July 2013 NewsLithuania-Poland-Russia ENPI Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013 Inside the issue: JTS in action Contract signing speeding up European Cooperation Day 2012 celebrations 3rd Programme Annual Conference Olsztyn Branch Office opened and operating Trainings for Beneficiaries Art competition for children Getting to know Programme regions – Olsztyn Number of contracted projects grows week by week www.lt-pl-ru.eu Programme is co-financed by the European Union Photo: Lidzbark Warmiński, Poland News Lithuania-Poland-Russia ENPI Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013 JTS IN ACTION Małgorzata Woźniak, Head of the JTS: On behalf of the Joint Technical Secretariat I am very glad to welcome all the readers of the NEWS of Lithu- ania-Poland-Russia ENPI CBC Programme 2007-2013! Taking the opportunity I would like to introduce myself and the members of our team. Starting from myself, I would like to say that I had had 10 years of experience in project management before I was officially appointed to the Head of the JTS in December 2012. Since that time I have been coordinating the work of the JTS for successful Programme implementation. Together with my team we do our best to assist the Beneficiaries in all the issues concerning projects implementation, management and monitoring. As a matter of our daily work routine we provide consultations for the Beneficiaries, organize trainings, process and prepare documents necessary for smooth development of the Programme as well as every project. Besides, the JTS works in close and constant cooperation with the Programme’s main structures which are the Joint Managing Authority (represented by Ministry of Regional Development of the Republic of Poland) and Joint Monitoring Committee. Our work requires considerable efforts and abilities to respond to daily mounting challenges but what is most important is the satis- faction and sense of achievement we can derive from the results of our joint work. Natalia Bednarczyk-Jama, PhD, Project Manager: I have over 13 years of theoretical and practical experience in EU project manage- ment, experienced in implementation of Phare and Transition Facility projects. I am familiar with PRAG, DIS and EDIS procedures, implementation of Institution Building Projects, particularly in programming, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and planning. Have you ever thought that I am a Master of Science in Psycholo- gy with a Doctor of Philosophy in Education? Marina Kislyak, Project Manager: I have been working at the JTS since May 2010. I am a Project Manager of several projects with the Russian Beneficiaries and I am a contact person for the JTS Branch Offices in Lithuania and Russia. I have got 17 years of experience in working for Programmes financed by the European Union and Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As for my hobby, I love travelling but I have travelled just a little over recent years as, on the one hand, the work at the JTS requires intense concentration and total commitment, and secondly, Warsaw is a beautiful city and I do enjoy living in it! Jurgita Maciunaite, Project Manager: I am a Project Manager in the JTS. For many years I have been working in an environmental NGO and implemented many successful projects, therefore I am familiar with management of projects from different perspectives, and do my best to help our Beneficiaries to achieve their aims and objectives in the most efficient way. I am very happy to have enough time for my hobbies - yoga classes and swimming. Moreover Warsaw is a great place for the fans of non-commercial movies, I haven’t missed any film festival yet. Sylwia Misztal, Project Manager: I have been a Project Manager in the JTS since the end of 2010. All my professional experience is connected with EU projects (Phare, Transition Facility Programmes). Apart from the tasks connected with the projects I am responsible for Technical Assistance budget in the JTS. During my spare time I like reading Swedish crime stories. Virginija Simkunaite, Project Manager: I am coming from Lithuania. My previous experience in INTERREG IIIA, Lithuania-Poland ETC CBC and Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus ENPI CBC Programmes leaded me to Warsaw to work as a Project Manager. Possibility of permanent learning, cooperation with Programme is co-financed by the European Union 2 News Lithuania-Poland-Russia ENPI Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013 different people from all three countries and satisfaction after reaching tangible results is what I like and appreciate in this work. Since I came to Poland I fell in love with Warsaw and try to enjoy everything what this lively, magical city is offering. Nina Shtok, PhD, Project Manager. I joined the JTS in May 2010. Since that time I have been supporting potential applicants in preparation of their applications, later I participated in the evaluation process of the