On 1st July Croatia has joined the European Union, becoming its 28th Member State. This is a historic turning point for the country, as well as real evidence of the transformative power of the European Union: torn by conflict only two decades ago, Croatia is now a stable democracy, capable of taking on the obligations of EU membership and of adhering to EU standards.

The Association of Local Democracy Agencies marked the Europe Day on 9 May 2013 with several initiatives. ALDA’s President Oriano Otočan and Director Antonella Valmorbida attended the opening ceremony of the Center for EU and international cooperation in Bale/Valle (Istria, Croatia).The event gathered 150 European, national and regional political representatives, among which Lower Silesia and Liege city’s representatives. A partner meeting for the LDA Dnipropetrovsk was part of this event.

The project Youth Employment and Participation (YEP) gathered 42 young people coming from France, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Croatia. It aimed at linking young people unemployment challenge and the crucial role of their participation to make things move and find solutions.

On 18 February, the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) plenary session took place in Brussels at the Committee of the Regions. ARLEM’s commitment is supported by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the European Investment Bank and the European Commission.

As part of the celebration of the European Day of Languages that was held in Pula on Wendesday, 26th September, numerous ambassadors visited the Region of Istria, among them the Head of Delegation of the European Commission to the Republic of Croatia, Paul Vandoren and the Italian Ambassador in Zagreb Emanuela D’Alessandro.

On 18th and 19th October, Wolverhampton City Council will organise, in Wolverhampton (England) a workshop , which focus on “Volunteers, Voluntary Organisations and Localism – Promoting community sustainability & engagement”.

The partners of the Civil Trust Building project, in a press release, expressed their congratulations to the political leaders on their decision and the positive steps taken by Serbia to reach candidate status.

French delegation from the municipality of Saint-James, from the Lower Normandy Region was on three-day visit in Kruševo, Republic of Macedonia in order to establish an international cooperation between both municipalities.

The kick –off meeting (qui link al pdf: ) of a newly launched project supported by PRINCE, Programme of the European Commission – DG Enlargement, will be held in Budapest, 17/18 February.

Municipality of Medijana, central and biggest municipality in the City of Nis, started the process of developing a ten-year Local Sustainable Development Strategy, 2011 – 2021.

LDA CSS, Center for Civil Resources Development and Media Research Centre Nis in cooperation with the Office for European Affairs of the City of Nis and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) began with preparation of the exhibition entitled “Strong Words” in May 2011.

On May 26 the European Commission published its communication “A new response to a changing Neighbourhood”. The communication comes partly as a follow up to the crucial changes in Europe’s Southern Neighbourhood.

Traditionally, the Open Days of the European Parliament are held on the second Sunday of May. This year, more than 17.000 people visited the building Louise Weiss also known as the new building of the European Parliament.

With the aim of improving relationships and cohabitation among communities, a documentary with interviews of around 100 people of all ages from the region has been produced.

Support and solidarity with citizens of southern Mediterranean Countries is proclaimed unanimously by the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership in a letter to the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, Baroness Catherine Margaret Ashton.

In a declaration signed on the 10th of March, mayors and elected representatives of the local and regional governments of south-east Europe ask the EU to include the local government dimension in its strategic and operational planning for EU enlargement.

On April 5th and 6th, 2011 the Association of European Regions (AER) will hold its Second Black Sea Regional Policy Conference in Batumi, Adjara, Georgia.