# EUR-Lex - 52013DC0181 - EN

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# 52013DC0181

**REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS concerning the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region /* COM/2013/0181 final */**

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

concerning the European Union Strategy for
the Danube Region

1.           Introduction

The Danube Region covers 14 countries,
eight of them EU Member States. It is home to more than 100 million people, a fifth
of the EU’s population. The countries are different in terms of economic
strength, but the Region is strongly interlinked, with potential for further
integration and growth.

The Region has been transformed by the two
last rounds of EU enlargement: Croatia is soon to join. There are a further
five countries developing their political, socio-economic and sectoral links
with the EU in various ways. The Region has a strategic position, opening the
EU to its neighbours, the Black Sea region, the South Caucasus and Central Asia. It hosts the world’s most international river, which is a major transport
axis, a vital inter-connected hydrological basin and a world-renowned ecological
corridor.

The Region is thus connected through opportunities
and challenges. The policies of the countries are interdependent. They could
however benefit greatly from further improved cooperation, for example, in completing
missing transport links, reducing pollution and danger from floods, lowering dependency
on energy providers from outside the Region, and addressing demographic change
or brain drain. The competitiveness of the Region could also profit substantially
from joint action in the fields of SME, labour market policies, education and
security. There is a need to improve institutional capacity at all levels.

The European Council requested the Commission
to prepare an EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), in the Presidency
Conclusions of 18 June 2009. The Commission responded to the Council request in
its Communication of 8 December 2010. In April 2011, the Council endorsed the
Communication with its annexed Action Plan, which identifies concrete actions
and examples of projects in 11 thematic Priority Areas. It follows the approach
pioneered by the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

The Strategy provides a robust integrated
framework for countries and regions to address issues which cannot be handled satisfactorily
in an isolated way, but instead require transnational strategic approaches,
projects and networking. It allows for better cooperation to improve the
effectiveness, leverage and impact of policies, at EU, national and local
level, utilising existing policies and programmes and creating synergies
between them.

The Strategy operates at an intermediate
level between national and EU-wide work on topics such as research and
innovation, migration or security. It strengthens the integration of countries with
the EU, and brings countries in the Western Balkans, Moldova and regions of the
 Ukraine closer to the Union.

After 18 months of implementation, significant
achievements are evident. The Strategy:

–
promotes concrete transnational projects with
impacts on the Region and gives new impulse to action in the Region;

–
supports the coordination of different national
and EU policies and funds, and paves the way for more coherence and better
results, with more impact for 2014-2020;

–
develops a wide-ranging cooperation platform, addressing
challenges that have been identified as needing joint attention. There are 24
Priority Area Coordinators and 14 National Contact Points driving implementation
forward;

–
highlights the political importance of the
Region, through strategic support at ministerial level and concrete advances in
terms of implementation;

The following chapters report on these
achievements, giving concrete examples, while identifying areas that need more
attention. Chapter 5 summarises lessons learnt and Chapter 6 suggests
recommendations for the future.

2.           Projects, policies and networks
for the Danube Region

The Strategy focuses particularly on
concrete and strategic projects and initiatives with a macro-regional impact. The
Strategy and its Action Plan are organised around four pillars to address the
major issues. It facilitates new projects, gives new momentum to existing
projects and supports networks for the Region[1].

2.1.        Connecting the Danube Region

New projects

–
New research projects on innovative vessels,
such as the project NEWS, are developing technological solutions to renew the Danube fleet, with more competitive and environmentally friendlier approaches, e.g. through
more efficient, cleaner engines, and better ship body design. This contributes
to the overall goal to increase sustainable cargo transport on the river by 20 %
by 2020, compared to 2010;

–
Shipwrecks are being removed from the Danube,
Sava and Tisa, improving navigation and ecological conditions. The project to
remove wrecks totalling some 15 000 tons, initiated by the Serbian Chamber of
Commerce as part of the Strategy, also involves the private sector;

–
Work on the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnector
project has advanced, linking the Baltic Sea area to the Adriatic and Aegean Seas and further to the Black Sea. The gas pipeline will be 150 km long. It contributes
to gas supply diversification, ensures gas supply security and completes the
important regional gas supply ‘ring’.