applications submitted within the first Call for Proposals. Now I am mainly responsible for regular and LSP projects chosen with the Beneficiaries from Russia. My duties are assisting Beneficiaries in imple- mentation of the projects which is mainly consultations on date-to-date issues in their projects, individual meetings, drafting of documents. Paweł Natkaniec, Project Manager: I am responsible for the day-to-day support to projects, provision of concrete information and preparing guidelines to projects Beneficiaries. Before joining this Programme, I worked as a Project Manager in the JTS of PL-BY-UA Programme. Prior to switching to the project level, I worked in the Polish Ministry for Regional Development as a Programme Manager of INTERREG IIIA and ETC Programmes for 7 years. In the JTS, I particularly appreciate the direct contact with projects Beneficiaries and the possibility of creation the positive changes in the CBC region. My hobby is golf. Aleksandra Makowiecka, Information Officer: I’m coming from Gdańsk, Poland. I came to the JTS team in August last year and I am responsible for the LPR Programme visibility and promotion tasks. Previously I had been working for a few years for some American concerns as a Brand Manager. The work here is new experience in my professional life and I am very happy to be a part of the CBC ENPI Programme – now I can feel, that I do something important! Besides work I love all kinds of music, especially opera, but during winter you can meet me snowboarding on a slope. JTS at work Agnieszka Ćwikła, Office Administrator: I am the youngest on the JTS team experience - I have started my job in this Programme in March 2013. I am responsible for all administration tasks and not only… I deal also with some marketing tasks as news section on our webpage. For me working in this team is a great experience and I am very happy that I could enjoy the JTS team. There are many things that I like to do but my main hobby is photography. I simply enjoy taking pictures and then watching them together with my family and friends. Other sections of this NEWS edition will present information on the current stage of the projects contracting and implementation process. A few articles are dedicated to Lithuania-Poland-Russia Programme recent events and trainings organized for the Beneficia- ries. And as a special treat there is a short article about Polish city Olsztyn which is a heart of Masuria region an outstanding resort area of Poland. The city hosts our newly established Branch Office which was opened in October 2012. Enjoy! Małgorzata Woźniak, Head of JTS ENPI CBC Programme Lithuania-Poland-Russia 2007-2013 Programme is co-financed by the European Union 3 News Lithuania-Poland-Russia ENPI Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013 CONTRACTING PROGRESS The contracting process within the Programme became even more intense and fruitful at the second half of 2012 due to determined collaborative efforts of the JMA, JTS and the Beneficiaries. Such a dynamic development of the Grant Contract signing process cleared the way for the implementation of the Projects. 57 Beneficiaries had signed Grant Contracts for their Projects including three Large Scale Projects by April 2013. Overall financial contribution of the Programmed to these actions exceeds 13,000,0001 euro. Taking into consideration the effectiveness, the contracting process is expected to be finalized by the middle of 2013. Second Large Scale Project is signed (LPR/LSP/010/007) December 28, 2012 became very important for the inhabitants of Lithuania-Russia cross-border region. The contract for co-financing a Large Scale Project “Construction of Panemune and Sovetsk by-pass with a bridge over Neman River” was signed. The population of cross-border towns Panemune and Sovetsk has been constantly facing difficult living conditions created by transit traffic going to a cross-border point directly through their towns, i.e. noise, exhaust fumes, dangers of accidents, low mobility.. The only real solution to the towns’ traffic problem and its associated difficulties was creation of a new infrastructure. This is why the Beneficiary of the LSP - Lithuanian Road Admini- stration under the Ministry of Transport and Communication (Lithuania) together with their partner - The State Governmen- Bridge on Nemunas River leading currently to border-crossing tal agency of the Kaliningrad region "Road Department of the point Kaliningrad Region" (Russia) – decided to take this cross-bor- der action. As the result of this project traffic a new by-pass road will be constructed giving an access to a new bridge with a cross-bor- der point which is to be built at the nearest future as well as an existing transit road. Such a by-pass will derive traffic out of urban areas of these two towns .Moreover, the infrastructure created will improve accessibility of the IA Pan-European Trans- port Corridor, especially for transit and long distance traffic.