er informing poten al beneficiaries in par cipa ng countries of the ac vi es planned under the Programme, the JTS plans to establish branch offices in Ukraine and Belarus in 2010. The branch office in Belarus will be located in Brest whereas the Ukrainian branch office will be located in Lviv. 6
THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE PROGRAMME The passed year has witnessed a large number of important Programme-related events organised. First of all, the 1 st mee ng of the Joint Monitoring Commi ee was held on March 19 th, 2009 in Lublin, Poland. This mee ng was of special importance for the Programme implementa on because of a number of decisions required according to the Programme-launching needs. During the mee ng, highpriority issues were discussed and milestone decisions taken. Among them approval of the budget and Annual work programme for grants, decisions on managements structures of the Programme, procedures of the Joint Monitoring Commi ee, establishment of the JTS and Joint Task Force for dra ing the Applica on pack for the 1 st call of proposals. Secondly, launch of the 1 st call of proposals was one of the main goals within the overall ac vi es of the Programme management structures. The procedures for prepara on and approval of all documenta on for launching the call demanded involvement of many experts and ins tu ons such as Polish ministries, na onal bodies in Ukraine and Belarus, and also the parallel consulta on with the European Commission had to be carried out. This me-consuming work lasted from June to October 2009. A er the approval of the EC, the call for proposals was launched on the 2 nd of November 2009. Announcement on the call was published e.g. in regional press and on the Programme web-site. Organiza ons from the whole Programme area are invited to submit their project applica ons ll March 1 st, 2010 according to the requirements described in the Guidelines for applicants (also available on the Programme web-site www.pl-by-ua.eu). Within the call for proposals the JTS organized trainings for poten al beneficiaries. Trainings shall be held in all the regions of the Programme area during December 2009 February 2010 and shall be opened to all those, interested in cross-border coopera on. As a part of informa on ac vi es of the JTS, the Programme web-site was created and all Programmerelated informa on is available there. The Programme envisages implementa on of Large Scale Projects (LSP) within the Measure 2.2, therefore the development of LSP working paper, procedures and applica on documents for Large Scale Projects became another strand of Programme implementa on in 2009. In the course of August-November 2009 the Joint Task Force mee ngs were organised to iden fy the Large Scale Projects and to develop the applica on documents for LSP. Project Summaries for Large Scale Project were submi ed to the Joint Technical Secretariat un l the end of December 2009. 7
FIRST CALL FOR PROPOSALS On November 2 nd, 2009 the Cross-border Coopera on Programme Poland - Belarus - Ukraine 2007-2013 launched its first Сall for Proposals. Applicants from the eligible Programme area of the three par cipa ng countries Poland, Belarus and Ukraine were invited to submit their proposals for carrying out the following types of ac vi es: Priority 1. Increasing compe veness of the border area: Measure 1.1. Be er condi ons for entrepreneurship Measure 1.2. Tourism development Measure 1.3. Improving access to the region Priority 2. Improving the quality of life: Measure 2.1. Natural environment protec on in the borderland Priority 3. Networking and people-to-people coopera on: Measure 3.1. Regional and local cross-border coopera on capacity building The overall amount available within this call for proposals is 16 126 091 EUR. This is an open Call for Proposals, where all documents are submi ed at one stage (Concept Note and full proposal). First, all the documents shall be a subject to the administra ve check and eligibility evalua on. In the next step, only the Concept Notes will be evaluated. Therea er, for the applicants whose Concept Notes have been preselected, evalua on of the full proposal will be carried out. Grants which amount from minimum 100 000 EUR up to 1 500 000 EUR can be awarded to applicants whose projects will be selected under this call for proposals. No grant may exceed 90 % of the total eligible costs of the project. In order to be eligible for a grant, the applicants must: be legal persons (or an en ty without legal personality in case of Polish partners) and be non profit making and be specific types of organisa ons such as: non-governmental organisa ons, public sector operators, local authori es, interna onal (inter-governmental) organisa ons and be na onals of Poland, Belarus or Ukraine (this obliga on does not apply to interna onal organisa ons) and be directly responsible for the prepara on and management of the ac on with their partners, not ac ng as an intermediary and be registered and located in the eligible area of the Programme In excep onal cases, where the project s objec ves cannot be achieved without the par cipa on of a partner established within the par cipant countries but outside the Programme area, the par cipa on of this organisa on can be accepted. The par cipa on of organisa ons located outside of the Programme area must be duly jus fied in the applica on. In this respect, the organisa ons, registered and located outside the Programme area have to prove that: a) they fulfil the respec ve requirements of the call for proposals; 8
