The National Authority and Joint Secretariat of the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme organized a technical training for Turkish beneficiaries involved in the projects supported under the first call for projects of the period.

Bülent Özcan, Director-General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs was one of the keynote speakers of the training. He pointed out that the budget allocated to the Interreg Programmes has been increased by 25% by the European Union in the upcoming period 2028-2034 and the budget has increased to 10 billion Euros. Özcan also emphasized that Türkiye will continue to participate in the Programmes in which Türkiye is already participating in the coming period and underlined that negotiations with the European Union are ongoing regarding Türkiye’s participation in the new Interreg Programmes.

In addition, Project Manager Nurkız Yapıcı from the Programme’s Joint Secretariat Office and Zafer Derince head of the General Directorate of Forestry for Istanbul from the Istanbul Forest Regional Directorate also delivered opening speeches.

As part of the training, TESIM expert Hüseyin Aktürk provided beneficiaries with information on tendering and procurement processes during the project implementation phase, while the questions of the beneficiaries regarding the effective and efficient use of EU funds were also answered. Within the scope of the programme, beneficiaries who have gained project experience in the past and are currently implementing projects in the current period also had the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with other participants.