New momentum to existing projects

–
The cooperative approach has facilitated the completion
of the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, linking Romania and Bulgaria. The bridge is
co-financed by European Funds and is only the second bridge along the 630 km river
section of the border, providing an important missing link in the
Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

New policy coordination initiatives

–
At the invitation of the Commission, the
ministers of transport of the Danube Region on 7 June 2012 adopted a Declaration
on maintenance of the Danube waterway, committing themselves to concrete
measures, including surveillance of water depth and signalling navigation
routes in shallow sections. This has in turn led to an agreement between Romania and Bulgaria to plan work together jointly and to share equipment;

–
A Danube Region Gas Market Model has been developed
to quantify the regional impact of the gas infrastructure projects planned in
the Region, resulting in the Danube countries now agreeing on a set of policy
recommendations for future such projects.

2.2.        Protecting the environment
in the Danube Region

New projects

–
The Commission Directorate General for Research
and Innovation has launched a call for research projects, to design
environmental research and improve the uptake of results in the Region. This has
mobilised significant actors and resources from public (national and EU) and
private sources for efficient river-delta-coast-sea management overall;

–
The Danube Sturgeon Task Force has been created
to secure viable populations of this important fish in the river, facilitating
projects, measures and initiatives for bringing sturgeon back. It promotes a
cross-cutting approach, linking biodiversity to policy areas such as water
quality, permeability of habitats, economic development, environmental
education, and even prevention of crime (related to the illegal caviar trade).

New momentum to existing projects

–
The DANUBE FLOODRISK project explores methods
and databases on which countries can work together jointly. In all, 19
institutions in 8 Danube countries are participating, and accelerating progress
towards shared databases and flood mapping. The European Flood Awareness System
(EFAS) is also carrying out complementary work.

2.3.        Building prosperity in the
 Danube Region

New projects

–
The Commission Directorate General for
Communication Networks, Content and Technology has launched a new
e-infrastructure project under the 7th Framework Programme to improve access to
and provision of advanced computing services to researchers. The new
e-infrastructure will act as a bridge to the supercomputer facilities of the
European PRACE initiative for countries in the Danube region, and indeed also
for some Caucasus countries. The SEERA-EI project capitalises on this, placing
it and other work on a Danube regional agenda;

–
The Danube Region Business Forum, coordinated by
the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, provides an important networking platform for
over 300 SMEs. It encourages business-to-business meetings, and supports links with
knowledge providers such as research institutes and universities.

–
Technology transfer centres are being
established in the Danube Region, with five pilot projects attached to
important Danube Region universities, to improve links between academia and the
private sector;

–
In another pilot project, Danube schools and
students are jointly developing innovative training courses and creative
educational programmes to promote transnational contacts between cultures, with
an emphasis on active citizenship and commitment to sustainable development. An
innovative guide for teachers is being developed to apply throughout the whole
Danube Region.

New policy coordination initiatives

–
Work has started to create a Danube Research and
Innovation Fund, pooling national and regional funds, building on the
experiences of the BONUS programme in the Baltic Sea Region. A joint Declaration
of Danube Region Ministers for Research was signed in Ulm on 9 July 2012, paving
the way for preparatory work. The Directorate General for Research and
Innovation and the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy supports
this work, notably through a Danube INCO.net and other assistance.

2.4.        Strengthening the Danube Region

New projects

–
The Joint Research Centre has launched an
initiative to provide scientific support to the Strategy, in cooperation with
key scientific partners from the Region. Work has started on setting up a Danube-wide
reference data and service infrastructure on common challenges such as environment
protection, navigability, irrigation and agricultural development and energy
production. Four thematic scientific clusters are being launched to foster
scientific cooperation and to streamline research activities. A special focus
on Smart Specialisation Strategies supports countries and regions in setting up
regional innovation strategies;

–
With the aim to improve the access to finance in
the Region, the Danube Financing Dialogue matches project ideas to funds,
bringing project promoters, such as SMEs, together with banks, international
financing institutions and funding programmes.

