14 countries from Europe’s Danube “macro region” will gather for this year’s Danube Forum in Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday 28 and 29 October. Hosted by EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn and Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta, the Forum will discuss how to strengthen the impact of the EU’s Danube Strategy to tackle some of the region’s most pressing challenges like energy security and pollution, crime, missing transport links to lack of competitiveness and the brain drain.

Foreign and Regional Development Ministers will join Commissioner Hahn to take stock of current achievements and challenges, assess progress to date and reflect on the future implementation of the Danube Strategy.

The meeting comes after the recent endorsement by EU Member States of the European Commission’s evaluation report on the added value of the macroregional strategies. This report delivered a positive verdict on the macroregional approach: highlighting its hundreds of new projects, joint initiatives and important networks which bring together EU and non EU countries alike to solve common problems. But the report also reminded governments of the need for more political commitment and leadership and to make the strategy a priority across all relevant policy areas.

More information

• Press Release
• European Union Strategy for the Danube Region
• 2^nd Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Bucharest
• Conference Programme
• Webstreaming (live as of Monday 28 Oct, 14:00)
• 1st report on the implementation of the Strategy (April 2013)
• Evaluation Report concerning the added value of macro-regional strategies