DOING BUSINESS WITH THE EU
13.03.2012
In`Tami Residence` Hotel, Palilula Municipality, was a presentation of the "Doing business with the EU." Implementers of this project are the CBC Regional Centre for Small and Medium Enterprises - Nis, as a project manager in cooperation with partners from Bulgaria, the Regional Business Centre for small and medium enterprises in Pernik. The project worth 104,234.95 Euros, financed by the European Union through the Programme Bulgaria-Serbia IPA Cross Border Programme and covers part of the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria (Varna region) and part of Serbia (Nis District). According to Vladimir Dodic, Director of the Regional Centre for Small and Medium Enterprises in Nis, the overall project objectives are: to increase the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises operating in the district of Nis and Pernik region, providing support in the process of integration with the European Union, deepening knowledge of managers of small and medium enterprises on how the business rules in the European Union, providing incentives for successful managers of small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs to adapt procedures and practices of the European Union as the best opportunities for growth and development of their business, and the establishment and intensification of cooperation between Serbian and Bulgarian SMEs.

In the past we have carried out some thirty projects in the cooperation with the Regional SMEs in Nis, said Simeon Iliev, director of Regional business center for small and medium enterprises in Pernik. From Bulgaria there were included about 90 small and medium enterprises since the project focuses on this target group. So far, 25 companies confirmed participation but we expect this number to be much higher in the foreseeable future. Topic "Doing Business with the EU" is very important in education and the successful business performance of our business. With the Regional Centre of SMEs in Niš we have compiled a shared database, features and capacity of small and medium enterprises operating in Nis and Pernik.

We had previously signed a cooperation agreement with the Regional Centre of SMEs in the implementation of these projects and offered training to owners of small and medium enterprises. In Palilula there are about 2000 small and medium enterprises. After a few years we finally come up to projects that give us information about all the procedures and business rules in the EU, says Prof. Dr. Igor Novakovic, president of Palilula Municipality. In this sector there is the opportunity to increase investment and employment. We are obligated as a Municipality to provide access to this information to the small and medium enterprises. Last year we managed to adopt the Action Plan, which covers much of the economy. Thanks to new projects, our group of businessmen from Palilula, we allowed participation in the International Fair in Plovdiv in 2011 and signings of the first commercial contracts. We will do whatever it takes-Novakovic says, to create better business conditions for our entrepreneurs and their successful participation in the EU market.

All individual points of the project, which will last a year, according to Vladimir Dodic, will be handled separately. Lectures will be held in Hotel " Tami Residence." In addition to training managers of companies in Serbia and Bulgaria, the project envisages the development of the manual. "What distinguishes this project from previous years, says the president of Municipality Igor Novakovic, is that certain classes of Bulgarian and Serbian businessmen are held by Nis University Professors. When it began with development of projects foreign teachers were coming here teaching us unnecessary things. Now the situation has changed a lot in favor of our professors who actively participate in the education business and are valued as professionals.