New policy coordination initiatives

–
A police chief meeting in January 2012 launched an
initiative to intensify cooperation among police authorities in the Danube
Region, improving measures against river-related crimes (including organised
crime), and setting up a transnational law enforcement platform. In addition,
EUROPOL has developed a specific project on threat analysis for the Danube
Region.

3.           Making the most of what
is there: Aligning funding sources and creating synergies

The work has been achieved through improving
the way in which resources and knowhow, often already available to the Region,
are utilised through better coordination. Building on this approach, the
Strategy aims to achieve better results and greater impact by aligning existing
funds and policies at EU, national and regional level. Examples include:

–
infrastructure projects, such as the wastewater
treatment plant in Budapest, ensuring better water quality throughout the
Region, financed from European Structural and Investment Funds;

–
cross-border programmes, such as Romania-Serbia,
and Hungary-Serbia, are increasingly aligned with the Strategy, using specific
calls or attributing extra points in selection procedures. Serbia alone earmarked EUR 19 million for Strategy-specific projects in the 2011 IPA
cross-border cooperation component;

–
transnational cooperation programmes, such as South
East Europe and Central Europe, have financed new Danube Strategy projects;

–
the 7th Framework Programme for Research has
launched three calls specifically addressing Danube Region challenges, on an innovative
fleet, on environmental solutions, and on the coordination of science and
technology policies;

–
projects co-financed by the Directorate General
for Enterprise and Industry have supported transnational sustainable tourism in
the Danube Region;

–
the entire length of the River Danube is now taken
into account in the draft revised guidelines for the Trans-European Transport
Network;

–
in the context of the Western Balkans Investment
Framework funded under the Instrument for Pre-Accession, priority is given to
projects that comply with the Strategy;

–
the European Parliament supports pilot projects
and preparatory actions for the Danube Region, providing Priority Area
Coordinators with technical assistance, and encouraging innovative approaches for
implementing the Strategy;

–
regions, such as Baden Württemberg, have
themselves set aside funds to support the Strategy, including for the initial
phase of projects with an explicit macro-regional impact;

–
the European Investment Bank has, together with Hungary, set up the Budapest Danube Contact Point to facilitate the development of
transnational investment projects;

–
similar work is on-going towards an overall
Danube Region Technical Assistance Facility, facilitating the project
preparation phase.

With regard to the important upcoming
programming period 2014-2020, it is crucial that programmes and policies can be
further utilised to implement the Strategy:

–
macro-regional strategies are being highlighted
in the Common Strategic Framework covering the coordination of the European
Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). This provides the programming process with
strategic direction, and facilitates sectorial and territorial linkage for
funds under shared management, namely the Cohesion Fund, the European Regional
Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for
Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund;

–
the macro-regional approach is being featured in
Partnership Agreements, for the individual countries, to ensure that national/regional
and cooperation programmes all take the approach into account. This provides
funding for the Strategy in future through ESIF, and thus ensures
sustainability for the coming years;

–
a re-defined and specific transnational
cooperation programme is created for the Danube Region, to finance networking
projects, and to provide institutional support for implementation and
governance.

4.           A cooperation platform

For the first time in the Region, therefore,
following conflicts and divisions, and building on enlargement, the Strategy
puts in place an operational cooperation structure to address challenges the Danube
Region shares in a cooperative way. As well as consisting of projects and
programming, this is also an important new platform, involving a wide range of
stakeholders, including countries of the Danube Region politically committed at
the overall level.

Without creating new institutions, this
platform allows key stakeholders of national
and regional administrations to drive the day-to-day implementation forward:

–
the Strategy is organised in 11 functional Priority
Areas bringing together expertise and responsibility: (1) Inland waterways and
rail, road and air transport; (2) Energy; (3) Culture and tourism; (4) Water quality;
(5) Environmental risks; (6) Biodiversity; (7) Knowledge society and information
technologies; (8) Competitiveness and cluster development; (9) Investments in people
and skills; (10) Institutional capacity; (11) Security.

