Fifteen years ago, the European Union and the Danube Region countries set a clear course: work together across borders to tackle shared challenges and unlock the Region’s full potential.

“The importance of the Danube Basin for the EU cannot be underestimated. Our policies and the investments we are making in the Basin through the EU’s cohesion policy in particular have an impact on the livelihoods of 20 million citizens. The Danube needs a specific strategy comparable to the strategy we are developing for the Baltic Sea Region. A one-size-fits all approach doesn’t work in an EU of 27 Member States and 271 regions. We need a targeted policy for the Danube that meets its ecological, transport and socio-economic needs,” declared Commissioner Hübner in 2008.

Adopted by the European Commission on 2010 and officially endorsed and launched into implementation in 2011, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) has grown into a long-term framework for cooperation that keeps the Danube Region connected, resilient, and forward-looking.

The area covered by the EU Strategy for the Danube Region stretches from the Black Forest (Germany) to the Black Sea (Romania–Ukraine–Moldova) and is home to 115 million inhabitants. The EUSDR brings together 14 EU Member States and Accession Countries across this shared space, offering a practical platform to act on challenges that do not stop at national borders and contributing to the achievement of economic, social, and territorial cohesion.

As the EUSDR marks its 15-year anniversary, its founding objectives remains as relevant as ever: creating coordination where fragmented action would fall short, facilitating cooperation and networking of all stakeholders, and building shared solutions for a diverse Region linked by one river – prosperity through diversity.