Cooperation through the eyes of journalists in the East

FOREWORD

FOREWORD
A flavour of
A flavour of
Neighbourhood
neighbourhood
cooperation
cooperation
“What exactly are you achieving with all this money?” This is
a key question we are asked on a daily basis when we talk
about cooperation with our Neighbours in public. Explaining
projects in their specific context is difficult enough. But what is
even more difficult is to show the concrete added value of our
Regional cooperation.

Our best link to the public in the Neighbourhood countries is
the media that can capture, analyse, and finally, tell a story.

I’m therefore proud to present this first story magazine, written
through the ENPI Info Centre under the Regional Information
and Communication Programme. The Partnership through “the
eyes of the journalists” is meant to give readers a flavour of our
cooperation in the 16 countries benefiting from the European
Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument. And, hopefully, it
will help to give an answer to the recurrent question on what
exactly we achieve.

Marcus Cornaro
Director Europe, Southern Mediterranean,
Middle-East and Neighbourhood Policy
EuropeAid Development and Co-operation
Directorate-General

2 Projects in Action – Eastern Neighbours Projects in Action – Eastern Neighbours 3

Index
No political boundaries for forests
Interview with Alexei Grigoriev 43
Saving the Black Sea
by Ilona Iarmoliuk – Ukraine 44
A flavour of Neighbourhood cooperation 3 Purer water for the Caspian Sea
by Shahin Abbasov – Azerbaijan 47
Regional cooperation through the eyes of journalists 6
Our network of journalists 8

Energy
People Carbon footprints leading into the future
by Iryna Tuz – Ukraine 51
Education with European standards
South Caucasus united by common electricity grid
by Maia Edilashvili – Georgia 55
Students, parents and teachers to heal
Blending loans and grants to finance investments
the wounds of Chernobyl
for the Neighbourhood
by ITAR TASS/ENPI Info Centre – Belarus 14
Interview with Richard Weber 58
BikeLand is transforming Ukrainian Carpathians
by Irina Tuz – Ukraine 17
Working across borders to bring people together
Interview with Bodil Person 20 Transport
Will Europe save the old house in Vladimir? First TRACECA Investment Forum may help propel
by ITAR TASS/ENPI Info Centre – Russia 22 Moldovan apples to European supermarkets
by ENPI Info Centre – Moldova 61
Local authorities – a bridge across the neighbourhood
Interview with Frank Samol 25 Safer ports in cleaner waters: towards international
standards of maritime safety
Maritime highways to unlock a key transport route
Environment Interview with Marc Abeille 67
Borders Divide Countries not Rivers Better regulations for safer air travel in TRACECA Partner
by Irina Severin – Moldova 27 Interview with Thibault Raisson 68
Rivers to bridge the Caucasus divide At the cross-roads of development
by Aghavni Harutyunyan – Armenia 30 by Shahin Abbasov – Azerbaijan 69
Managing water resources The big IDEA: coordination for an ambitious programme
by Iryna Tuz – Ukraine 33 Interview with Ashraf Hamed 73
Water quality at stake A faster and safer railway for Armenia
Interview with Steve Warren 36 by Aghavni Harutyunyan – Armenia 74
Forest protection and cranberry pies TRACECA training: teaching the teachers to teach
by ITAR-TASS/ENPI Info Centre – Russia 37 Interview with Rene Meeuws 77
Moldovan Forest under EU Protection
by Dmitri KALAK – Moldova 40
Find out more 78

Regional cooperation
through the eyes
of journalists
Cooperation between the European Union and the countries participating in Telling the story
the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and benefiting from the Euro-
The ENPI Info Centre, in cooperation with journalists and photog-
pean Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument (ENPI) exists on two levels.
raphers in the partner countries, has tracked down, written about
The first is the political. The meetings where leaders get together to decide the
and photographed some of the projects funded. The journalists re- All the stories are available on the “Feature
policy areas on which emphasis should be given. The second deals with turning
searched projects’ activities and spoke to the people who have ben- Section” of the ENPI Info Centre’s website
these decisions into actions on the ground, through the funding of projects, of-
efited from them about their experiences, what they have gained, www.enpi-info.eu in English, French,
fering the Partners practical support in their efforts to bring about change and Russian and Arabic, depending on the
their considerations and thoughts about the future. On their part,
modernization. country.
the photographers captured the story with their lens.
This support is given to Partners mainly on a bilateral level. However, there is Detailed information on and news from the
This magazine includes stories covered in 2010, and gives a flavour Regional projects funded is also available
a regional dimension, whereby funds are allocated to projects involving more on the ENPI Info Centre Website.
of Neighbourhood Cooperation on the ground. The reportages are
than one Neighbourhood country. This regional cooperation programme is
divided into four main categories: people, energy, environment,
managed by EuropeAid.
transport.
It brings partner countries around the table to discuss and act upon issues of
They tell the story of a Partnership.
common interest, be they economic, political or cultural. It supports over 80
programmes and projects in both the Eastern European Neighbour countries
and in the Southern Neighbours. These programmes have a direct or indirect
impact on the lives of ordinary citizens. Through the projects funded, new poli-
cies and actions are promoted within the countries themselves, an on-going
dialogue is maintained and relationships and networks are built.
Regional cooperation is truly a “Channel of Change” in 16 countries, namely:
Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,
Moldova, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Russia, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine.


