COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the implementation of EU macro-regional strategies
Date: 2022-12-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
Subjects: Adriatic and Ionian region, Alpine Region, Baltic Sea region, Danube region, EU macroregional policy, EU strategy, European territorial cooperation, economic and social cohesion, regional cooperation, regional development

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 9.12.2022  SWD(2022) 397 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT            Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS  on the implementation of EU macro-regional strategies {COM(2022) 705 final}  
 
 
Table of contents 

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 4 

EUROPEAN UNION MACRO-REGIONAL STRATEGIES ........................................... 5 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION STRATEGY 

FOR THE BALTIC SEA REGION (EUSBSR) ......................................................... 6 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION STRATEGY 

FOR THE DANUBE REGION (EUSDR) ................................................................ 22 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION STRATEGY 

FOR THE ADRIATIC AND IONIAN REGION (EUSAIR) ................................... 38 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION STRATEGY 

FOR THE ALPINE REGION (EUSALP) ................................................................ 56 

CONTRIBUTION OF PROGRAMMES TO MACRO-REGIONAL STRATEGIES ..... 73 

ANNEXES: MAPS OF THE MACRO-REGIONAL STRATEGIES .............................. 81 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Abbreviations 

AII 

AG 

BSR 

CBC 

CF 

DG 

DSP 

Adriatic and Ionian Initiative 

Action Group 

Baltic Sea region 

Cross-border cooperation 

Cohesion Fund 

Directorate General 

Danube Strategy Point 

EAFRD 

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 

EB 

EMFAF 

ENI 

EAFRD 

ESF 

ETC 

EU  

EUSAIR 

EUSALP 

EUSBSR 

EUSDR 

FP 

GB 

Executive Board 

European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 

European Neighbourhood Instrument 

European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development 

European Social Fund 

European territorial cooperation  

European Union 

European Union strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region 

European Union strategy for the Alpine region 

European Union strategy for the Baltic Sea region 

European Union strategy for the Danube region 

EUSAIR Facility Point 

Governing Board 

HELCOM 

Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission − Helsinki Commission 

IPA 

JRC 

MA 

MRS 

MSP 

NC(s) 

NDICI 

PA 

PAC(s) 

PC 

Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance 

Joint Research Centre 

Managing authority 

Macro-regional strategy (-ies) 

Maritime Spatial Planning 

National coordinator(s) 

Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument 

Policy/Priority area 

Policy/Priority area coordinators 

Pillar coordinators 

2 

 
 
 
SMEs 

SG 

TEN-T 

TSG 

Small and medium-sized enterprises 

Steering Group 

Trans-European Transport Network 

Thematic Steering Group 

3 

 
 
 
 
Introduction 

This document comes in support of the fourth report to the European Parliament, the Council, 
the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions,  on  the 
implementation  of  the  four  EU  macro-regional  strategies  (“MRS”):  the  EU  strategy  for  the 
Baltic Sea region (EUSBSR), the EU strategy for the Danube region (EUSDR), the EU strategy 
for  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  region  (EUSAIR)  and  the  EU  strategy  for  the  Alpine  region 
(EUSALP). The report covers the period from mid-2020 to mid-2022. 

It aims at providing more detailed information concerning the state of implementation of each 
MRS and future expectations. The document is  based inter alia on contributions  from  MRS 
national and thematic coordinators (MRS “key implementers”) and experts. 

The differences between the individual chapters on each of the four macro-regional strategy is 
due to the different maturity of each strategy (they have been adopted at different time) hence 
the differing availability of data and deliverables. 

More information on the strategies can be found on their websites: 

http://www.balticsea-region-strategy.eu/  

http://www.danube-region.eu/ 

http://www.adriatic-ionian.eu/  

https://www.alpine-region.eu/ 

4 

 
 
 
European Union macro-regional strategies 

The  size  and  diversity  of  the  European  territory  justifies  differentiated  approaches  to  its 
development through specific strategies for functional macro-regions. 

