440.393,19 euro, out of which 374.334,21 euro ERDF

Lead Beneficiary: Territorial Administrative Unit – Giurgiu County(RO)

Partners:

B2:Ruse District administration(BG)

B3:Tsenovo Municipality (BG)

Start date: 20.05.2017

End date: 19.05.2019

Duration: 24 months

Ruse District and Giurgiu County

Programme outputs: 4 cross border mechanisms: 1 Working Group - information exchange tool (which will be organised and function based on a regulation) its activity resulting in the elaboration of an Action Plan, 1 network of CBC actors (from Ro, Bg & visited countries, etc., 1 analysis (Research and analysis of the current situation regarding the implementation of GE in two areas (RD-GC); 1 integrated sustainable energy efficiency strategy at the level of RD-GC region

Programme results: increased level of coordination of public institutions in cross-border area

The project is finalized.

As Beneficiary 2 faced problems in ensuring the necessary financial resources for the project implementation, a new partner -Tsenovo Municipality – was brought in the partnership, taking over B2 budget and the respective share of the project activities. Beneficiary 2, in turn, remained involved in the implementation of the project activities without a minor financial contribution.

The Level of co-ordination of the public institutions participating in the project – Giurgiu County, Ruse District Administration and Tsenovo Municipality improved as a result of the implemented project activities, which contributed to creating an administrative and institutional framework for cooperation in areas of common interest such as regional importance investments and green economy.

A joint advanced training programme for the staff of the beneficiaries was organized, consisting of:

• A Mentorship Programme organized in Ruse in the period April 23-27, 2018 and in the period June 18, 2018 in Giurgiu;
• A training “Management of public investments" held in Constanta in the period August 06-11, 2018;
• A Training course on Green economy  organized in the period March 24-29, 2019 in Veliko Tarnovo;

Both beneficiaries – Giurgiu County and Tsenovo Municipality also purchased the necessary IT and communication equipment for ensuring a modern framework for the activity of their administrations.

A study visit for exchange of good practices was organized for representatives of the beneficiaries administration in 2 EU Countries - Sweden in the period 24-29.06.2018 and Austria in the period 09-14.09.2018 .

The project contributed with a 4 cross border mechanisms enforcing the cooperation capacity of the 3 partners, namely:

• A Working Group comprising members of all 3 beneficiaries, set-up as a common mechanism for supporting and strengthening investments with the aim to deliberate on the priorities of the cross-border region. As a result, Action Plan for improving conditions at the administrative level in the Giurgiu-Ruse region, which was adopted via a Partnership Agreement signed by the 3 project partners;
• A Network of CBC actors, representing a list of potential partners from Giurgiu County, Ruse District, as well as the visited countries Austria and Sweden intended to facilitate future collaborations between organisation from the cross-border area Ruse-Giurgiu and made available on the website of the 3 partners;
• A Research and analysis of the current situation regarding the implementation of the Green Energy in the Giurgiu-Ruse cross-border region, investigating the existing opportunities for using wind energy, sun energy, water energy, biomass and waste in the region, good practices, as well as the training needs of the partners’ staff. It has thus provided the 3 partners with the necessary data and concentrated perspective on how planning could be put in action.
• Integrated sustainable energy efficiency strategy at the level of RD-GC region designed to guide the project beneficiaries and relevant stakeholders in the Giurgiu-Ruse cross-border region in the field of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. A Cross-border Committee for Strategy Monitoring comprising members of the 3 partners, was set-up as the main organisation structure, responsible for the Strategy management, monitoring, evaluation and updating. Two round tables - in Ruse on 03.10.2018 and in Giurgiu on 04.10.2018 were organized as part of the Strategy development process. Also 2 dedicated seminars were held in Ruse and Giurgiu in view of disseminating the developed Strategy among the stakeholders.