–
These are run by Priority Area Coordinators
(PACs), high-level officials of national and regional administrations, experts
in their thematic areas. They are supported by counterparts from the Danube
Region, and are organised in 11 Steering Groups, one per Priority Area. These are
important new cooperation platforms in their own right;

–
at national and regional level, implementation
is ensured by National Contact Points (NCP), embedding the Strategy in national
and regional settings and making policy-makers ‘think macro-regional’. Political
commitment is obtained through meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs as well
as sector ministers, and through initiatives by cities and regions;

–
the European level facilitates implementation,
as well as embedding the Strategy in EU policies, through contact with
stakeholders in the Danube countries, establishing links to EU decision makers,
for example, through regular fora for members of the European Parliament, by having
Commission officials regularly taking part in Danube-wide meetings, and through
institutional support provided by the EU budget;

–
the EU programme INTERACT provides capacity-building
and organisational support, as well as communication tools (e.g. visual
identity, website, newsletter) publicising results of the Strategy in the media
and to the general public;

–
building on what has already been established,
the Strategy also gives prominence and operational support to existing
institutions in the Region, such as the International Commission for the
Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), addressing environmental and water
quality issues, and the Danube Commission, working on navigability. Civil
society actors are included in the work, including in stakeholder seminars,
Steering Groups and the Annual Forum, and particularly in Priority Area 10, ‘Institutional
Capacity’.

5.           Lessons learned

After the initial period of implementation,
the following key lessons learned can be identified:

Implementation structure

·
National Contact Points, Priority Area
Coordinators and their Steering Groups form the implementation core of the
Strategy. Their work needs further embedding in political and administrative
structures. Their visible, central role requires institutional stability,
political recognition and allocation of sufficient human resources. Adequate
staff and support from ministries to enable them to fulfil their role is
crucial;

·
Experience shows that national coordination
works better in countries that have set up inter-ministerial working groups for
coordinating Danube work at national level, particularly where platforms have
been set up at political or senior civil servant level, and where a technical
secretariat supports their work. This is good practice, which should be
encouraged throughout the Region;

·
The EU budget can provide limited direct funding
for the implementation structure until 2014. However, as funding is not
guaranteed after that, other means of support need to be found, such as
national sources, the future Danube transnational cooperation programme and the
future INTERACT programme.

Political support

·
High-level political support launched the
Strategy and remains crucial for its implementation. Ministerial meetings (on
transport, research and innovation, energy) have significantly advanced
maintenance of the River Danube, coordination of national and regional research
and innovation policies and support for non-EU Member States implementing the 3rd
Energy Package under the Energy Community;

·
Meetings of Foreign Ministers have emphasised
overall political support for the Strategy. The active role of Hungary during its Presidency accelerated the work. This is particularly useful when the
political level is linked to the cycle of Strategy events.

Financing concrete actions

·
Making best use of existing policies and
programmes, such as European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), the
Instrument for Pre-Accession, the TEN-T programme, the Framework Programme for
Research and Development or private funds is crucial. With regard to 2014-2020,
it is essential to integrate the Strategy systematically in programmes. There
needs to be a joint effort from Danube countries, regions and the European
Commission;

·
Important initiatives have been launched to
support projects in their preparation phase and to improve access to finance,
such as the Danube Region Technical Assistance Facility, funds from the State
of Baden-Württemberg, the Budapest Danube Contact Point or the Danube Finance
Dialogue. Links between the initiatives should be enhanced.

Strengthening existing initiatives

·
Synergies with existing bodies and initiatives,
such as the ICPDR, the Energy Community or the International Organisation for
Migration have been established, and need to be strengthened. Involving existing
institutions, bodies and networks builds on positive experiences elsewhere,
notably in the Baltic Sea Region. This is increasingly being facilitated by the
High Level Group, set up for macro-regional initiative guidance, advising on
this work, which reinforces available expertise, avoids parallel structures and
makes best use of available resources.