Our network
of journalists
Journalists collaborating with the ENPI Info Centre. Iryna Tuz is a
Ukrainian journalist and
Partner news agencies: CNA/ITARTASS. correspondent of Radio
Free Europe/Radio
Liberty in Kyiv. Prior to Maia Edilashvili is a Georgian journalist
this she worked as an presently working as assistant editor
Information Expert of and contributor with
the EU-funded project the Tbilisi-based
“The Implementation of Twinning English bimonthly
Operations in Ukraine”. magazine Investor.
ge. She attended
Ilona Iarmoliuk is a Ukrainian journalist based several international
in Kyiv. She is a correspondent for the “Ukrainian training programmes
News” nationwide news agency focusing on in journalism.
international relations. Prior to that she worked
for an Internet Daily newspaper, proUA, which
specializes in Ukraine’s domestic policy. Aghavni Harutyunyan is an Armenian
journalist based in Yerevan. She
attended several local and foreign
training programmes in journalism.
Since 2001, Aghavni Harutyunyan has
Irina Severin is a Moldovan freelance
been covering regional issues, conflicts
journalist based in Chisinau. She is a
in South Caucasus,
regular contributor to RFE/RL broadcasts
legal and human rights
and a communications consultant.
issues working for the
Her professional experience also includes
AZG Armenian Daily.
work as a columnist for the Analytique
newspaper in Chisinau and a TACIS
Communications Expert for the “Border
Management –
Simplification and
Harmonization of
Customs Procedures
Shahin Abbasov is an Azerbaijani
in Moldova” Project.
journalist and correspondent of
Eurasianet, a New York based on-line
resource in Azerbaijan. Previously
he contributed to Country Forecast
Dmitri Сalaс is a Moldovan journalist on Azerbaijan for EIU (Economist
based in Chisinau. He is deputy editor- Intelligence Unit, London) and worked as
in-chief of “Ekonomicheskoe obozrenie” a correspondent and editor-in-chief for
(Economic Survey), a weekly private several leading Azerbaijani newspapers.
newspaper. Dmitri Calac attended He attended several
several training programmes for international programmes
journalists including a course offered for researchers and
by the Berlin Institute for European journalists in the US,
Politics (2003) and Germany, France,
a summer school Morocco, Turkey and
on investigative Ukraine.
journalism in
St-Petersburg
(2002).


People
AzERbAijAn

Education with
Energy European standards
Environment
“It was just cool,” says Zaur Mutallimov, a student from the Azerbaijan Tourism Institute
on his return from an exchange programme in Portugal. “I really enjoyed studying and
being in touch with young people from many European countries.
It turned me into a more open-minded person, aware of European culture and values.”
About 100 people from Azerbaijan have benefited from the country’s participation in
the EU-funded Erasmus Mundus programme over the last three years – enough to
launch an Alumni Network of EU education programmes in the country.

Transport
Text and photos by Shahin Abbasov

Baku – More than 20 projects worth €6 million have been implemented in Azerbaijan
since 1995 under the EU-funded programmes Tempus and Erasmus Mundus. Thanks
to Tempus, says Parviz Bagirov, head of the National Tempus Office in Azerbaijan,
universities have enriched their curriculums in engineering, oil and gas, civic avia-
tion, management of emergency situations, environmental studies, economy, for-
eign languages, ICT subjects and European studies. And what’s important, he adds,
“I really sectors and subjects for cooperation have been chosen by the Azerbaijani side.
enjoyed The European Union Tempus programme offers many forms of cooperation, which
studying include experience sharing in European education standards, elaboration of educa-
and being in tional agendas, provision of modern teaching literature, professional training, stud-
touch with ies abroad, improvement of university management and reform.
young people The Azerbaijani State Oil Academy and the State University of Sumgayit have im-
from many plemented a joint project with the University of Cologne (Germany) to improve the
European teaching of energy resources management. “It was a long and successful project,
countries. approved and renewed by the EU several times,” Bagirov said. Finally the work re-
It turned me ceived support of the Azerbaijani government and ‘Energy resources management’ N The EU-funded immunology
into a more became a separate subject at graduate level. lab at the Azerbaijan Medical
University is the first such facility
open-minded in Azerbaijan.
person, aware Tempus success story
of European Another Tempus success story is the establishment of an
culture and immunology laboratory at the Azerbaijan Medical Univer-
values” sity (AMU). “It is the only research lab on immunology, not
just at AMU but in Azerbaijan as a whole,” Parviz Bagirov
said.
“Before, there was no immunology lab at the AMU,” said
Professor Gulnara Nasrullayeva, head of immunology at the
Azerbaijan Medical University. AMU joined Tempus in 2003
along with universities from Georgia, Armenia, UK, France
and Italy. As a result, the EU funded the establishment of the
first immunology lab in Azerbaijan. “The facility is equipped


