‘’The aim of the incoming amendments to the Balanced Regional Development Act is to give regions a bigger say, allowing them to become more autonomous. We wish to engage regions in territorial dialogue right from the beginning of the preparation of strategic and implementing documents and enable them to have a bigger say on project financing. In short, regions will be the ones making decisions on regional projects in line with their development priorities and goals. We also aim to strengthen the role of regional development agencies, giving them more power by widening the scope of their duties and increasing financing for these duties,’’ said Minister Jevšek in his speech.

‘’We need strong regions, as the country is only as strong as its development regions. I believe that the proposed amendments will make this happen,’’ he added.

The Koper Regional Development Centre has helped carry out numerous projects in the region. As part of the 2014-2020 agreement on the development of the Coastal-Karst statistical region, EU funds were used to improve drinking water supply and wastewater collection and treatment, build new cycling routes, and develop infrastructure in the Izola industrial zone. The centre is currently carrying out a project that promotes entrepreneurship. The Koper Regional Development Centre has also successfully taken part in the implementation of the Interreg Italy-Slovenia Programme and promoted cross-border projects. Similarly, Local Action Group Istra and Local Action Group Kras and Brkini carried out projects that received a total of 1.7 million euros from the EU in the 2014-2020 period. The Koper Regional Development Centre also runs a regional scholarship scheme and has contributed to putting in place a fully developed economic and entrepreneurship infrastructure in the region.