EU Strategy for the Danube Region
More connectivity and co-operation create greater prosperity – a future-oriented European programme for 120 million people from Ulm to Constanta.
The catchment area of the Danube has a population of roughly 120 million and covers approximately 800.000 km², extending over 14 states, among them nine EU-member states (Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania) and five countries which are not EU-members (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine and Moldova).
Already before the EU enlargements of 2004 and 2007, Austria supported a stronger cooperation between the countries of this region. In 2002, Austria and Romania thus initiated the Danube-Cooperation-Process. It turned out, however, that without a "Europeanization" of this process the efforts in question did not make substantial headway. Therefore, it was again Austria and Romania who took the initiative for the creation of a EU-Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).
The kick off for the EUSDR finally took place at the European Council in June 2009 when the European Commission was tasked by the heads of state or government to elaborate a macroregional strategy by the end of 2010, the then second macro-regional strategy of the EU after the Baltic Sea Strategy.
After an intense exchange among representatives of countries, regional bodies and non-governmental stakeholders of the Danube region, the European Commission prepared a strategy paper and an action plan.
The action plan consists of four pillars:
- Connecting the Danube Region (transport-infrastructure, energy as well as culture and tourism)
- Protecting the environment in the Danube Region (quality of waters, environmental risks, biodiversity)
- Building prosperity in the Danube Region (knowledge society through research, education and information technologies, competitiveness of enterprises; to invest in people and skills)
- Strengthening the Danube Region (institutional capacity and cooperation, as well as security; organised crime)
The four pillars are again divided into eleven priority areas in which institutions from the member countries take over the coordinating role. Austria was entrusted with the coordination of three priority areas with the aim “to improve mobility and multimodality on inland waterways”, “to invest in people and skills” and “to step up institutional capacity and cooperation”. Austria coordinates these areas in cooperation with three other countries of the Danube region.
The EU-Strategy for the Danube Region was finally endorsed by the European Council on 24 June 2011. Subsequently, the first two annual fora took place in Regensburg and Bucharest in 2012 and 2013. In the following year, it was Vienna that on 26-27 June 2014 hosted the annual forum which attracted over 1100 participants. Hungary currently holds the presidency of the EU-Strategy for the Danube region and will organize the sixth annual forum in Budapest on 18-19 October 2017.
Presently, the Strategy focuses on the following aspects:
- Development of strategic concepts, in order to ensure effective cross-border co-ordination of national measures aimed at strengthening sustainable and socially just competitiveness in view of der Europe 2020 objectives.
- Increase inclusion of civil society and the private sector.
- Stepping up political engagement, in order to implement high visibility projects with a substantial employment Impact.
PROGRAM
16 October 2017
Wednesday, 18 October
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09:00 – 11:00 |
Registration and welcome coffee |
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11:00 – 11:30 |
Opening Ceremony |
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Welcome speech: H.E. Mr Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary |
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11:30 – 13:00 |
Plenary session – Energy Security in the Danube Region |
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Moderator: Mr Levente Benkő, Deputy Secretary of State for Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary H.E. Mr. Victor Negrescu, Minister Delegate for European Affairs of Romania H.E. Ms. Jadranka Joksimović, Minister of European Integration, Republic of Serbia (TBC) H.E. Ms. Natalija Bojko, Deputy Minister of European Integration, Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine H.E. Mr. Ivo Milatic, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, Republic of Croatia H.E. Mr. András Aradszki, Minister of State for Energy, Ministry of National Development of Hungary H.E. Mr Dominique Ristori, Director General for Energy, European Commission |
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13:00 – 14:00 |
Lunch |
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14:00 – 16:00 |
Workshop: Regional Energy security (Brahms Room) |
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Moderator: Mr Péter Kaderják, Director of Regional Centre for Energy Policy Research Mr Dirk Buschle, Deputy Director, Energy Community Mr András Rozmer, Team Leader of Energy Diplomacy, Division of Economic and Global Issues, European External Action Service Ms Malene Hein Nybroe, Head of Gas Development and Preparedness, Energinet Mr László Fritsch, CEO, Hungarian Gas Storage |
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14:00 – 16:00 |
Workshop: Regional Infrastructure Development (Lehár Room) |
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Moderator: Mr Jean Pierre Halkin, Head of Unit of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission Ms Maja Bakran Marcich, Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility, European Commission Mr Jure Leben, State Secretary of Ministry of Infrastructure, Republic of Slovenia Ms Irene Lucius, representative of World Wild Fund for Nature Mr Alberto Cozzi, Representative of the North Adriatic Ports Association Mr Csaba Ungvári, Deputy CEO of GYSEV Zrt, President of the Management Board of GYSEV Cargo Zrt. |
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14:00 – 16:00 |
Workshop: Clean Connectivity (Liszt Room) |
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Moderator: Mr Vladimir Šucha, Director General of the Joint Research Centre Mr Helmut Morsi, Advisor of the Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility, European Commission Mr Oliver Frank, Head of Renewable Energies and Energy-Efficient Mobility Division, Dena Mr Szabolcs Vágvölgyi, Energy Advisor, Századvég Economic Research Institute Mr Rami Syväri, Head of International Business Development of Fortum Mr Henrik Domanovszky , President of Clean Mobility Platform |
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14:00 – 16:00 |
Workshop: Increase the involvement of the non-EU countries of the EUSDR (Bartók Room) |
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Moderator: Mr Michael Ralph, Adviser to the Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission Mr. Almir Šahovič, Assistant Minister for Multilateral Relations, Bosnia and Herzegovina Ms. Silvia Davidoiu, Director General, National Coordinator of Romania Mr. Mihail Dimovski, Executive Director, Regional Environmental Center (TBC) Ms Oxana Gluscenco, Acting Head of Division, Programme Administration Office, Moldovan State Chancellery Mr. Rostyslav Tomenchuk, Adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Hennadii Zubko, Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities of Ukraine |
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16:00 – 18:00 |
