European Union Strategy for the Danube Region

SUMMARY OF:

Communication on a European Union Strategy for Danube Region

Staff working document — Action Plan accompanying the European Union Strategy for Danube Region

WHAT ARE THE AIMS OF THE COMMUNICATION AND ACTION PLAN?

The EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) is a macro-regional strategy* jointly developed by the Danube Region countries and stakeholders and the European Commission, designed to deal with major common challenges. It aims to create synergies and coordinate existing policies and initiatives across the Danube Region.
The 2020 EUSDR Action Plan is the integrated response to these common challenges. It updates and concentrates the 2010 actions, putting them into a strategic background, including the European Green Deal and the digital transition, and provides links to connect the actions with other programmes.

KEY POINTS

The Danube Region is an area defined by its river basin, largely in European Union (EU) territory. Geographically, it refers to: Germany (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Moldova and Ukraine (the regions along the Danube).

Challenges

The strategy deals with major challenges, in particular:

mobility: exploiting the significant environmental and efficiency benefits of inland waterways, including multi-modal transportation, better interconnection with other river basins and modernising inland ports;
energy: greater diversity will increase energy security, while improved efficiency, including energy saving and more renewable sources, is crucial;
environment: the Danube is highly polluted and the impact of transport links, tourist developments, and new energy-producing facilities must be considered;
risks: major flooding, droughts, and industrial pollution events are frequent — prevention, preparedness and effective response require close cooperation and information-sharing;
socio-economic: the region has very wide economic disparity, with a lack of cooperation, both financially and institutionally;
security, serious and organised crime: there are significant problems, including human trafficking and smuggling, while corruption undermines public confidence and hampers development.

The 2020 Action Plan

Proposals for action are designed to:

address a commonly identified need for joint action;
have an impact on the macro-region or a significant part of it, i.e. transnational;
be feasible for the actors in the Danube Region (practically, legally and financially);
be mutually coherent and supportive.

