CROSS-BORDER COOPERATION OF SERBIA UNDER THE NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION Edita Stojić-Karanović Third Bilateral Round-Table Conference – September 2009

The strategic orientation of the Republic of Serbia is to join the European Union. It implies to build conditions for free circulation of persons and goods between Serbia and its’neighbors.

At our first Round-Table conference I gave definitions and plead for internal regionalization in Serbia as also a precondition for successful regional and cross-border cooperation (in my presentation under the title: The Importance of Regional, Sub-regional and Inter-regional Cooperation for Serbia)

Definitions Regions inside a country International regions Regionalisation inside a country Regional cooperation of neigbouring countries International cooperation of regions: Euro-regions – the cross-border regional cooperation Regional cooperation among the states Cooperation of international regions

Regions inside the countries in Europe

As one of the form of cross- border cooperation it was presented the form of Euro- regions, with the first one established with Vojvodina Province of Serbia ↓ ↓

Euro-region Danube-Karaš- Maroš-Tisa (DKMT)

When Hungary enteres the EU in 2004, the Neighborhood Program of the Union started to function on the new external borders of the EU.

Border counties and districts from which it was possible to apply for project support for the promotion of cross-border cooperation between Hungary the new EUmember and Romania then candidate, or SCG as a non-member country.

At our second Round-Table I tried to gave arguments for The Importance of Japan’s Support in Regional Cooperation of Serbia Prof. Dr. Edita Stojić-Karanović Institute of International Politics and Economics

There are some huge cross-border projects realised in earlier period ISF “DRC” ESK/2008 The most significant the “Iron Gate” Hydro-Energetic and Navigation System between Serbia and Romania

European transport corridor No. 7 – the river Danube RIVER TRAFFIC ON DANUBE AT IRON GATE

DANUBE - VESSEL MOVES PER RIVER SECTION in 2002 AND 2025 Novi Sad Belgrade Kladovo / Turnu Severin Bulgaria Hungary

Two European Transport Corridors, X and VII, through Serbia Corridor VII Corridor X SERBIA Corridor X Corridor VII

It was estimated that the investment will amount to €95m, the length of the bridge should be 1,080 m, the width should amount to 24.2 m, access roads should be 1,200 m long, whereas access bridges should be 660 meters long. The bridge was planned to be a classical one, with beams, and this bridge be also used as a railway bridge. The official opening of the bridge was planned for in To build a new bridge on the Danube River (European Corridor 7) was planned. It would improve transport in the region on European Corridor 10 and planned to be a contribution of Japan to regional development in SEE.

Dealing with the topic of cross-border cooperation of Serbia under the Neighborhood Program of the European Union at this, the third round-table conference, the existing forms and the open possibilities for furthering cross- border cooperation Serbia's with its neighbors should be treated. The analyze includes the levels of the governmental (national and local) as well as the non- governmental level of cooperation forms (for example the SME cooperation).

EUROPEAN UNION AND THE INTEGRATED BORDER MANAGEMENT

In my paper that will be delivered for the collection of papers I am analyzing in more detailed way:

Border Management in Serbia encompas the following 11 fields of activity: I am proposing a project in the field of Human resources and training for the period 2010 – 2015, asking in it cooperation with experts from Japan, too.

Serbia have to do some more steps toward the EU membership. One important tool for going up is the cross- border cooperation, that hand in hand of Serbia’s cooperation with other countries in the world could ensure the desirable goal: the better life in this corner of Europe,too, that has the burdens of so called Balkanization in the recent history. Dr. Edita Stojic-Karanovic