In March, the Ministry and the Centre signed a two-year contract. Projects to be implemented in 2017 and 2018:

• Promotion of entrepreneurship among young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo

The purpose of the two projects is to illustrate how support for young entrepreneurs and start-ups is organised in Slovenia, and to encourage the young to engage in mutual cooperation, so that they could exert an influence on changes at the local, entity and national levels, which are vital in order to better tap the potential of the young, their ideas and knowledge. Entrepreneurial and innovative thinking is the basis of healthy economic growth, leading to the prosperity and appropriate development of all citizens. Within the projects, twenty young people from BiH and twenty from Kosovo annually will be given an opportunity to participate in the largest regional start-up conference, where they will meet like-minded peers, investors and representatives of large corporations, and learn from experienced teams from the world of start-ups. Young people with the best ideas will thus be able to further develop their entrepreneurial vision and have a chance to attract investors.

• Assistance to Montenegro with EU accession negotiations

The technical assistance project involves providing direct assistance to the working groups engaged in the EU accession negotiations and to the competent state bodies participating in drafting the negotiating positions. Slovenian experts provide counselling on specific negotiation chapters. The implementation will follow the dynamics of drafting negotiating positions and activities for the opening and provisional closing of chapters, and on other conditions that Montenegro has to meet in order to join the EU.

• Assistance to Albanian municipalities with the preparation of EU and other international projects

The project focuses on the transfer of Slovenian good practices in strategic orientations programming at the national level, as well as on the implementation of specific projects at the local level. It is designed as a series of workshops where Slovenian experts share with representatives of Albanian municipalities, regional development agencies, youth and other active NGOs the fundamentals of project management and their own experiences in the implementation of internationally (particularly EU) funded projects at the regional and local levels. At the end of the training, participants prepare a draft application elaborating on their own idea for a project.

• Assistance with EU integration for Macedonia concerning Chapter 24 – Financial investigations

During the two-year project, the Centre for European Perspective will build Macedonia's capacity to fight organised crime, serious forms of crime and corruption. As the main motive and also the means for the organised criminals' offences is proceeds, one of the main tasks of the Macedonian law enforcement bodies with regard to Chapter 24 is to improve their capacity for seizure, temporary securing and forfeiture of proceeds of crime and illegally acquired property as early as pre-trial investigations. The project will involve three workshops, individual counselling and the development of a training programme with selected examples of Slovenian good practices. The project is being carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior/Police, the Specialised State Prosecutor's Office and the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.

• Capacity building for the exchange of information with regard to irregular migration (Serbia)

In 2018, Serbia will be provided assistance in order to introduce improvements in its system for the exchange of information with regard to irregular migration. With increasing migration, trafficking in human beings is currently the most lucrative business of organised criminal associations, and fighting them is a priority task of all the EU member states, and also Serbia, which is in the process of EU accession. The project, building on an exchange of experience, will involve a gap analysis measuring the current quality of cooperation and information exchange , a workshop for establishing a more effective operational information flow system and  better response to irregular migration in practice, and the presentation of a proposal for practical guidelines on communication.

• Support for the development of energy efficiency policies (Montenegro)

The central topics are the development, adoption and implementation of environmentally responsible policies which promote sustainable development and the more efficient use of natural resources. The purpose of the project to be implemented in 2018 is assistance in identifying the potential of those economic growth solutions which respect natural resources, such as the new development paradigm of the circular economy, which is intended to stop negative trends in the exploitation of non-renewable resources and curb excessive pollution, providing an impetus for the economy at the same time. The public sector can serve as an important model, as it can signal the Montenegrin market how to improve and increase the supply of products and services with a smaller impact on the environment, so the workshop will include a presentation of green public procurement, which is an important lever for transitioning to a circular, low-carbon economy.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Slovenia