with modern medical equipment and has trained personnel,” Nasrullayeva said, add-
ing the lab is part of the teaching process while also conducting modern research.
In 2005, a special immunology course was introduced at AMU thanks to Tempus.
Four top students from AMU went to the University of Westminster and to University
“Erasmus College London in the UK to study immunology. Then two of them were trained in
Mundus is very France. Three of these students are now immunology teachers at AMU, Professor TEMPUS IV for higher education
positive as it Nasrullayeva said.
gives young Supports the modernisation of higher education, creates
Thanks to contacts her university maintained with its European partners, a new
Azerbaijanis a three-year grant agreement within Tempus was signed in 2010 that would help in-
opportunities for cooperation among actors in the field and
chance to visit troduce a distance learning method of teaching immunology to graduate students. enhances understanding
Europe, to study The most successful students will be granted Masters’ diplomas of two universities
Participating countries Objective
there and be – AMU and the University of Westminster. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, The Trans-European Mobility Scheme for
more attached Regional universities also benefit from the programme, for example in Ganja, Na- Moldova, Russia, Ukraine (East) Algeria, University Studies (Tempus) supports the
to European kchivan, Sumgayit, Lankaran and Mingachevir, where they take an active part in the Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, effort of the Partner Countries to modernize
values” process, Bagirov said. occupied Palestinian territory, Syria, Tunisia their higher education systems and creates
Another EU-financed education programme, Erasmus Mundus, has been operation- (South) opportunities for cooperation among
higher education actors of the EU and the
al in Azerbaijan since 2007. It is a cooperation and mobility programme in the field
Timeframe participating countries through joint projects.
of higher education that supports student and teacher exchange and cooperation “Young people
2008-2013 It also enhances understanding between
between the EU and local universities. change a lot cultures as it promotes a people-to-people
for the better approach and promotes convergence with
Budget
Numbers to increase as a result of approximately € 35-39 million per year EU developments in higher education
More young Azerbaijanis are pursuing a European education, with about 2,000 cur- Erasmus Mundus (ENPI) leading to more jobs and growth.
rently at European universities. Azerbaijan’s Education Minister, Misir Mardanov, said exchanges.
recently that the numbers would increase with the implementation of the State pro- They get new
gramme on funding university studies abroad for 2008-2015. knowledge, skills,
Erasmus Mundus is one of the vehicles providing additional possibilities to study in and learn to live
Europe. in a multi-cultural
A consortium of three universities, the Azerbaijan State Tourism Institute (ATI), Ganja environment”
State University, and the private Khazar University, was established in Azerbaijan in Erasmus Mundus II – Action 2 Partnerships
the frame of Erasmus Mundus. Nigar Abbaszade, head of International affairs and Promotes cooperation between higher education institutions through encouraging
projects department at ATI, says similar consortia were established in Georgia and
partnerships, mobility and exchanges of students, researchers and academic staff.
Armenia, together with an international consortium of 18 universities from Azerbai-
jan, Georgia, Armenia, Greece, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Portugal, the Netherlands
and France. Participating countries Objective
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, The Erasmus Mundus II - Action 2
About 100 people from Azerbaijan have benefited from the country’s participation
Moldova, Russia, Ukraine (East) Algeria, Partnerships seeks to promote better
in Erasmus Mundus in three years. Abbaszade says they are all professionals who will Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, understanding and mutual enrichment
not have problems finding good jobs. Parviz Bagirov from the National Tempus office occupied Palestinian territory, Syria, between the EU and third countries and
adds the Alumni Network of EU education programmes will be created in Azerbaijan Tunisia (South) in the medium term strengthens political,
N A new secondary school
in Baku – the government this year, and will “facilitate and promote exchanges within Erasmus Mundus.” cultural, educational and economic links.
invests part of its oil revenues Timeframe
into education infrastructure
“Erasmus Mundus is very positive as it gives young Azerbaijanis a chance to visit
2009-2010
improvement. Europe, to study there and be more attached to European values,” Nigar Abbaszade
from ATI said. She recalls a girl from an Budget
IDP family who had grown up in a refugee € 29 million
camp. Her father was killed during the Kara-
bakh war. “Despite tough living conditions,
she passed university exams, learned Eng-
lish and took part in Erasmus Mundus. The
programme changed her a lot – from a shy
girl she turned into a young, self-confident Find out more
leader,” Abbaszade said. Tempus IV http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/tempus/index_en.php
It is not the only example. “Young people Tempus in Azerbaijan www.tempus-az.org/
ENPI Info Centre webpage – Tempus www.enpi-info.eu/maineast.php?id=248&id_type=10
change a lot for the better as a result of Er-
ENPI Info Centre webpage – Erasmus Mundus II
asmus Mundus exchanges. They get new www.enpi-info.eu/maineast.php?id=246&id_type=10
knowledge, skills, and learn to live in a multi-
cultural environment,” Abbaszade said.