b) they are the only organiza ons competent in their scope of ac on for certain parts of the eligible area, e.g. ministries, agencies, na onal research bodies, water management organiza ons, natural parks administrators etc.; c) they carry out ac vi es for the benefit of the regions in the Programme area. Projects which applied for a grant must fulfil the criteria according to Programme provisions and the Call. First of all, the projects have to be implemented in the Programme area and investment ac vi es (infrastructure) may be implemented only in the coopera on areas (please check the map of Programme eligible area). Secondly, the projects must have posi ve cross-border impact. Also the projects have to include cross - EU border partnership, i.e. they should be submi ed jointly by the beneficiaries of Poland and Belarus or Ukraine. Finally, it must be considered that projects with serious nega ve impact on environment cannot receive funding within the Programme and posi ve environmental impact will be taken into account in the evalua on process. All the requirements to project applica on and selec on procedures, informa on on eligibility criteria and documents to be provided by applicants are described in the Guidelines for Applicants applicable in the 1 st Call for Proposals. The Guidelines for Applicants are available in the Joint Technical Secretariat and on the Programme web-site: h p://www.pl-by-ua.eu. For be er informing poten al applicants and partners on the programme and requirements to fulfil projects, the transla on of all call-related documents into Polish, Russian or Ukrainian was made. However, the English version of the documents was approved by the Joint Monitoring Commi ee and takes precedence over other language versions. Project applica ons prepared in Polish, Ukrainian or Russian (with a summary in English) must be submi ed to the Joint Technical Secretariat ll March 1 st, 2010, 15:00 local me. Poten al applicants may send their ques ons in wri en to the JTS not later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of applica ons. The JTS has no obliga on to provide clarifica ons to the ques ons received a er this date. For the purpose of equal treatment of applicants, the JTS cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, a partner or an ac on. Ques ons that may be relevant to other applicants, together with the answers, are published at the website: h p://www.pl-by-ua.eu. We highly recommend to regularly consult the website in order to be informed on the ques ons and answers published. 9
LARGE SCALE PROJECTS Cross-Border Coopera on Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2007-2013 provides that in measure 2.2 co-financing of strategic projects concerning new border crossings and moderniza on of exis ng border crossings is planned. The Large Scale (strategic) Projects are projects comprising a set of works, ac vi es or services intended to fulfil an indivisible func on of a precise nature pursuing clearly iden fied objec ves of common interest for the purposes of implemen ng cross-border investments. Large Scale Projects shall be directly related to the Programme, its Priori es and Measures, crucial for the development of the Programme area, have a clear cross-border effect, have an investment (infrastructure) character, have support from the na onal/regional level authori es, the beneficiary must be clearly iden fied as the only one being able to implement it. The large-scale cross-border investment projects are not selected through calls for proposals, but are iden fied jointly by par cipa ng countries, in agreement with the European Commission. These projects shall be also approved by the Joint Monitoring Commi ee provided that they are consistent with the programme s priori es and measures and that there is a budget specifically for this purpose. To iden fy the Large Scale Projects within the Programme the Joint Monitoring Commi ee set up the special Joint Task Force. On 20 October 2009 the first mee ng of the Joint Task Force took place in the premises of the Joint Technical Secretariat. The aim of the mee ng was to discuss and to approve Large Scale Projects Working Paper and LSP Project Summary and to develop the dra shortlist of the Large Scale Projects. Joint Task Force recommended a list of Large Scale Projects which should be implemented under Measure 2.2. The Joint Monitoring Commi ee on November 3 rd, 2009 approved the Large Scale Projects Working Paper and LSP Project Summary. The projects iden fied as strategic by the Joint Task Force were invited to submit their Project Summaries from November 4 th un l December 30 