1.
Connecting the Danube Region
Improve mobility and multimodal transport:
- Waterway mobility, including:
  - better waterway and port infrastructure and management;
  - business development;
  - fleet modernisation;
  - higher quality of education and jobs;
  - simpler, harmonised and digitalised administrative processes.
- Rail-road-air mobility, including:
  - completing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) core network crossing the region;
  - supporting Rail Freight Corridors (RFC) forming part of the European rail network for competitive freight extending to candidate and neighbouring countries (see glossary on Neighbourhood policy);
  - enhancing cooperation in air traffic to improve regional connectivity;
  - ensuring sustainable metropolitan transport systems and mobility;
  - improving regional / local cross-border infrastructure and access to rural areas;
  - developing further nodal planning for multimodality.
- Sustainable energy, including:
  - further exploring clean biomass, solar energy, geothermal, hydropower and wind power;
  - promoting energy efficiency and using renewable energy in buildings and heating systems;
  - promoting decarbonisation and reducing air pollutants in the transport sector;
  - sharing best practices and develop activities to reduce energy poverty, protecting vulnerable consumers and empowering consumers to engage in the energy market;
  - exploring new and innovative energy storage solutions;
  - encouraging information-sharing and best practices to improve cooperation, and to initiate joint projects.
- Promote culture and tourism, people-to-people contacts:
  - encouraging sustainable tourism and capitalise on EUSDR projects;
  - boosting cultural tourism and cultural heritage;
  - investing in sustainable quality products, services, innovative forms and infrastructure;
  - fostering skills, education and creating jobs;
  - promoting and encouraging the development of cultural activities and creative sectors.
2.
Protecting the environment
- Restore and maintain water quality:
  - promoting monitoring, prevention and reduction of water pollution deriving from hazardous and emerging substances;
  - continuing to boost investment in building, upgrading, maintaining and rehabilitating urban wastewater treatment facilities;
  - promoting prevention and reduction of diffuse pollution, promoting nutrient retention, smart irrigation and water reuse;
  - improving knowledge related to protecting water resources and safeguarding drinking water supply;
  - promoting measures to enable fish migration in the river basin;
  - promoting measures to adapt to climate change impacts in relation to water quality and quantity;
  - enhancing cooperation, increase and exchange knowledge and secure financing to water quality measures in the region.
- Manage environmental risks:
  - providing support for risk management plans for different hazards;
  - enhancing the capacities and extending the coverage of basin-wide or regional forecasting and warning systems, and rapid response;
  - strengthening disaster prevention and preparedness among governmental and non-governmental organisations;
  - reducing human impacts that result in environmental damage;
  - anticipating the regional and local impacts of climate change.
- Preserve biodiversity, landscapes and the quality of air and soils, including:
  - establishing international cooperation and documentation harmonisation in the river systems protected areas;
  - building the capacity of national and local authorities, non-governmental organisations, and the expert and scientific community in environmental issues;
  - developing conservation action plans and management plans for endangered species;
  - developing methods to prevent and control invasive alien species;
  - enhancing and maintaining soil-related ecosystem services;
  - identifying locations with obsolete pesticide and similar chemical waste and preparing plans in the event of environmental accidents;
  - taking measures to gradually reduce air pollution;
  - stimulating the management and the ecological restoration of wetlands, particularly in the Danube delta.
3.
Building prosperity
- Develop the knowledge society through research, education and information technologies, including:
  - promoting coordination of national, regional and EU funds to stimulate research and innovation excellence;
  - encouraging participation in EU research and innovation programmes, in particular in Horizon Europe;
  - strengthening cooperation among universities, research organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
  - increasing awareness and visibility of science and innovation.
- Support the competitiveness of enterprises, including cluster development, including
  - fostering cooperation and exchange of knowledge between SMEs, academia, the public sector and civil society;
  - improving conditions, support, and capacity building of stakeholders, to enhance collaboration, with an emphasis on rural areas;
  - improving business support to strengthen the innovative and digital capacities of female-led SMEs;
  - enhance the application of artificial intelligence technologies in the regions’ SMEs.
- Invest in people and skills, including:
  - intensifying cooperation in labour market policies;
  - digitalising and innovating in the world of work;
  - integrating vulnerable groups into the labour market;
  - fighting poverty and promoting social inclusion;
  - ensuring quality and efficiency of education and training;
  - offering opportunities for lifelong learning and learning mobility.
4.
Strengthening the region
- Step up institutional capacity and cooperation, including:
  - improving institutional capacity to provide high-quality public services;
  - facilitating the administrative cooperation of communities in border regions;
  - reviewing bottlenecks relating to the low absorption rate of EU funds;
  - supporting better funding coordination;
  - testing and supporting innovative funding solutions;
  - fostering cooperation built on mutual trust between government and non-government organisations;
  - strengthening the involvement of civil society and local organisations in the region.
- Work together to promote security and tackle organised and serious crime, including:
  - enhancing police cooperation to improve security, tackle serious and organised crime, and strengthen efforts against terrorism threats;
  - promoting strategic long-term cooperation between law enforcement organisations through better networking;
  - improving border control systems, document inspection management and cooperation on consular issues;
  - promoting the rule of law and fighting corruption.

Implementation and funding

Implementing actions is the responsibility of all involved, at national regional, urban and local levels, using funding available through EU programmes such as the European Structural and Investment Funds.

BACKGROUND

The EUSDR is one of 4 EU macro-regional strategies.

For more information, see:

EU Strategy for the Danube Region (European Commission)
Danube Region Strategy (EUSDR)
Factsheet: EU Strategy for the Danube Region (European Commission).

KEY TERMS

Macro-regional strategy: an integrated framework to address common challenges faced by a defined geographical area, relating to Member States and non-EU countries located in the same geographical area, which benefit from strengthened cooperation contributing to economic, social and territorial cohesion.

MAIN DOCUMENTS

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — European Union Strategy for Danube Region (COM(2010) 715 final, 8.12.2010)

Commission staff working document — Action Plan replacing Staff Working Document SEC(2010) 1489 final accompanying the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — European Union Strategy for Danube Region (SWD(2020) 59 final, 6.4.2020)