In the last days of October, the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the Mitteleuropa Association, chaired by Paolo Petiziol, also president of the EGTC GO, took place between Udine and Aquileia. On the second day of celebrations, Saturday 26 October, the association's 20th annual forum was staged at Palazzo Antonini Stringher, headquarters of the Friuli Foundation. Many local institutions and European diplomats were present, gathered to celebrate the important milestone of the association, which has worked over the years ‘always under the banner of a true political, institutional and cultural mission to build bridges and break down borders at the heart of Europe, thanks to cooperation and international relations’.

Petiziol stressed that ‘we need a successor to take the helm of the Association in my place. And since the achievements belong to everyone, why not create a collective direction in which the actors we have involved over the past decades come in.’

Representing the local administration was the mayor of Udine, Alberto Felice De Toni, and for the regional administration, the councillor for finance, Barbara Zilli, who presented Petiziol with a commemorative plaque from the regional administration to thank him for his commitment and wish the Association well for the next 50 years.

Other speakers included the Rector of the University of Udine Roberto Pinton, former regional councillor for culture Tiziana Gibelli, EGTC GO director Romina Kocina, Civibank vice-president Guglielmo Pelizzo, and Mittelfest president Cristina Mattiussi, the Slovenian Ambassador in Rome Matjaž Longar, the former OSCE High Commissioner Lamberto Zannier, the Commander of the Brigata Alpina Julia and the Multinational Land Force (MLF) Francesco Maioriello, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary Mark Aurel Erszegi and for the Carpathian Euroregion Dawid Laseke.