bElARus

Students, parents “Together,
common people
and authorities

and teachers to
are identifying
and addressing
the most
urgent social by local authorities and residents proper. “The idea behind this project,” explains An-

heal the wounds
and economic drey Pinigin, the project manager, “is to improve quality of life through a specific
problems of interaction between local communities and administrative bodies. Together, com-
a particular mon people and authorities are identifying and addressing the most urgent social
region” and economic problems of a particular region.” “What has been
And thanks to the project, some of theses problems find an immediate solution. “The achieved here

of Chernobyl
idea of a dynamic interaction between communities and administrations is quite thanks to the
new,” continues Pinigin, “and that is why one of the most important elements of our joint efforts of
initiative is the organisation of training sessions and workshops for all programme parents and
participants. We hope that the interaction model we are establishing could in future teachers, as
spread throughout Belarus.” well as local,
But there is more to this project than community participation, says Pinigin: “The national and
condition for including each initiative into the project was equal financial participa- international
tion of the Belarusian side.” Local administrations, communities and international organizations,
How do you deal with the consequences of such a disaster as Chernobyl after so donors have thus joined their efforts in support of something that is more than just is impressive: it
a selection of initiatives, but a vision of local development. The project has been of- is a celebration
many years? In a town in Belarus, some students, teachers and parents have joined
ficially endorsed by the Government of Belarus, which has put in charge the Ministry of life”
efforts and refurbished a school. In other villages, people have equipped their for Emergency Situations. Other partners are the Gomel Executive Committee, as
kindergarten, or opened a music school, or restored drinking water wells. well as executive committees of four administrative districts in Gomel region – Buda-
This is how a joint EU-UNDP Programme – funded to minimize the consequences Koshelev, Vetka, Zhitkovichi and Hoiniki, where the project operates.
of the Chernobyl accident – is bringing local communities and administrations
together to heal the suffering and to improve the quality of life. School is our home!
Out of the 60 initiatives submitted under the project, many have already been im-
Text by ITAR TASS/ENPI Info Centre plemented. In the farming town of Krivsk a music school has been opened; an anti
Photos by ITAR TASS/UNDP flash-flood dam has been built in Zapesochiye; in five villages of Buda-Kosheleb,
27 drinking water wells have been restored, while in Velikiye Nemki the secondary
school has changed beyond recognition as a result of a fundamental overhaul. N The opening of the
In September 2010, three projects were completed in the same region: after ma- wells after renovation.
jor refurbishing a school was opened in
Minsk – Refurbishing a school; equipping a rehabilitation centre for children with Pyhan, a kindergarten in Vetka and the
special needs; providing games and physiotherapeutic support to a kindergarten: in Centre for Correctional-Developmental
a word, healing a suffering territory through community-based small scale projects, Training and Rehabilitation for children
mainly addressing children and youth needs. This is the overall aim of a EU-UNDP with special needs was inaugurated in
joint project, launched in August 2010 to the tune of €2.2 million to minimize the the town of Hoiniki. Thanks to the finan-
consequences of the Chernobyl accident in the territory of the Republic of Belarus. cial support received, Vetka kindergar-
ten has been provided with game sets
Bringing together communities and local administrations aimed at helping children improve their
The project took off in August 2010 and was due to be completed by the end of skills, as well as up-to-date physiothera-
2010. Sixty different initiatives are being implemented within the project frame- peutic equipment. Rooms were also
work. Their overall purpose is to improve people’s life and to rehabilitate a territory refurbished, for a total disbursement of
which has suffered enormously from the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. €22,600 from the EU and UN, while Be-
What is peculiar about the project, is that individual initiatives are being suggested larusian partners matched the funding.


