Dear friends of the Danube Region Strategy,

in today's newsletter we invite you to register for the 10th Annual Forum of the
EUSDR and we provide an update on EUSDR embedding into EU funds,
following the adoption of the legislative package on EU Cohesion policy 2021-2027.
Read more below on:

- the 10th Annual Forum of the EUSDR to be held from 26-27 October 2021,
- the two thematic events organised by the Slovak EUSDR Presidency in September,
- the interactive tool on Cohesion policy,
-
the updated
Annex 1b to the EUSDR Guidance Paper on Embedding,
- the overview of specific objectives covered by national and Interreg programmes
in the Danube Region,
- the first LIFE call with an explicit reference to macro-regional strategies,
- the first meeting of the Danube Youth Council Task Force,
- the recently held Bled Strategic Forum 2021 and
- on upcoming EUSDR meetings & events.

With kind regards and best wishes for a productive autumn season
Your DSP Team

10th EUSDR Annual Forum | 26-27 October 2021

© Rasto SK on Shutterstock.com

The 10th EUSDR Annual Forum, jointly organised by the Slovak Republic, the European Commission, the Danube Transnational Programme and with support of the Danube Strategy Point, will take place on 26-27 October 2021. The EUSDR Annual Forum will take place under the motto "Towards a Green & Digital Europe" in a hybrid format: The organisers, presenting participants and EUSDR core stakeholders will physically meet in Bratislava, from where the entire Annual Forum will be streamed. Speakers will give their presentations on-site and registered online participants will have the opportunity to interactively participate in discussions through an online platform. Check agenda and register here.

The event will serve as perfect opportunity to celebrate 10 years of EUSDR implementation and to pass on the EUSDR chairmanship from Slovakia to Ukraine. It will be preceded by the 8th Danube Participation Day organised by EUSDR Priority Area 10 and the Danube Civil Society Forum in an online format from 25-26 October 2021.

Thematic Events by the EUSDR Presidency coming up in September

Leading up to the EUSDR Annual Forum, the Slovak EUSDR Presidency also warmly invites you to the following two events:

Thematic Conference on Innovation & Digitization on 22 September 2021 (9:30-17:00 CEST) to be held in a hybrid format (on-site in Bratislava and online participation possible) and organised by the Slovak EUSDR Presidency

Thematic Conference on Climate Change Adaptation: Challenges and Opportunities in Water Management on 27 September 2021 (9:30-17:00 CEST) to be held in a hybrid format (on-site in Bratislava and online participation possible) and organised by the Slovak EUSDR Presidency in cooperation with EUSDR Priority Area 4


Download agenda and register via the links above!

Interactive Tool on Cohesion Policy & News on EUSDR Embedding

© Oleg Elkov on Shutterstock.com

With the legislative package on EU Cohesion policy having come into force in July 2021 and the programming phase coming to a close in EU Member States, it's time to take a look at how the 394 billion Euros dedicated to Cohesion policy are allocated among policy goals, countries and funds. Find out with the European Commission's interactive tool on Cohesion policy!

The legislative package covers the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF; including Interreg), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the Just Transition Fund (JTF).

Following the publication of the regulations dedicated to these funds in July, the Danube Strategy Point updated the EUSDR compilation of relevant funding instruments (Annex 1b to the EUSDR Guidance Paper on Embedding). The overview was also complemented by the contents of the final single regulations of centrally managed EU programmes as well as NDICI for EU neighbouring countries. IPA III for EU candidate countries is yet to be updated in Annex 1b once the final regulation is available.

EUSDR Overview of Specific Objectives covered by national & Interreg Programmes in the Danube Region

© Danube Strategy Point

In spring 2021 the DSP conducted surveys among the managing authorities (MAs) and National Coordinators (NCs) of the Danube Region on programming processes. Based on the results of the surveys, DSP designed a document which provides insight into which specific objectives of Cohesion policy are covered by national and Interreg programmes in the Danube Region. The document is now available online: see EUSDR Embedding Toolbox, tool 5.

This overview is to be seen as an in-progress document, taking into account incoming contributions (next update in early autumn). Within the EUSDR embedding process, the document serves as an indicative overview to support concrete embedding measures. The document will also serve as a basis for the upcoming meeting of EUSDR ERDF/CF managing authorities to be held on 5 October 2021 in coordination with the Slovak EUSDR Presidency.

If you represent a managing and/or programming authority and you haven't participated in the survey yet, we invite you to do so now:

Survey for ERDF/CF managing authorities
Survey for IPAIII/NDICI programming authorities

In case you already participated and have an update, do share it with us via e-mail. Let's make this overview as comprehensive and up-to-date as possible and bring EUSDR embedding forward together!

First LIFE Call referencing MRS

© LIFE Programme

On 13 July 2021 the LIFE sub-programme Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation opened its Climate Change Adaptation Call, supporting smarter, more systemic and faster adaptation to climate change.

This call particularly encourages projects which support cooperation across borders through EU macro-regional strategies and sea-basin and other maritime strategies, Interreg funding programmes, and cooperation and networking opportunities under the Common Agricultural Policy; making it the first LIFE call with an explicit reference to EU macro-regional strategies!

Read more about the call here.

Danube Youth Council under Development

© Eugenio Marongiu via Shutterstock.com

On 3 September 2021 the Danube Youth Council Task Force (DYC-TF) met for the first time. Representatives of Danube Region countries teamed up under the lead of the EUSDR Slovak Presidency, with the contribution of DG REGIO and the support of the Danube Strategy Point to identify the best options for involving young people in the Danube Region Strategy. Following this first brainstorming session on how to set up a Danube Youth Council, we will keep you posted on further developments.

In the meantime, don’t miss the series of upcoming youth conferences organised by the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg and the Baden-Württemberg State Representation in Berlin to be held from 27-29 September 2021, followed by the Youth.DanubeSalon on 15 October 2021!

Bled Strategic Forum 2021 - Catch up on Youtube

© Bled Strategic Forum

The themes of this year's Bled Strategic Forum ranged from post-pandemic recovery, green and digital transformation, more effective responses to climate change to the future of the EU enlargement process and transatlantic and Indo-Pacific cooperation.
In case you missed out on the leading international conference in Central and South-Eastern Europe this year, catch up now on the various discussions and talks on the BSF youtube channel.
Upcoming EUSDR Meetings & Events

© Danube Strategy Point

Meetings & Events organised under the Slovak EUSDR Presidency
EUSDR NC-PAC meeting - 13 September 2021
EUSDR managing authorities network meeting (ERDF/CF) - 5 October 2021
EUSDR managing authorities network meeting (IPAIII/NDICI -
EU candidate/neighbouring countries) - October 2021 (tbd)



EUSDR Steering Group Meetings
PA 6 - 14 September 2021
PA 1a -
17 September 2021
PA 1b - October 2021 (tbd)


Further EUSDR relevant events

Int. Expert Round Table“ Understanding the Linkages between (Labour) Exploitation,Migration and Human Trafficking” - 14 September 2021

SEED Hub conference on social entrepreneurship and innovation
in care and nursing
- 24 September 2021

Danube Youth Conferences - 27-29 September 2021
EU Western Balkans Summit
- 6 October 2021
EU Week of Regions & Cities - 11-14 October 2021
Danube Business Talks - 13 October 2021
Youth.DanubeSalon - 15 October 2021
12th European Public Communication Conference - 8-9 November 2021

Other MRS
12th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region
27 Semptember - 1 October 2021

Find more upcoming EUSDR relevant events here!

Danube Strategy Point
office@eusdr-dsp.eu
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