The third partnership event took place in Villach (Carinthia, Austria) on October 22nd - 23rd 2004

The event was focused on three main sectors:

1. mechanics and engineering;
2. micro-electronics;
3. software

PROGRAMME

The partnership event included:

• one plenary conference to analyse the EU enlargement process;
• three thematic workshops on in-depth issues per each sector;
• planned bilateral meetings between enterprises and economic operators;
• a permanent exhibition area hosting the stands of the project partners from EU Border Regions, Candidate Countries and EU no Border regions: Greece, Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Spain.

BENEFICIARIES

The direct beneficiaries of the initiative were:

• micro companies,
• crafts companies,
• small and medium enterprises,
• sector associations,
• specialised development agencies,
• institutional SME service providers,

Almost 250 participants attended the two-day event, including more than 180 companies operating in the three priority sectors, regional and national institutions, business operators and SME service providers representing nine countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.

EVALUATION RESULTS

The outcomes of Villach partnership event were evaluated on short and mid-term basis, in order to check the degree of satisfaction of the participants and to evaluate the impact of the initiative in a middle-term perspective. The results thus obtained were very good in both cases!

PICTURES