Now teachers at the kindergarten are able to put in
place a comprehensive system for physical develop- ukRAinE
ment and rehabilitation, using traditional and non-

From skiers to cyclists:
traditional physical exercise and herbal therapy. “These funds are
As for the school in Pyhan, the project’s authors invested into our
called their initiative “School is Our Home!”. Here, future: our kids”
the students themselves, their parents and teach-
ers – 50 volunteers all together – managed to raise

BikeLand is
the funds to match the international support. For
the first time in 20 years, and thanks to the build-
ing skills acquired by the volunteers, the school was
refurbished, opening its door to enthusiastic pupils
N Young patients and staff

transforming
of the Centre for Correctional- who could proudly sit in rooms they themselves had helped to restore.
Developmental Training in Finally, the 300 kids with special needs living in Hoiniki region will benefit immense-
Hoiniki.
ly from the new equipment acquired through the project by the Centre for Correc-
tional-Developmental Training and Rehabilitation for children with special needs of
Hoiniki town. Recently, the children from the Centre have won prizes in regional and

the Ukrainian
national arts festivals, including a ballet festival called “The Autumn Express”.

Jumping on a trampoline to celebrate life
Completing all three projects at once has been a big event for the local communi-
ties. Adults and children have celebrated their accomplishment through a number

Carpathians
of fairs, concerts, theatre performances and competitions. In Hoiniki on inauguration
day, guests visiting the Rehabilitation Centre ended up jumping on the trampoline Two years ago, people in
with the children…
Yaremche, Western Ukraine, started
“These funds are invested into our future: our kids.”
This is what Jean-Eric Holzapfel, Chargé d’affaires for the European Union in Belarus,
thinking about an alternative to
had to say about this project. “What has been achieved here thanks to the joint ef- the traditional skiing, and borrowed
forts of parents and teachers, as well as local, national and international organiza- the idea of bicycle tourism from
tions, is impressive: it is a celebration of life.” Europe. Several enthusiasts - supported by a Cross Border Cooperation
programme funded by the EU to the tune of €512,000 - decided to lay out
cycling routes, to publish the maps and to get local people interested in
hosting cycling tourists. This is how the BikeLand project began.
Area Based Development of the Text and photos by Iryna Tuz
Chernobyl-Affected Areas of Belarus
Specific socio-economic problems in the Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus are addressed
Yaremche – Dmitry Boiko is surrounded by bicycles
through a participatory community development approach. Projects are selected thanks of all conceivable shapes and sizes. There are moun-
to a dynamic interaction between local communities and administrations. International tain bikes, a white tandem bicycle, a battery-driven
EU and UN funding are being matched by an equal participation of the Belarus side. bike, as well as children’s seats, gloves and helmets.
Dmitry works at a bicycle rental agency called Velo-
http://undp.by/en/undp/db/ac732319d40cdfd9.html
tur, which opened in May 2010 in the small town of
Yaremche, in the Carpathian Mountains. Here jobs
Participating countries Objective are available mostly in winter, when tourists come to
Belarus (Minsk, The project aims to enhance the livelihoods of rural residents in the Chernobyl-affected areas of Belarus. ski. In the summer, the chance of finding an occupa-
Mogilev and Gomel This is done through the promotion of participatory community development approach, meaning that tion is slim. But bicycle tours came to help. “Thanks
districts) the planned output of the project is a working model of interaction and cooperation between the rural
to the BikeLand project,” says Dmitry, “many tourists
residents, the local authorities and other organizations and institutions.
Timeframe
find out about cycling sports for the first time. And
2009-2010 Find out more new employment opportunities are created.”
Project fiche http://undp.by/en/undp/db/ac732319d40cdfd9.html
Budget Project results http://undp.by/en/undp/doc/ee6418705ce01.html It is to everyone’s advantage
€1,504,259 It is not by chance that the Carpathians were chosen:
this region is undergoing a deep economic crisis.


