From among the many cooperation mechanisms developed by the European Union, the Twinning programme has been one of the most extensively and successfully applied institution-building programmes over the past two decades. Through more than 2000 projects, civil servants from the EU Member States have assisted, on behalf of the European Commission, the candidates for EU accession and countries of the European Neighbourhood Policy to reform their administrative systems in order to bring them in line with EU norms and standards. Given the success of Twinning, the extension of the programme to other geographical areas is currently under discussion.

How will it help you?
This seminar will help you to plan and implement successful Twinning projects. In particular, you will be able to:

• deepen your knowledge about the Twinning instrument and share practical experiences with colleagues from other countries;
• be informed in detail about the changes in the 2017 Twinning manual
• get all the relevant tools and insights for analysing Twinning fiches and become more aware of the risks and opportunities associated with any given Twinning project;
• acquire practical skills to prepare both a written proposal as well as the oral selection procedure (the “beauty contest”), thus enhancing your chances of winning a Twinning project;
• strenghten your capacities to manage and implement a Twinning project

Who will benefit most?
The seminar is intended for civil servants of the EU Member States and of the beneficiary countries, including representatives of the “mandated bodies”, involved into the preparation and implementation of Twinning projects.
The preliminary module will help you make the most of the intensive course and immerse yourself in the detailed exercises over the two following days. This module introduces the basics principles of the Twinning programme such as

• what is a Resident Twinning Advisor, a Mandated Body, a National Contact Point?
• how does Twinning differ from other forms of EU-sponsored capacity building measures (Technical Assistance/Service contracts, TAIEX, SIGMA…)?
• what is the role of the EC and EU Member States in Twinning?

If you do not feel that you need to participate in this preliminary module, you can sign up only for the main part of the seminar on 20-21 September.

Make your Twinning project a winning project!