Increasing interdependence between countries, the growing role of sub-national authorities, and 
borderless,  territorially-relevant  challenges  such  as  climate  change,  ecological  degradation, 
natural and man-made hazards, all call for cooperative frameworks whereby groups of countries 
belonging to a wider geographical space can work together to address common challenges and 
opportunities.  

With a view to provide an effective and collective response to issues better handled by working 
together, a macro-regional approach arose in the Baltic Sea region with discussions launched 
in the European Parliament in 2006. This gained momentum overtime, to such an extent that 
there are now four European Union (EU) macro-regional strategies (MRS):  

  EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region (EUSBSR; 2009)  
  EU strategy for the Danube region (EUSDR; 2010)  
  EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region (EUSAIR; 2014)  
  EU strategy for the Alpine region (EUSALP; 2016)  

Each MRS is accompanied by an action plan that should be regularly updated in light of new, 
emerging needs and changing contexts.  

The four MRS cover 19 EU Member States and 10 non-EU countries. Some EU Member States 
(such as Germany and Slovenia) are involved in three MRS, others (such as Croatia, Italy and 
Austria) are in two MRS.  

A MRS is a policy framework which allows EU and non-EU countries located in  a defined 
geographical  area  to  jointly  address  challenges  and  opportunities  they  have  in  common  by 
setting a set of shared, long-term objectives to meet the needs of the macro-region. By doing 
this, they benefit from stronger cooperation, making their policies more efficient than if they 
had addressed the issues on their own.    

The MRS are an important innovation in territorial cooperation and cohesion. However, they 
differ in several aspects from cross-border and transnational territorial cooperation. One key 
feature  of  macro-regional  cooperation,  similarly  to  sea-basin  strategies  is  its  anchoring  to 
integrated, strategic, longer-term and open-ended frameworks.  

The  MRS  are  initiated  and  requested  by  the  relevant  EU  Member  States  at  the  level  of  the 
European Council. The strategies cover a number of policy/thematic areas that have been jointly 
agreed  by  the  participating  countries  and  which  reflect  their  strong  political  commitment 
towards joint achievement of common objectives. Following the European Council request, the 
MRS  (Communication  and  accompanying  action  plan)  are  drafted  by  the  European 
Commission  in  partnership  with  the  participating  countries.  Therefore,  their  implementation 
relies  heavily  on  the  commitment  and  ambition  of  the  participating  countries  that  lead  the 
process. The process is as important as the result: it must be inclusive and bottom up to ensure 
ownership. 

5 

 
 
 
Report on the implementation of the European Union strategy for the 
Baltic Sea region (EUSBSR) 

The  EUSBSR  is  the  forerunner  of  the  four  EU  macro-regional  strategies,  approved  by  the 
European  Council  in  2009.  It  brings  together  eight  EU  Member  States:  Estonia,  Denmark, 
Finland,  Germany  (Berlin;  Brandenburg;  Hamburg;  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern;  Schleswig-
Holstein),  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Poland  and  Sweden.  It  stretches  from  Lapland  to  the  south  of 
Poland, being home to around 85 million inhabitants, or nearly 16% of the EU population. The 
Strategy also welcomes cooperation with the neighbouring countries (Iceland and Norway, and 
until 2022 Russia and Belarus). 

The  EUSBSR  has  three  main  objectives,  which  represent  the  three  key  challenges  of  the 
Strategy:  

  Saving the sea; 
  Connecting the region; and  
 
Increasing prosperity. 

These objectives are complemented by sub-objectives, which are mostly related to more than 
one objective and being also interlinked and interdependent: 

  Clear water in the sea 
  Rich and healthy wildlife 
  Clean and safe shipping 
  Reliable energy markets 
  Good transport conditions 
  Connecting people in the region 
  Better cooperation in fighting cross-border crime 
 
Improved global competitiveness of the Baltic Sea region 
  Climate change adaptation, risk prevention and management 

The  work  within  the  EUSBSR  is  thematically  divided  into  14  policy  areas,  each  of  which 
develops between two and four actions. The EUSBSR is implemented through a revised action 
plan from February 2021.  