Result orientation and targets

·
Targets, milestones and roadmaps prioritise
work, contribute to timely implementation and facilitate communication of the
Strategy’s potential. They should be continuously reviewed and monitored.

Integrating policies and funds

·
There is specific value in integrative
approaches, for example in combining navigation and environmental interests in
the development of the river, such as on the stretch east of Vienna. The
Commission facilitates cross-sectoral cooperation, for example in the
scientific field through the activities of the Joint Research Centre, involving
the relevant services and multiple funding sources. In general, more use should
be made of EU-level frameworks, emphasising that the Danube Region comprises much
more than just the river.

Integration of non EU countries

·
The Strategy involves six non-EU countries at an
equal level, supporting integration processes and increasing cooperation in the
Region. Innovative solutions to facilitate the participation of these countries
and to finance project implementation need to be found and strengthened. This
already includes full participation in Priority Area coordination and in
Steering Groups, where support in relation to participation is receiving
special attention. Funds have been identified from EU allocations for Danube
Strategy activities by at least one non-EU countries and this is good practice
for others to follow.

Communication

·
The common visual identity, the comprehensive
website covering all Priority Areas, the newsletter, and promotional material
developed with the strong support of the programme INTERACT, have increased
visibility and facilitated communication. It would be useful to centralise
information about Danube meetings and conferences to allow more concerted
communication of these.

·
The first Annual Forum, held in Regensburg in November 2012, confirmed political support for the Strategy and provided an
opportunity to showcase and discuss its implementation. There is added value in
holding such a conference on a regular basis and as the main event for the
Strategy, combined with a meeting of ministers for Foreign Affairs.

6.           Recommendations

The EU Strategy for the Danube Region has
demonstrated clear potential in its first phase of implementation. It has put the
spotlight on a Region with considerable potential for development and further
integration, addressing joint challenges such as sustainable use of resources
or climate change in a cooperative way. To ensure continued work on the main
issues facing the Region, and based on the experience reported here, as well as
in the discussions at the first Annual Forum, the Commission recommends that
participating countries and regions:

·
strengthen their internal implementation
structures, providing adequate financial support, political backing, and
increased institutional stability;

·
ensure continuity and adequate mandates for representatives
sent to the Steering Groups, utilising the European Structural and Investment
Funds programmes of 2014-2020 to support implementation structures;

·
establish sustainable leadership and strategic
planning for the Strategy, assisted by the European Commission, so that
participating countries and regions fully assume their responsibilities. The
implementation of the Strategy should be made more self-sustaining with its
structures ensuring continuity even if persons involved change;

·
continuously monitor the implementation of all
Priority Areas, including commitment at political level and in terms of concrete
achievements, with a view to concentrating on specific challenges, and ensuring
focus as well as providing the basis for prioritisation and a leaner, more
results-oriented structure;

·
ensure there is more focus on results through
paying further attention to appropriate targets and indicators, milestones and
roadmaps;

·
ensure systematic embedding of the Strategy in
EU, national and regional programmes for the period 2014-2020, especially
European Structural and Investment Funds, Horizon 2020, COSME and the
Connecting Europe Facility, using the expertise of Danube networks and key
stakeholders in programming and implementation;

·
strengthen the Strategy’s contribution to Europe
2020 through concrete Danube Region actions linked to smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth;

·
reinforce the coherence of Danube actions with
EU policies by ensuring that Strategy work is discussed by existing institutions,
in relevant sectoral Councils, and where necessary in specific ministerial meetings;

·
increase communication activities to reach a
broader audience;

·
establish the Annual Conference as the main
event of the year, giving strategic direction, creating linkages and common
approaches, and publicising achievements;

·
strengthen, together with the European
Commission, coordination and coherence with existing and possible future EU
initiatives of this or similar macro-regional and sea-basin type.

[1]               A full report by each Priority Area can be downloaded
on the website of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (www.danube-region.eu/pages/reports)