Coffee and networking possibility |
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18:00 – 18:30 |
Plenary session: Review of the Day |
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Mr Pál Ságvári, Ambassador-at-Large for Energy Security, substituting the moderator of the ministerial panel, Mr. Levente Benkő, Deputy Secretary of State for Security Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Mr Péter Kaderják, Director of Regional Centre for Energy Policy Research Mr Jean Pierre Halkin, Head of Unit of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission Mr Vladimir Šucha, Director General of the Joint Research Centre Mr Michael Ralph, Adviser to the Deputy Director General of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission |
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18:30 – 19:00 |
Keynote speeches |
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H.E. Ms Corina Crețu, European Commissioner for Regional Policy H.E. Mr. Nándor Csepreghy, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Deputy Minister, Prime Minister’s Office of Hungary |
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19:00 – 22:00 |
Gala Dinner hosted by the Hungarian Presidency |
Thursday, October 19
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08:00 – 09:00 |
Registration |
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09:00 – 09:15 |
Opening Session |
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H.E. Mr Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport and Head of the JRC Mr Balázs Rákossy, Minister of State for the Utilisation of European Union Funding, Ministry for National Economy |
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09:15 – 09:45 |
Plenary session: Joint Research Centre on Danube Reference Data Service Infrastructure |
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Moderator: Ms Franziska Sielker, Newton International Fellow, University of Cambridge Mr Jean Dusart, Technical Project Officer, Joint Research Center Mr Carlo Lavalle, Technical Project Officer, Joint Research Center Mr Zoran Major, Technical Expert, ICPDR |
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09:45 – 10:30 |
Plenary session: Danube Transnational Programme contributing to the Danube Region |
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Moderator: Mr. Eloy Gomez, Communication Officer, Danube Transnational Programme Ms Lena Andersson Pench, Director of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission Mr Roland Arbter, Chair of the Danube Transnational Programme Mr Imre Csalagovits, Head of the Danube Transnational Programme Managing Authority Ms Alessandra Pala, Head of the Danube Transnational Programme Joint Secretariat |
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10:30 – 11:30 |
Workshop: Danube Transnational Programme Capitalisation – Group 1 (Bartók Room) |
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Poles: Cultural values in the Danube Region, Water management, Natural values in the Danube Region, Sustainable mobility |
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10:30 – 11:30 |
Workshop: Danube Transnational Programme Capitalisation – Group 2 (Liszt Room) |
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Poles: Entrepreneurial learning system, Innovative ecosystem for SMEs, RDI framework support |
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10:30 – 11:30 |
Workshop: Danube Transnational Programme Capitalisation – Group 3 (Lehár Room) |
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Poles: Sustainable energy, Waterways |
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10:30 – 11:30 |
Workshop: Danube Transnational Programme Capitalisation – Group 4 (Brahms Room) |
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Poles: Educational governance, Migration and inclusive governance, Participatory and local governance |
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10:30 – 11:30 |
Plenary: Present and Future of the Danube Transnational Programme |
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Moderator: Mr Imre Csalagovits, Head of the Danube Transnational Programme Managing Authority Mr Marco Onida, EUSDR Coordinator, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission Ms Katharina Erdmenger, German Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure Ms Oxana Gluscenco, Acting Head of Division, Programme Administration Office, Moldovan State Chancellery Ms Ghiuler Manole, Project Manager, Romanian Maritime Training Centre |
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11:30 – 12:00 |
Coffee Break |
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12:00 – 13:30 |
Workshop: Funding opportunities for Pillar I of the EUSDR (Bartók Room) |
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Topics: Waterways mobility, Rail-Road-Air Mobility, Sustainable Energy, Culture and Tourism Funding Instruments: Danube Transnational Programme, Horizon 2020, LIFE, Creative Europe |
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12:00 – 13:30 |
Workshop: Funding opportunities for Pillar II of the EUSDR (Liszt Room) |
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Topics: Water Quality, Environmental Risks, Biodiversity and Landscapes Funding Instruments: Danube Transnational Programme, Central Europe, Horizon 2020, LIFE |
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12:00 – 13:30 |
Workshop: Funding opportunities for Pillar III of the EUSDR (Lehár Room) |
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Topics: Knowledge Society, Competitiveness and Enterprises, People and Skills Funding Instruments: Danube Transnational Programme, Horizon 2020, COSME, Central Europe |
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12:00 – 13:30 |
Workshop: Funding opportunities for Pillar IV of the EUSDR (Brahms Room) |
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Topics: Institutional Capacity and Cooperation, Security Funding Instruments: Danube Transnational Programme, Horizon 2020 |
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13:30 – 14:30 |
Lunch |
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14:30 – 15:30 |
Plenary session: The future of macro regional strategies post 2020 |
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Moderator: Mr Jean Pierre Halkin, Head of Unit, of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission Mr Raul Mälk, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Mr Peter Eggensberger, Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection, Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region Mr Nicola Favia, Director of the Office of Research, Analysis and Knowledge Management, Department for Cohesion Policy, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Italian Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region Mr Gábor Jenei, Head of Division, Deputy National Coordinator of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary |
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15:30 – 15:50 |
Handover of EUSDR Presidency |
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Mr Jean Pierre Halkin, Head of Unit of the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission Mr István Joó, Ministerial Commissioner for Water Diplomacy, Export and the Danube Region Strategy, National Coordinator of Hungary H. E. Ms Denitsa Nikolova, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works of Bulgaria |