The Municipal Office of Kisvárda hosted by the Annual General Meeting of the Tisza European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation on April 9, 2019. Oszkár Seszták, chairman, Mikhailo Rivis co-chairman, and the mayor of Kisvárda, Tibor Leleszi participated as the founding member at the general meeting. On behalf of the Supervisory Board of Tisza EGTC, Chairman Chubirko Volodymyr and Member of the Supervisory Board István Szabó, Vice-Chairman of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Council. The event was honored by the presence of Mátyás Szilágyi, Head of Mission of the Beregszász Consulate of Hungary, Gupalo Arkady, Consul of the Consulate of Ukraine in Nyíregyháza, Huzinec Jurij, Head of administration of Transcarpathian County Council, and Makovsky Vasil Head, of Department and dr. Balázs Loppert Consul of the Consulate General of Hungary in Uzhgorod, Alexandra Csizmadia Foreign Economic Attaché of the Beregszász Consulate of Hungary and colleagues of the Mayor’s Office of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County Council and the Town Hall of Kisvárda.
A total of five agenda items were discussed and adopted at the General Meeting. On the first item on the agenda, Mrs Andrea Szabóné Cap, Director of the Tisza EGTC, held a professional report on the 2018 activities of the association. Subsequently, Chubirko Volodymyr, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, presented the Commission’s decision on the Simplified Annual Report for 2018, the Balance Sheet and the Profit and Loss Statement and the Independent Auditor’s Report, on the basis of which they were adopted unanimously.
In the remainder of the agenda, the Tisza EGTC procurement rules were adopted, with the involvement of experts. The existence of the regulation is essential for the implementation of the grants awarded under the 2014-2020 Cross-border Cooperation Program of Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine. Following the adoption of the Code, President Oszkár Seszták briefed the participants of the General Meeting on the winning applications. In the case of tenders, the Association participates in two cases as the main candidate. Infrastructure (LIP) “Zero Waste” tender was one of the most pressing cross-border issues, the issue of solid waste management. Within the framework of the tender, a depot will be established at the Makkosjános waste management plant and a waste sorting plant will be launched. On the Hungarian side, in Kisvárda, a biogas plant is being built within the framework of the tender.
The application submitted as the main partner for the second open single tender is also in line with the Tisza EGTC’s priority objectives of environmental assessment of revitalization of natural resources on Aknaszlatina to prevent further pollution of the Upper Tisza Basin by establishing a comprehensive monitoring system (REVITAL I). The preparation of the proposal has been elaborated and submitted on the basis of a proposal from the European Commission’s Consultative Delegation. Both applications received the notification of a positive decision and the submission of the deficiencies was already carried out in the framework of REVITAl I. Preparations are well under way, negotiations are underway.
Subsequently, director Andrea Szabóné Cap and Judit Jevcsák deputy director presented the calendar of the 2019 event of the Tisza EGTC and the draft budget for 2019 with the members of the general meeting.
At the close of the General Assembly, Mikhailo Rivis, chairman of the Transcarpathian County Council, thanked both the Hungarian side and the staff of the Tisza EGTC for their work. He also informed the participants that, thanks to his personal intervention, the process was accelerated, as a result of which the Supreme Council of Ukraine adopted on 4 September 2018 the law on the establishment of European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation. This is a significant step forward, as EGTC, as a legal entity registered in Hungary, that is an EU country, can operate legally in Transcarpathia without the need for a separate registration in Ukraine. Mr President praised the results achieved so far and asked further good work and successful cooperation for the year 2019.
As the closing part of the event, Tibor Leleszi, the mayor of Kisvárda, invited all those present to a short sightseeing tour, where guests could see the sights of Kisvárda and the building of the recently renovated synagogue.
After the general meeting dr. Miklós Seszták, a government commissioner responsible for coordinating some of the Carpathian Basin’s economic recovery programs and coordinated development tasks, as well as tourism developments, also welcomed the participants of the event, which included opportunities for future cooperation, the development of the Hungarian-Ukrainian cross-border cooperation and the plan to build the Lisbon-Kiev international corridor.