HISTORY

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

2009

December – June 2009	Romania and Austria promoted, among the EU Member States and third states in the Danube basin, the idea of a new project regarding regional cooperation, in the form of an EU Strategy for the Danube Region, with the Baltic Sea Strategy as a starting point.
18-19 June 2009	The European Council invited the European Commission to submit an EU Strategy for the Danube Region by the end of 2010, resulting in both a Communication of the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament and an Action Plan.
11 December 2009	The first meeting between national coordinators and European Commission experts took place in Brussels, as part of the meeting organized by the Directorate General for Regional Policy (DG Regio) in charge of developing the Strategy.

2010

21 January 2010	The European Parliament passed a Resolution on the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region. The MEPs called on the European Commission to draw up an Action Plan for the implementation of the projects that promote an environmentally-friendly use of the Danube for the purpose of inland navigation, intermodality with other transport systems (particularly the development of high speed transport railway lines), the preservation and improvement of water quality and ecotourism development.
1-2 February 2010	The European Commission, in partnership with the Bavarian town of Ulm, launched the Opening Conference for the process of public consultation on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, which brought together over 300 representatives of the civil society, the banking and business circles, as well as local, regional and national public authorities from all the riparian states.
25-26 February 2010	Two high-level events dedicated to Danube cooperation were held in Budapest: the Conference on economic and social development and the Danube Summit (Prime Ministers’ level) of the Danube Cooperation Process.
10-11 May 2010	The 4th EUSDR Conference took place in Ruse and was focused on the development of administrative capacity and good governance, mainly for the actions and projects to be implemented within the EUSDR.
9-11 June 2010	The Conference on the EU Strategy for the Danube Region was held in Constanta City, Romania. This event was organized by the European Commission, in partnership with the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Romanian Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism.
8 November 2010	The Danube Summit took place in Bucharest. High officials from the riparian states and the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, participated at the event.The Bucharest Summit represented a continuation of the process launched in Germany, at Ulm (6 May 2009), followed by the meeting in Budapest (25 February 2010). During the Summit the discussions focused on the main challenges in the region and on finding ways to address them. It was also discussed about political support of the Danube basin states for the implementation of the Danube Strategy, this commitment being reflected in the adoption of a Declaration.

2011

7-8 November 2011

Foreign Ministers of Danube riparian countries meeting and EUSDR Economic Forum took place in Bucharest. At the ministerial session a set of conclusions was adopted as significant guidelines for the implementation of the EUSDR.

21 November 2011

The High Level Group meetings (HLG) for the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region took place in Brussels.

This was the first time that the meeting was held in this format. In addition to the discussions on the implementation of the two EU macro-regional strategies, an exchange of views took place on the differences and similarities between the approaches of the two strategies.

2012

30-31 January 2012

The second meeting of the National Contact Points / National Coordinators (NCPs) and Priority Area Coordinators (PACs) of the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region was held in Bucharest.

The meeting was attended by representatives of 14 riparian countries, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.

22 October 2012

The second informal meeting of foreign ministers of the Danube riparian states was held at St. Pölten, Austria. The meeting was a good opportunity to analyze the EUSDR state of play one year after its implementation and also within the context of the first evaluation report made by the European Commission in consultation with Member States and with non-member states participating in the Strategy.

27-28 November 2012

The first edition of the Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region was held in Regensburg and it was organized by the European Commission (DG Regio) and the Bavarian government. It represented a moment of evaluation and assessment of the state of implementation of the Danube Strategy, a year after the launch of this cooperation instrument.

Within the Annual Forum, the European Commission presented a first progress report on the EUSDR implementation based on the Member States’s contributions.

The agenda focused on identifying best ways in which macro-regional approach can contribute to economic growth in Europe, focusing on the implementation of flagship EUSDR projects and on the EUSDR’s adequate reflection within the Common Strategic Framework 2014-2020.

2013

9 April 2013	The European Commission launched on 9th April the first report regarding the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR). The report presented the results obtained after 18 months of implementation and evaluated the added value of EU development strategy. This represents a framework document for the development of any other EU macro-regional strategies, and provides a model for the adaptation of the EU cohesion policy to a wider Union, facing a diverse and increasingly competitive global landscape.
16-17 April 2013	The first joint meeting of the national coordinators of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) with the Coordinators of EU structural instruments from Danube Strategy, together with representatives of the European Commission. The event aimed to foster the integration of the Danube Strategy objectives in the programming documents (Partnership Agreements) and the Operational Programmes for EU Member States for the following EU programming period 2014-2020. Another meeting was held with representatives of the two macro-regional strategies already adopted by the EU- EUSDR (in 2011) and the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region EUSBSR (in 2009)- and the representatives of the future EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region EUSAIR, aiming for an exchange of experience and good practice between the two macro-European strategies already in place and a new macro-strategy that will be submitted to the European Council in 2014.
June 2013	The European Commission’s evaluation report regarding the added value of the macro-regional strategies is published.
22 October 2013	Within the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg were adopted the Council’s conclusions regarding the added value of the macro-regional strategies.
28-29 October 2013	The Romanian Government and the European Commission organized in Bucharest, the second edition of the Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. The event took place under the title “Danube Region – Stronger Together, Stronger in the world”, and reunited members from the 14 Danube states, together with the European officials (Commission, European Parliament, Regional Committee), representatives of regions and cities in the territory, academic, business and civil society.