Participants of the project “Strengthening of the Interboundary Cooperation in Lower Danube Euroregion” worked out resolution, which became not only report about their work, but also perspective plan aimed at strengthening and development of good-neighborly relations between countries-participants of the Euroregion “Lower Danube”.

Partners of the realization of the project due to the program “East-East” were: The Institute of Conflict Resolution – INRECO (Kishinev, Moldova), Agency of the Interboundary Cooperation and European Integration (Kahul, Moldova), The Small and Mediun Entrepreneurship development Fund in the City of Galatz, the Entrepreneurship Support Fund of the City of Izmail.

In the course of realization of the project it took part the meeting with the chairman of the Odessa regional Council N.Skorik and his vice-chairman N.Tyndyuk. The question was carrying-out of the project “Strengthening of the Interboundary Cooperation in Lower Danube Euroregion”. Several items of this project may be included into plans of work for 2007 of the Euroregion “Lower Danube” Council committees. This is even more important because from the 1^st of January 2007 Odessa Region will be in the chair in the Council of the Euroregion “Lower Danube”.

All the aims of the project were reached. Three practical seminars (in Izmail, Ukraine, in Tulcha, Rumania, in Kahul, Moldova) allowed to organize meeting of representatives on local and regional institutions of power an member of the Euroregion “Lower Danube” Council, and members of specialized committees and coordinating Council of the Euroregion “Lower Danube”, and representatives of nonprofit organizations. They discussed problematic questions and ways of their overcoming .

Besides, there were discussed development of relations between non-governmental and governmental sectors aimed at socio-economical development of the Euroregion “Lower Danube” by means of usage of local and regional programs of socio-cultural development, programs of business undertakings support. Participants of the seminar also gave consideration to questions of joint actions for the search of business partners, increase of responsibility of participants if the interboundary cooperation, improvement of investment climate, organization of fair-exhibition.

Participants of the seminar plan to sign the three-sided cooperation agreement till the end of 2006. Realization of the project gave possibility to involve representatives of local and regional institutions of power of Moldova, Ukraine and Rumania into three-sided inter-boundary cooperation, to discuss problems and ways of their settling, gave possibility to discuss topics of future projects and programs of regional development of the Lower Danube Euroregion.

In result of the realization of the project organs of the Euroregion “Lower Danube” Council received recommendations about including into plan concrete actions for 2007, which will allow to activate and make specific work of the Euroregion “Lower Danube”.

Institutions on central governing got detailed analysis of potential of the region and mechanism of its effective use.; analysis of actions of elements of the interboundary cooperation infrastructure recommendations for its effective use; information about possible ways of settling local problems with the help of sources of donor organizations.

At the level of policy of regional development and interboundary cooperation the realization of the project gave possibility to get new idea and new possibilities for cooperation in Moldova and Rumania. All these items create favorable conditions for working-out new projects (for example, construction of ferry complexes Isakcha (Rumania) –Orlovka (Ukraine) ).

Staff of the Entrepreneurship Support Fund of the City of Izmail had possibility to study experience of partners from Moldova and Rumania of export advertising, rendering of services businessmen in search for new partners in the Euroregion “Lower Danube”, to get into new contacts, to discuss circumstances of presenting and topics of new projects of the program “Goodneighbourliness”.

The main difficulty was to receive visa of Rumania, and this difficulty threatened realization of the stage project connected with visit to this country. Further realization of the project as seen in cooperation with the Institute of Conflict Resolution – INRECO on the questions of strategic development of the city of Izmail, creation of coalition in the framework of the Euroregion “Lower Danube”. Cooperation with the Agency of the Interboundary Cooperation and European Integration (Kahul) is the most important on issues of overcoming of unemployment, development of tourism, social protection, development of business undertakings. Cooperation with The Small and Medium Entrepreneurship development Fund (Galatz) is attractive in sphere of development of business undertakings, expansion of interboundary cooperation, export advertising.

Realization of the project is possible with the financial help of the International Renaissance Foundation.

Valentina Stoykova,