Representative Forum of the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation HELICAS Was Held at the UNWE

In the second panel on the Territorial Cross-Border Cooperation in the New Programming Period. Challenges, perspectives, priorities were discussed specific European projects under the INTERREG Programme, which has been working for 15 years and there have already been built hospitals, universities, sports halls in the cross-border areas. It was concerned the topic of the 87 European territorial cooperation groups in 23 member states, their benefits and the necessity to build new ones in the next period 2021-2027 was also discussed. The issue of the necessity to harmonize the regulations in the neighbouring countries was also raised as many legal obstacles are created in the work on common projects "sometimes at an absurd level". In the panel took part Slaven Klobucar, Committee of Regions, Antonios Karvounis, Head Department of International and European Relations Hellenic Ministry of Interior, Niall Sherin, Centre of Expertise for Good Governance, Council of Europe. Moderator of the panel was Prof. Grigoris Zarotiadis, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Political Sciences of AUTH, Secretary of the Board of HELICAS EGTC. They all united around the idea of building sustainable communities to work together in the cross-border areas, to have common goals, citizens to cooperate across political borders and they also consolidated that they should work in this direction.