With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, logging stopped almost entirely, so What Victor Zagreba is aiming at is a deep cultural change: “I have been in Europe “Our main
many Ukrainians have been forced to look for seasonal jobs in the EU or Russia. and the bicycle is part of European culture, part of everyday life there. Government challenge now
“On a larger The overall objective of the EU-backed initiative is to attract Ukrainian and foreign officials and mayors all use bicycles. In Ukraine, it is not as popular yet, but our proj- is to make
scale, our tourists through the creation of biking networks and facilities, and through an ap- ect is promoting the bicycle idea because it is great, cool and fashionable, it is a sure that the
mission is propriate information campaign. A highly competent and dedicated team of people democratic means of transport and recreation, and a pastime that is environmen- whole idea
economic was put together to manage the project. Many local associations have joined in, em- tally friendly and local culture conscious, as well as good for your health.” and network
development barking on the task of spreading the word about new tourism opportunities in the of BikeLand is
of the region” region. And two years down the road – the project started in 2008 and ended in July Bicycle as a vehicle preserved”
2010– local residents welcome cycling as a good source of income. For Yuri Karpin, Head of the Recreation Department in Yaremche District Council,
Natalya, the owner of a guesthouse, has been putting up tourists for six years; last the bicycle is a nice way to spend time with family and friends, as well as a means
year her usual skiers were supplemented by cyclists. Her B&B ‘Nastusya’ is equipped to keep fit. According to him, local people have recently changed their attitude to
to receive cyclists. This means tourists who come with their own bikes can leave the bicycle. They have realized that cyclists are tourists
them in a special parking space and wash them after a trip in rainy weather. This who can bring profit. Bike rentals are being opened
status has been granted to her guesthouse as a result of a competition, which was “The bicycle for holiday-makers, and the number of people who
conducted by the BikeLand project. “The winners of the competition,” she says, “were makes tourists come with their own bicycles has grown about three
given Karcher washers, an allowance for building a bike-parking station, and were stay in the times since the start of the project, although official
included in the tourist catalogue which gives information about the region, advises Carpathians data is not yet available. “The bicycle makes tourists
on what to see and where to stay and have a meal.” longer” stay in the Carpathians longer,” says Karpin. “One day
they can go on a walking tour, the next day they can
Cycling enthusiasts drive a quadro-cycle, and on the third rent a bicycle.”
“Four wheels carry the body, two wheels carry the soul.” This is the motto of Vic- BikeLand was at first designed for the Carpathians,
tor Zagreba, BikeLand’s project leader. He was among the enthusiasts who began where bicycle tourism was given a powerful impetus.
developing bicycle tourism in western Ukraine: “In winter, the Carpathians do not Now the organizers are sure that it will cross these
need any advertising,” Victor explains, adding: “Everywhere you look, you see tourists boundaries. One day everybody in Ukraine will mount
with skis on their shoulders. While in summer the cottages stay empty. This is how their bicycles and the country will turn into a BikeLand
we came upon the idea of the project – increasing the influx of tourists in between in the true sense of the word – this is what Victor Za-
the skiing seasons. On a larger scale, our mission is economic development of the greba and his team believe in.
region.”
In order to achieve their aim, Zagreba’s team followed two parallel tracks: creating N The beauty of the Carpathian
mountains is one of the major attractions
“hard” and “soft” infrastructure. The first category includes cycling routes and the for bicycle tourists to visit.
BikeLand network, incorporating guesthouses and recreational facilities. The second
involves disseminating information on what has been done and promoting active
lifestyle in general. “We have published quite a number of maps, brochures, cata-
logues and magazines in Ukrainian, Russian and English, as well as calendars, stick-
ers, advertisements in the media and press-tours,” says Zagreba.
However, the project leader feels there is more to be done: “The financial support BikeLand Project
from the EU ended in July 2010, and it was obvious that our overall objective could
Helps attract Ukrainian and foreign tourists to ecologically safe, accessible and active
not be achieved within the two-year duration of the project. Our main challenge
recreation in the Carpathian region during the non-winter season
now is to make sure that the whole idea and network of BikeLand is preserved.”
N Velotur bicycle rental http://bikeland.com.ua/page/en/project/
agency’s shop in the small
town of Yaremche, in the
Carpathian Mountains.

Participating countries Objective
Romania, Ukraine The project aims to create and maintain a network of biking and hiking routes and facilities for bicycle
tourists; by doing so it seeks to create new opportunities for local economic activity
Timeframe
2008-2010 Find out more
ENPI Info Centre webpage – Environment www.enpi-info.eu/list_projects_east.php?subject=6
Budget ENPI Info Centre webpage – Economy www.enpi-info.eu/list_projects_east.php?subject=4
€ 572680 (EU co- EU Neighbourhood Programme - Romania-Ukraine www.susidstvo.od.ua/page.php?45/
funding € 512680
under PHARE Cross
Border Cooperation
and TACIS)


