21 December 2017; Our EPICAH project team was present at celebrations of 10th anniversary for joining Schengen area in Estonia-Latvia twin towns Valga / Valka.
Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis attended the celebration ceremony at a former border crossing between Valka in Latvia and Valga in Estonia, on December 21.
Historically, twin towns Valga-Valka had been developing as one town; while after the states re-independence, the border regime was established in 1991.On December 21, 2007 Estonia and Latvia acceded to the Schengen Agreement and the border crossing points were removed.
On her speech, President Kaljulaid stressed the role of the Schengen in promoting cooperation between communities in the border region. The heads of state also visited the local vocational education center which offers courses to Estonians as well as Latvians.
Interreg Europe EPICAH (Effectiveness of Policy Instruments for Cross Border Advancement in Heritage ) project, aiming to promote the improvement of the policy instruments for crossborder cooperation processes in the natural and cultural heritage protection.
Read more about our activities in #epicah project: http://www.ctc.ee/running/epicah