The 13th annual summit of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) is taking place in Vienna on 20-21 June. It is jointly organised by the Austrian Presidency of the EUSDR, the City of Vienna, and the European Commission.
“Facing geopolitical threats, economic volatility and severe effects of global climate crisis, cooperation in the Danube Region has become more important than ever. Working together across borders proves to be an opportunity to develop joint perspectives for a stable, sustainable and prosperous future not only for the Danube macro-region, but for the whole EU”, the hosts underline.
Pursuing a rotation principle, the EUSDR Presidency is taken over by an EUSDR participating state for a one-year period. Under the slogan “Shaping Transformation, Creating Opportunities: A Prosperous, Resilient and Secure Danube Region”, Austria holds the Presidency of the EUSDR from 1 November 2023 to 31 December 2024. The Presidency of the EUSDR was previously held by Slovenia (from 1 November 2022 to 31 December 2023).
The conference in Vienna will bring together ministers, city mayors, youth, as well as business and civil society organisations. It will mainly focus on the following topics: contributing to stability and security, and a clear European perspective for the whole Danube Region; fostering innovation, skills and business opportunities in the Danube Region; enhancing the Danube Region ecosystem, water and green transition management.
The confirmed speakers include Alexander Schallenberg, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, Michael Ludwig, Mayor and Governor of Vienna, Johannes Hahn, European Commissioner for Budget and Administration.
The EUSDR is a macro-regional strategy adopted by the European Commission in December 2010 and endorsed by the European Council in 2011. Involving 14 countries, it is the largest and most diverse macro-regional strategy: nine EU member states (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, parts of Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia), and five EU candidate countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine.
The area covered by the EU Strategy for the Danube Region stretches from the Black Forest (Germany) to the Black Sea (Romania-Ukraine-Moldova) and is home to 115 million inhabitants.