Harghita County Council joined in 2022 the expert group of the Link 1, established by the European Commission.

Our membership in this group is another result of the activity of the Brussels “virtual” representation office, and another opportunity for us in terms of local interest representation.

Our goal is to draw the attention of the group members, and thereby the attention of the EU, to those local challenges and needs that arise in relation to EU projects.

2024:

Participation in the Sharing partnership knowledge and skills working group

The aim of the working group is to develop a list of the skills and knowledge required for applying for EU funding.

Within the working group, we formulated the following proposals:

A close partnership is needed between managing authorities, beneficiaries and stakeholders, on the one hand to achieve economic, territorial and social cohesion at EU level, and on the other hand to ensure that funding instruments and EU programs are designed on the basis of real local needs and challenges, while respecting the principles of subsidiarity and the bottom-up approach, and taking into account the competitiveness level of less developed regions. Ignoring this may result in less developed regions not being considered eligible beneficiaries of various forms of support. In order to ensure the proper use of EU funds and to compensate for knowledge and skills gaps in less developed regions, co-creation is needed during the implementation of funds, allowing managing authorities and stakeholders to jointly develop, implement and monitor EU policies, programs and projects. Furthermore, co-creation, as a core principle of partnerships, would also strengthen trust between partners, contributing to the reduction of bureaucracy and excessive unnecessary rules.

Participation in the Partnership in the next, 2028+ programming period working group

The working group is developing recommendations on cohesion policy for the next funding period (2028+), in order to ensure that partners participate comprehensively in the programming and implementation of funding, regardless of the implementation model chosen.

Within the working group, we highlighted the following important aspects regarding the partnership principle of cohesion policy in the post-2027 funding period:

• Close partnership between managing authorities, beneficiaries and stakeholders, ensuring that EU funds are designed on the basis of real local needs and challenges;
• Co-creation, which can serve as a tool for managing authorities and stakeholders to:
• jointly develop, implement and monitor EU funds;
• support multilevel knowledge-sharing;
• compensate for the knowledge and skills gaps of less developed regions during fund implementation;
• strengthen trust between partners;
• reduce bureaucracy.
• Greater involvement of local authorities in the design of EU funds, ensuring that:
• the principles of subsidiarity, the place-based approach and the bottom-up approach are taken into account when designing EU funds and policies;

The competitiveness level of less developed regions is taken into account, as ignoring this may result in less developed regions not being considered eligible for various support schemes.

2023:

Participation in the Complementarity of funding instruments subgroup

To support the work related to the European Community of Practice on Partnership (ECoPP) expert group, a consultation was carried out at the beginning of the year in Harghita County regarding local challenges and needs arising in relation to EU projects. Businesses, public institutions and associations identified as challenges excessive bureaucracy, application guidelines that are not always clear, changes to application conditions during the call period, and the lack of a coordinated/promoted information process at member state level in the languages of national minorities. Regarding the type of assistance they would need, they mentioned the following: legal advice, guidance through bureaucratic procedures, knowledge related to funding, advice on proposal writing, business management advice, financial advice, and support in developing good ideas and solutions.

Participation in the Capacity building of stakeholders subgroup:

Within the subgroup, we had the opportunity to formulate amendment proposals regarding The European Code of Conduct on Partnership.

Our amendment proposals included the following:

• We proposed stronger rewording of certain text sections – with the aim of requiring member states and managing authorities to pay greater attention to involving partners in the design of funding programs, especially involving local authorities in order to create funding programs that correspond to real local needs.
• Regarding managing authorities, we proposed strengthening their institutional capacity so that they can reduce bureaucracy, properly consult on funding programs, make calls more accessible also for national minorities, and simplify the application process.
• In the design of funding programs, we proposed involving representatives of local and regional levels as well – with the aim of ensuring that funding programs are designed according to real local needs, thus avoiding a situation in which less developed regions fall even further behind already developed regions, which may also lead to less developed regions not being eligible for certain funding programs.

Our amendment proposals were incorporated into the document prepared by the subgroup, which was submitted to the European Commission.

Documents:

Link 2

2022:

Participation in the Complementarity of funding instruments subgroup

The main objective of the working group was to select successful projects implemented by different actors and stakeholders from member states, analyze them, and compile the good practices that could also be applied in other member states. Accordingly, we promoted the Szekler product brand as a good practice.

Documents:

Link 3

2021:

We submitted our application to join the European Community of Practice on Partnership (ECoPP) expert group established by the European Commission.

Since 2019, Harghita County Council has been a member of the Link 1

Within our membership, the following opportunities are provided:

• Priority access to join projects or consortia based on calls for proposals in various fields;
• Identification of relevant international partners in specific areas;
• Support in the partnership-building process;
• Assistance in establishing connections with:
• EU, Council of Europe, UN, agencies and other public and private international institutions;
• Local and regional authorities, as well as national governments across Europe;
• European officials, Members of the European Parliament and other relevant international and European authorities;
• Promotion of members’ activities, initiatives and events at European level through ALDA’s communication channels;
• Regular updates via ALDA communication channels – monthly newsletter –
• Access to ALDA and EU publications and informational materials;
• Participation in international events supported by ALDA (conferences, seminars, etc.);
• Priority access to training opportunities (e.g. masterclasses on EU programs, trainings, etc.);
• Participation in ALDA working groups

Over the years, we have submitted our intention to join several project partnership opportunities. In 2023, within the framework of the European Commission’s CERV program, the project titled Link 2 was awarded funding, where ALDA is the lead partner and Harghita County Council participates as a project partner. At the same time, we have also promoted several project partnership opportunities – in areas such as sport, culture, etc. – to institutions in Harghita County.

In terms of partnership building, we have also requested ALDA’s support and participated in events organized by ALDA.

Through ALDA’s monthly newsletters, we regularly receive information about project opportunities, participation in events, and updates on various policies and programs, which we consider important for local advocacy and for strengthening the institution’s international activities.

Harghita County Council has been a member of the Assembly of European Regions (AER) since 1993

The Assembly of European Regions is a pan-European organization representing regions, bringing together 270 regions from 33 member countries and 16 interregional organizations across Europe.

Its objectives include:

• Promoting the principles of subsidiarity and regional democracy;
• Increasing the political influence of regions within European institutions;
• Supporting regions in the European development process;
• Promoting interregional cooperation in Europe

Thanks to this membership, Harghita County Council has, over the years, participated in events organized by various committees in cooperation with other European regions, thus enabling the exchange of experience, trainee exchanges, and the organization of conferences and seminars.

Links:

Link 1

Link 2

Innovation Valley Title for Harghita County

– In May 2023, we applied to the project Link 1, through which the Commission aimed to identify around 100 regions committed to improving the coordination and governance of their research and innovation investments and policies at regional level.

– The initiative is based on the work programme on innovation ecosystems developed under Horizon Europe and the Interregional Innovation Investments Instrument (I3) of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Link 2

– This label comes with significant funding opportunities, as we are currently at the third stage of the program, where special funding opportunities become available. More specifically: a total of €170 million has been allocated to the Regional Innovation Valleys initiative, with the first calls funded by €60 million from Horizon Europe and €62 million from the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) instrument under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

– Regional Innovation Valleys map: Link 3

– Regional Innovation Valleys list: Link 4

Links:

Link 5