On 16 May 2023, the Slovenian EUSDR Presidency held the annual meeting of the National Coordinators (NCs) of the EU Strategy for the Danube region (EUSDR) in Brdo pri Kranju (Slovenia). Being organised both hybrid and in-person, the reunion was attended by the delegations of all 14 EUSDR participating states.

The agenda included important topics to enhance implementation of EUSDR by empowering the involvement of the stakeholders. Here are the most important topics discussed during the meeting and viewpoints:

• the activities of the #EUSDR Slovenian Presidency – future events during the mandate -, followed by discussions on the importance of continuing a structured process of cooperation in order to empower national involvement into EUSDR;
• the conclusions of the #EUMRSWeek2023 and of the High-Level Group Meeting, taking place within the margin of the big event that took place from 24 – 28 April 2023, in Brussels;
• a representative of the Danube Youth Council (DYC) presented the Council activity and the young people interests and motivation in providing ideas for the challenges in the Danube Region;
• NCs expressed their interest in involving DYC members in the most important activities of the EUSDR at national level. The involved parties are working for identifying sustainable solutions for the future financing of the DYC activity;
• the Guidelines for Empowering involvement in EUSDR elaborated by the EUSDR Slovenian Presidency was presented, detailing on 12 recommendations for the future EUSDR Presidencies in order to increase EUSDR visibility from national to local authorities, to facilitate funding for implementation and to better political and stakeholders’ involvement; this document putting together important elements for better implementation of the Danube Strategy represent an important contribution of the Slovenian EUSDR Presidency;
• the Slovenian Presidency updated the coordinators on MRS TRIO Presidencies’ cooperation and outcomes from the Priority Area Coordinators meeting in March 2023;
• Danube Strategy Point (DSP) and the #EUSDR Slovenian Presidency presented A Guidance Paper for Embedding the EUSDR into EU Programmes – from programming to implementation, summarising the future steps necessary for the continuation of the embedding process;
• DSP presented the concrete steps for supporting stakeholders’ involvement in EUSDR Priority Areas;
• Danube Strategy Point presented its current activities on communication, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation.

The next joint meeting of the EUSDR National Coordinators – Priority Area Coordinators organised by the EUSDR Slovenian Presidency will take place in September 2023.