th, 2009. For the purpose to support the applicants in prepara on of the LSP Project Summary the informa on seminar was organised on December 8 th, 2009 in the JTS office. INTERNET SITE AS A TOOL TO YOUR APPLICATION PROCEDURE: USING THE HOW TO APPLY PAGE FOR NAVIGATING YOUR APPLICATION FOR A GRANT The Joint Technical Secretariat invites you to visit the Programme website at www.pl-by.ua.eu. The JTS team is striving to keep the website an easy-to-use tool for the poten al beneficiaries by regularly upda ng it with prac cal informa on. Easy access to informa on and naviga on through project applica on knowledge zones are, essen ally, the main objec ves of the website. We suggest to start from acquain ng yourself with the ra onale for the Programme opera on in the sec on About the Programme. The site considerately provides competent and up-to-date informa on on the priori es of the Programme, expected applicants and types of project, sheds light on the tendering and grant-awarding procedures, draws the contours of the eligible area, both in terms of geography and scope for coopera on, including project partnership, Large Scale Projects (LSP) and more. Apart from learning the general info on the Programme, one can dig into the prerequisites of undertaking a project and learn How to Apply for a project. This sec on, scrupulously prepared by the JTS team, offers 10
the necessary informa on on the applica on process, including the Guidelines for Applicants and all a achments. All the informa on on the Call for proposals, the whole applica on pack of documents can be easily accessed in this sec on of the website. Persons, interested in the background informa on, are welcome to read the Programme Documents in the Downloads sec on, while those, seeking prac cal pieces of advice on project management may refer to the sec on How to implement a project. Special a en on should be paid to the Ques ons and Answers (Q&A) sec on of the website. While the sec on provides addi onal useful informa on for anyone interested, the Q&A part specifically deals with the possible queries one may have concerning the mechanics of submi ng an applica on, managing the project budget or preparing a project. The advantage of the whole website and the Q&A sec on in par cular is rooted in its four-lingual nature: the pages have been presented in Polish, Russian, English and Ukrainian. Ques ons and Answers can therefore be found in these four languages respec vely. We recommend the interested organiza ons to submit their project-related ques ons to the Joint Technical Secretariat addresses. The last but not least part of the website is devoted to Partner Search. The Partner Search sec on is essen ally about finding a proper match to an organiza on in Poland, Ukraine or Belarus. This sec on pilots the searcher towards establishing a connec on with a partner organiza on in the Programme region. If your organiza on is in need of a Partner, this sec on of the website is a good tool to explore the various contacts. We equally invite you to submit your organiza on s contacts to this sec on to be able to create an opera onal database of partners throughout the Programme area. The idea of the website is to navigate any interested organiza on or person through the project-related informa on in a convenient and comprehensible manner. We would be happy if you employed the website for yours and your organiza on s needs. 10 REASONS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAMME 1. Showing that you care about your local community, region and country 2. An opportunity to turn your organisa on s ideas into your region benefits 3. Access to new experience, best prac ces, management tools and the people who possess those 4. Networking opportuni es 5. Contribu ng to the prosperity of your region 6. Sharing your experience and knowledge across borders 7. Discovering new chances to develop your region 8. An opportunity to give a posi ve impulse to the development of your region 9. Making valuable inter-ins tu onal partnerships 10. Making people ma er. Making regions ma er GIVE YOUR REGION A CHANCE! 11
STAFF JTS Paweł Słowikowski - Coordynator tel. +48 22 398 97 84 e-mail: pawel.slowikowski@cpe.gov.pl Paweł Molenda tel: 022 398 97 63 e-mail: pawel.molenda@cpe.gov.pl Ewa Adamczuk tel: 022 398 97 76 e-mail: ewa.adamczuk@cpe.gov.pl Iryna Melnychuk tel. +48 22 398 97 81 e-mail: iryna.melnychuk@cpe.gov.pl Maryna Fartushnyak tel. +48 22 398 97 83 e-mail: maryna.fartushnyak@cpe.gov.pl Wiesława Serwatko tel. +48 22 398 90 42 e-mail: wieslawa.serwatko@cpe.gov.pl Katarzyna Wyporska tel. +48 22 398 90 43 e-mail: katarzyna.wyporska@cpe.gov.pl Aliaksandr Sharf tel. +48 22 398 90 44 e-mail: aliaksandr.sharf@cpe.gov.pl Małgorzata Iwańska tel. +48 22 390 44 39 e-mail: małgorzata.iwańska@cpe.gov.pl Andrzej Słodki tel. +48 22 390 44 40 e-mail: andrzej.slodki@cpe.gov.pl JOINT TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAME POLAND - BELARUS - UKRAINE 2007-2013 CENTER OF EUROPEAN PROJECTS Center of European Projects Domaniewska 39a Str. 02-672 Warsaw www.pl-by-ua.eu Financed by the European Union