Interview with Bodil Persson

Working “Cross-border co-operation is “The idea is to help develop
the only initiative with third “Large scale investment projects neighbouring regions by tackling
countries embracing fully such as road construction have a common challenges in fields such as
environment, education and health,

across
balanced participation between very direct impact on the citizens”
Member States and the secure borders and boost people-to-
Partner Countries” people exchanges”

borders to Q: What are the programmes trying to achieve?
Bodil Persson Cross-Border Cooperation under the ENP
(called ENPI CBC) is a whole family of programmes, whose
Is CBC run from Brussels?
Not at all, it is a shared management system, with neighbou-
ring Partner Countries on an equal footing with Member
What is the expected impact on the citizens
of Partner Countries?
The main beneficiaries of the projects are local and regional

bring
main objective should be seen in the context of the EU’s big States. They take joint decisions on how to spend the money administrations, but NGOs and civil society organizations –
enlargement in 2004 and within the identified priorities, and select the projects them- from women’s groups to chambers of commerce – benefit
2007. When the new Member States joined the EU, an ini- selves. The role of the European Commission is to monitor as well. It’s their initiatives that largely underlie the project
tiative was needed to prevent new dividing lines emerging the implementation of the programmes. Each of our 13 pro- proposals. Those organisations act on behalf of the local

people
in Europe. So ENPI CBC was launched, building on the Inter- grammes has a Joint Managing Authority (often hosted by communities whose life eventually improves if a hospital is
reg model of cross-border cooperation within the EU itself. a local or regional administration), which is responsible for renovated or pollution is reduced due to CBC funding. And
The underlying concept is cooperation among regions defi- launching the calls for proposals, the selection of projects, of course large-scale investment projects like road construc-
ned around a border rather than divided by a border. signing the contracts and managing the projects. For the tion have a very direct impact on the citizens. What are the

together
time being, all of them are based in EU- Member States, as challenges the CBC programmes face today? One challenge
What is the focus of ENPI CBC?
you need the technical capacities and experience to run a is the sheer magnitude of the programmes, with so many
We work with 13 main programmes along the EU’s external programme. But in the next generation of CBC program- countries involved. Another is that regionalism and free-
border; each programme will manage hundred of projects. mes, we would like to see Joint Managing Authorities being dom of initiative are instrumental for successful CBC under-
The idea is to fund and help to develop border regions. In based also in the neighbouring Partner Countries. Each of takings. But that kind of culture is relatively new in neigh-
particular by: contributing to economic and social deve- the programmes answers to a Joint Monitoring Committee, bouring countries. Co-operation experience and capacities
lopment; assisting Partner Countries in tackling common which includes all the participating countries. In fact, the evolve over time. For example,
challenges in fields such as the environment, education CBC programmes are based on a fully balanced participa- when we started with Moldova in the late 90s, they came up
and health; helping to ensure efficient and secure borders tion between EU Member States and Partner Countries. It with 3-4 project proposals under each call. Now lots of ideas
while enhancing communication across those borders; and is this body that decides when calls for proposals should be are being generated and lots of proposals coming from Mol-
To prevent the EU’s new external borders finally boosting people-to-people exchanges. Our aim is to held, how much money to allocate for different types of pro- dovan organisations. The same happens in other countries.
from turning into dividing lines, the help local administrations in the border regions to deve- jects and after the call, which projects should be funded. People need time to build up experience.
lop the necessary skills and capacities. These programmes
EU put in place the comprehensive range from the North to the South and currently include
European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) 15 EU member states, 13 neighbouring Partner Countries
including an ambitious initiative focusing and Norway and Turkey in three types of programmes: land
border, sea crossing and sea basin programmes.
on cross-border cooperation (CBC)
between outlying EU Member States and How are such complex programmes funded?
The total budget is €1 billion for the period 2007-2013
CBC - Cross-border cooperation
their neighbours. While the European CBC, a key priority of the ENPI, seeks to reinforce cooperation between
(10% of the ENP budget). Those funds come from the Eu-
Neighbourhood Policy targets external ropean Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) EU Member States and Partner Countries along the external EU borders.
relations with the neighbouring countries as well as from the EU’s European Regional Development
Fund (ERDF). In fact, it is the first time that we are able to
as a whole, the CBC programmes put the http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/ regional-
merge allocations coming from two different budget lines.
focus on equal cooperation across borders There are also contributions from the participating coun-
cooperation/enpi-cross-border/index_en.htm
at local and regional level, explains Head of tries, which in some cases can be very substantial. Russia for
example has decided to put €103 million into the CBC “pot”,
CBC Sector at the European Commission
almost 40% of the EU’s contribution for the programmes in
Bodil Persson in an interview with the which it participates. Russia differs from other neighbours,
ENPI Participating Countries Objectives
Armenia, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, CBC aims to promote economic and social development in border
ENPI Info Centre: “It is a true partnership as it is not part of the ENP but wants to see its relations with
Jordan, Lebanon, Moldova, Palestinian areas. It strives to address common challenges, ensure efficient and
the EU as a strategic partnership. Russia’s matching of CBC
programme. Partners take joint decisions Authority, Russia, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine. secure borders and promote peopletopeople cooperation.
funding reflects these ambitions. The ENPI CBC programme
on how to spend the money within the budgets go to everything from smaller people to people
Timeframe Find out more
identified priorities, and jointly select the networking projects to large-scale projects investing in
2007-2013 ENPI Info Centre CBC fiche >
technical equipment, improving border crossings, and road
projects themselves.” www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=171&id_type=10&lang_id=450
construction, etc. Projects are selected through calls being
Budget Regional Capacity Building Initiative >
launched throughout 2010 to 2012 or awarded directly in
€1,1 billion www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=373&id_type=10
the case of the large scale projects. However, the division of
INTERACT ENPI >
the budget and the types of projects vary from programme
www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=374&id_type=10
to programme.