RESULTS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 

Main policy developments, including the pandemic and the war in Ukraine 

Over more than a decade, the experimental multi-level and cross-sectoral cooperation model of 
the EUSBSR has successfully engaged a wide range of stakeholders around the Baltic Sea to 
network and cooperate. It has empowered the stakeholders and increased their ownership by 
providing clear cooperation roles and responsibilities, effective decision-making and reinforced 
results-orientation. Its cooperation model and platform itself adds value by connecting people, 
creating networks, improving coordination and enhancing synergies. The EUSBSR stimulates 
policy learning at all levels by bringing together actors to solve common issues and challenges 
that cannot be tackled effectively by a single country or stakeholder alone. 

The strategy has provided stimulus for new projects and processes of macro-regional relevance 
all  over  the  region  with  significant  results  in  areas  such  as  innovation,  safety  and  pollution 
prevention of maritime transportation, preparedness for maritime emergencies and reduction of 
plastic  and  air  pollution  in  the  Baltic  Sea.  It  is  furthermore  contributing  to  shaping  and 
developing policy on climate change and environment, energy and navigation in the region. To 

6 

 
 
 
this end, the strategy serves as a policy and coordination tool on the ground, delivering on the 
key European policy objectives such as the twin green and digital transistion, social change and 
youth and civil society inclusion, while taking into account the territorial speficities of the Baltic 
Sea region. 

The strategy is operationalised by an action plan that was revised during the reporting period 
and adopted by the Commission in February 2021. In particular, it considers emerging global 
challenges - i.e. the climate change, pandemic, demographic changes and migration – and the 
EU´s  new  strategic  frameworks  and  budget,  as  well  as  the  governance  challenges  of  the 
strategy.  

The 2021 action plan streamlines policy areas and places them in a strategic context as well as 
assesses  their  contribution  to  the  UN  Sustainable  Development  Goals  and  provides  links  to 
embed the EUSBSR into EU policies and funding programmes. It furthermore increases the 
involvement of NGOs, civil society, youth organisations and the business community within 
the strategy, and generally empowers stakeholders, providing clearer roles and responsibilities.  

The revised action plan does not modify the main objectives of the strategy, nor the multi-level 
and  cross-sectoral  cooperation  model.  It  reduces  the  number  of  actions  from  73  to  44  and 
establishes  a  simplified  structure  with  14  thematic  policy  areas  (instead  of  the  previous  13 
policy areas and four horizontal actions). Each policy area develops actions that contribute to 
achieving  the  main  objectives.  Activities  under  an  action  can  be  -  but  are  not  limited  to  - 
projects,  processes,  networks  or  platforms,  which  can  be  funded  from  different  public  and 
private  sources.  The  policy  areas  are  to  ensure  that  horizontal  aspects,  notably  addressing 
climate change and cooperation are integrated into the actions. 

During the reporting period, the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic has been a key challenge 
both in terms of governance as well as operational, especially in certain policy areas. The 2020-
2021 period was very difficult for the tourism sector around the Baltic Sea, and the international 
and domestic travel in the regions bordering Ukraine and/or Russia was further affected by the 
war  in  2022.  This  also  meant  that  the  work  within  the  policy  area  Tourism  slowed  down 
considerably during this period. 

As for the cooperation, all the EUSBSR live events and meetings were cancelled after mid-
March 2020, and most of the planned events migrated online instead. Lack of live events and 
related  social  interaction  and  exchange  brought  about  some  challenges,  particularly  in  the 
context  of  creating  and  facilitating  new  initiatives  and  partnerships.  At  the  same  time,  for 
established  partnerships,  the  online  events  were  mostly  both  effective  and  efficient,  often 
attracting wider participation than live events before. 

