First meeting of the Governing Board of the "SEENET: Translocal network for cooperation between Italy and Southeast Europe" was held in Sarajevo on June 4, 2010 in Stari Grad Municipality Hall, marking formal launch of activities of this project.

The meeting was attended by over 100 eminent participants, among whom was the Ambassador of Italy in Bosnia and Herzegovina Raimondo de Cardona, representatives of the Italian development agency Cooperazione Italiana and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Italy, representatives of Italian regions, as well as prime ministers, mayors and other political representatives of local communities in Southeastern Europe.

Transnational Cooperation Programme of the Mediterranean (MED Program) aims to improve the competitiveness of the Mediterranean area cooperation at the international level in order to promote growth and employment for future generations and support territorial cohesion and actively participate in environmental protection in terms of sustainable development. The Program involves nine EU countries (Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom) financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Bosnia and Herzegovina officially joined the Program in October 2007, as a potential candidate Mediterranean country, and is financed from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance IPA. This allowed partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina to become eligible to participate for the first time in the Mediterranean Transnational Programme and to apply projects in the second public call for proposals which was opened in early 2009.

EUSR EXPRESSES HIS SUPPORT TO BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA IN THE CONTEXT OF EU INTEGRATION

Business Service Centre of the Government of Zenica-Doboj Canton hosted H.E. Valentin Inzko, Special Representative of the EU on April 24, 2010 during a meeting with young politicians where they discussed youth employment and engagement of youth branches of political parties of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Young people make up about 38% of the total unemployed working-age people in Zenica-Doboj Canton, and face significant problems in gaining competencies that enable them to be competitive in the labour market. At the same time a lack of political engagement of young people is visible, who have to be further encouraged to seek solution of many problems.