Veneto Region (Italy), stressed that, “the
RussiA European Union is actively expanding
its dialogue with Russia in search of new
fields for cooperation, where European

Will Europe save
experience could come in handy”.
The meeting brought together experts,
municipal staff, scholars and public of-
ficials from six SPINE countries.

that old house
European know-how
in a historical setting
The aim of integrating energy-efficient
technologies is a pressing issue. Elvira
“This project will Gasanova, project manager from the

in Vladimir?
contribute to the EU Delegation to Russia, pointed out
preservation of that one of the discussion points at the
cultural heritage recent EU-Russia summit in Rostov-on-
in Vladimir Don concerned the Partnership for Modernization initiative, which also involves N The Vladimir puppet theatre
- one of the candidates for the
oblast... EU support in developing energy efficiency. “SPINE serves directly to apply ener- SPINE project.
Its success gy-efficient technologies in historical buildings,” she says. Most importantly, while
largely depends being changed inside, they do not change on the outside. Gasanova is sure “this
When reconstructing a historical building, experts are often faced with the challenge
on effective project will contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage in Vladimir oblast”.
of finding the right balance between using energy-efficient technologies and interaction “Its success largely depends on effective interaction between all partners,” Gasano-
preserving the building’s authenticity. This is precisely what the EU-funded Energy between all va says. “We rely on active involvement of local administration and other stake-
“The overall goal
Efficiency and Urban Development Planning Programme (SPINE) is trying to partners” holders”.
of the project
achieve. It helps the EU’s neighbouring countries learn from European experience The total project cost is €752 581, to be distributed among the participating coun-
is to establish
to breathe new life into old historical buildings using cutting-edge energy saving tries. “This will cover the cost of proposal preparation, situation and strategy as-
an active
sessment, recommendations, as well as implementation of the necessary mea-
technologies. In Russia, Vladimir oblast has become the site of a pilot project. partnership
sures and pilot initiatives,” said Lyudmila Sushkova, deputy head of the work team,
network which
Head of the Department of Bio-Medical Engineering, Vladimir State University. “In
Text by ITAR-TASS/ENPI Info Centre will continue
future we will have to find our own funding sources.”
photos by ITAR-TASS work after the
Russia’s case is peculiar in that architects of the past mainly focused on religious
project cycle is
buildings. According to Sushkova, “with religious monuments it is easier – the
Vladimir – This magnificent town with its white-stone cathedrals and civil architec- over”
Church now takes care of them”. But the situation for civil monuments is more dif-
ture is one of the most ancient urban settlements in Russia. It towers on the high ficult. One of SPINE’s tasks is summarizing the experience of various countries – for
Klyazma bank, 180km northeast of Moscow. The task today is to prevent Vladimir’s instance, that of Italy, which has a vast heritage of civil architecture.
historic landscape from being submerged by modern construction.
Vladimir State University and Vladimir Regional Administration have taken a lead,
forming a partnership in the framework of the EU-funded Energy Efficiency and Ur-
ban Development Planning Programme (SPINE), together with municipalities from
Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Together they will identify one building out of Vladimir’s numerous historical sites.
The building will be restored using new solutions that will make it possible to pre- N The city of Vladimir,
serve its authentic character and apply energy-saving technologies. The project is inside the puppet theatre.

the expected to help fund restoration of historical
buildings and objects of cultural heritage elsewhere
in Russia, particularly in smaller towns.
SPINE is part of the €14 million EU-funded CIUDAD
programme, aimed at helping local authorities in the
EU’s neighbourhood to address urban development
problems in a sustainable manner.
At a presentation of the project in Vladimir in early
July, Andrea Baggioli, the representative of Union-
camere del Veneto - the Association of the Cham-
bers of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture of


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