The  pandemic  also  brought  about  new  and  innovative  initiatives  on  recovery,  including 
enhanced cooperation across the macro-regional strategies and strengthened joint  initiatives. 
During the spring-summer of 2020, the four EU macro-regional strategies started planning for 
the Innovation Express 2021, a cross-MRS pilot on organising a joint call, based on the model 
of the EUSBSR project BSR Stars Innovation Express. It offers SMEs across the four strategies 
the possibility to widen their markets and develop new products and services with partners in 
Europe. The first  call in the summer of 2021, presented a common approach for supporting 
SMEs  at  international  matchmaking  and  joint  R&D  projects  in  such  fields  such  as  digital 
solutions in sustainable industry.  

As a response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, the 
National Coordinators’ group of the EUSBSR issued a statement on 10 March 2022, declaring 
the suspension of all cooperation with Russia and Belarus.  

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The war in Ukraine affects the geopolitical situation of the Baltic Sea region, as well as the 
policy context in which the EUSBSR is carried out. The issues of security, safety and resilience 
have  moved  up  on  the  political  agenda  in  the  region,  which  is  clearly  seen  also  within  the 
EUSBSR, especially within policy area Secure (see below the section regarding social change, 
including the inflow of refugees and other war related issues). The impacts of the war are also 
detected within policy areas linked to the key objective of saving the sea as Russia has played 
an important role in the region when it comes to combatting pollution of the Baltic Sea. 

EUSBSR thematic priorities and their interrelation with the European Green Deal   

The policy objective “Save the Sea” has been the principal objective of the EUSBSR since the 
beginning, given the particular challenge of eutrophication of the Baltic Sea arising from the 
excessive agricultural  nutrient  loads of nitrogen,  phosphorus and ammonia emissions. Other 
forms of hazards include large quantities of underwater ammunitions and chemical munitions 
containing hazardous substances (dumped in the sea in the aftermath of the WWII). The Baltic 
Sea also continues to be one of the busiest seas in the world, prone to maritime accidents. 

Under the 2021 action plan, “Save the Sea” continues as the key objective, so that the majority 
of planned actions under the 14 policy areas are contributing towards this objective, in particular 
policy  areas  such  as  Nutri,  Hazards,  Bioeconomy,  Safe,  Ship,  Transport,  Energy,  Spatial 
Planning and Secure. 

The revised action plan of 2021 further aligns the EUSBSR with the European Green Deal and 
the objective of making the EU climate neutral by 2050, by requiring that all policy areas must 
consider EU climate and environmental policy objectives. It also integrates into the strategy the 
principles of “do no significant  harm”,  climate-proofing,  resilience building, prevention and 
preparedness  and  outlines  how  the  different  policy  areas  contribute  to  the  UN  Sustainable 
Development Goals. The action plan thus mainstreams the former horizontal actions on climate 
change as well as cooperation with neighbouring non-EU countries as essential elements into 
all 14 policy actions.  

At  the  same  time,  as  the  EUSBSR  continues  to  evolve,  the  policy  areas  are  becoming 
increasingly interlinked and interdependent. Energy security is moving up on the agenda in the 
light of the war in Ukraine and the RepowerEU Plan1, adopted by the Commission on 18 May 
2022  in  response  to  the  hardships  and  global  energy  market  disruption  caused  by  Russia's 
invasion of Ukraine. The actions under different policy areas are therefore often cross-sectoral 
and  their  scope  serves  several  objectives  and  sub-objectives,  a  feature  which  is  strongly 
encouraged under the revised action plan. This is in particular true for the twin green and digital 
transition, where the relevant actions are strongly interlinked and regionally tied – in particular 
in the areas of shipping and maritime industries, blue economy and tourism (see also the next 
section on the digital transition). 

For instance, while the policy area Tourism previously focuses on promoting the Baltic Sea 
region  as  a  tourist  destination  through  improved  cooperation  and  coordination,  the  renewed 
actions envisage more concrete and streamlined measures to address environmental and eco-
systems protection, to promote sustainable production and consumption, to foster the digital 
transformation of tourism, and to ensure the preservation of the socio-cultural authenticity of 
host communities. 

