In 2020 the Managing Authority for INTERREG V-A RO-BG Programme was selected by the European Commission to be part of a pilot project regarding citizen participation in the implementation of cohesion policy. Within this project, the Managing Authority receives technical assistance from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) experts to develop innovative ways of engaging citizens and civil society in decisions of strategic importance for the implementation of the programmes.

Today, the 22th of April 2021, representatives of the Managing Authority (MA), Joint Secretariat (JS), National Authority (NA) of the Interreg V-A Romania-Bulgaria Programme and members of Joint Working Group (JWG) for programming the RO-BG Programme 2021-2027 participated to the online workshop organized by the OECD experts with the aim to explore various ways of involving citizens and civil society in the elaboration and implementation of the programme 2021-2027.

This workshop is part of the activities carried out within the pilot project by the OECD experts in order to increase the Managing Authority’s expertise regarding the process of citizen participation in the implementation of an EU funded programme. OECD experts presented to the participants the main principles of citizens and stakeholders participation, the differences between the involvement of stakeholders and citizens, examples of practices of participations as well as practical tips of citizens participation.
The acquired knowledge and expertise will be of practical use for the management bodies of the Programme in future public consultation processes which will be carried out in the programming and implementation stages of the Interreg VIA RO-BG Programme 2021-2027.