Just a day before the ski season launching, Bansko (Bulgaria) welcomed the representatives of the border regions in Bulgaria and Macedonia. The forum was opened on December 11, 2009 by the Mayor of Municipality of Bansko – Mr. Aleksandar Kravarov who welcomed his colleagues – mayors of Bulgarian and Macedonian border municipalities. Along with the good practices in the field of tourism, he underlined the necessity of greater financial independence of the municipalities underlined as a precondition for municipal development and prosperity of the region as a whole.

Currently, more than a million people live on the territory of Bulgarian-Macedonian border municipalities consisting of 18 000 sq. km. and 165 km border line. A special emphasis of the forum was laid on the economic and social preconditions for future development and improvement of the current bilateral cooperation within the border region. Decentralization and cross-border cooperation were presented from a governmental point of view. A vital interest was provoked by the presentation of the Cross-border Programme and the Instrument for Pre-accession assistance provided on behalf of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works as a Managing Body of the Programme. Sharing of good practices of consultants and experts concerning cross-border projects in different border regions implemented so far turned into a fruitful basis for a further interactive discussion.