1 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_22_3131 

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Examples of projects and processes: 
The CASCADE2 project (policy area Secure) addressed climate change risk management in 
the Baltic Sea region by increasing connections between local administrations and national 
civil protection authorities and fostering closer contacts between practitioners and climate 
change and/or risk management experts, creating mutual learning processes. Its objectives 
also included improving the capacity to assess and treat current and future climate change 
related risks at the local level, and increasing practical risk management capabilities of local 
authorities. A key result was a comprehensive online toolbox for climate change prepardness: 
https://www.cascade-bsr.eu/toolbox. 
The BEST3 - Better Efficiency for Industrial Sewage Treatment project (policy area Nutri) 
tackled  both  eutrophication  and  risks  of  hazardous  substances  by  improving  industrial 
sewage treatment in the Baltic Sea region. It helped municipal waste water treatment plants 
to  handle  industrial  waste  water  by  enhancing  collaboration  and  best  practices  between 
municipalities, industries and water works. 

The CSHIPP4 - Clean Shipping Project Platform project (policy area Ship) brought together 
projects and organisations focused on enhancing clean shipping in the Baltic Sea region to 
increase the impact by linking several projects working for clean shipping. As the involved 
projects  address  at  the  topic  from  different  angles,  CSHIPP  synthesised  their  results  in  a 
concise and easily comprehensible format. Furthermore, to bring research results to policy 
makers 
online 
the 
portal (https://www.shipemissions.eu/), an inventory of data on shipping emissions and the 
impact  on  the  region.  The  project  results  were  taken  forward  by  the  Baltic  Marine 
Environment  Protection  Commission  (HELCOM)  Maritime  Working  Group  towards 
developing HELCOM clean shipping-related recommendations. 

and  maritime 

established 

industry, 

project 

an 

The COMPLETE5 project (policy area Ship) contributed to the reduction of the uncontrolled 
spread of invasive species in the Baltic Sea region by developing practical tools and proposals 
for  prevention.  The  introduction  of  alien  species  has  severe  environmental  and  economic 
consequences, including loss of native species, habitat change and threat to the biodiversity 
and natural ecosystems. Shipping is one of the key contributors to the introdcution of alien 
spicies  to  the  Baltic  Sea.  The  project  also  elaborated  a  proposal  for  a  Regional  Baltic 
Biofouling  Management  Roadmap  that  serves  as  a  recommendation  for  policy  makers  to 
implement sustainable biofouling management strategies in shipping and boating. With the 
COMPLETE PLUS6 project this roadmap as well as  other tools and guidelines developed 
under  COMPLETE  were  brought  into  practice  by  partners  from  six  countries  around  the 
Baltic Sea.  

The goal of the Effect4buildings7 project (policy area Energy) is to increase the number of 
energy efficiency measures implemented in the existing public buildings. Its target group is 
public building managers, with knowlegde of technically possible actions and calculations 

 2 https://www.cascade-bsr.eu/ 
3 https://bestbalticproject.eu/ 
4 https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/cshipp/ 
5 https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/complete/ 
6 https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/complete-plus/ 
7 https://www.effect4buildings.se/ 

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proving  that  investments  are  profitable,  but  who  fail  to  implement  the  measures  due  to 
financial barriers. The project will result in a toolbox of financial methods that can improve 
profitability, facilitate funding and reduce the risk of energy investment in public buildings. 
The ongoing eMSP NBSR8 project (policy area Spatial Planning) aims to support coherence 
of maritime policy and maritime spatial plans (MSP) in the North and Baltic Sea regions and 
address present and future challenges and to develop the capacity of responsible authorities. 
The  result  will  be  project  mechanism  that supports  maritime  spatial  planners to  jointly 
develop  approaches  for  MSP in  the  implementation  phase  of  MSP and  takes  on  board 
the ambitions of the European Green Deal and other EU initiatives.  
The project DAIMON 29 (policy area Hazards), follow-up of the project DAIMON, brought 
together partners from Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden to create 
and apply a set of decision-aid-tools for maritime administrations, governments, academia 
and  off-shore  industry.  In  September  2021,  the  EU  Parliament  issued  a  Resolution  on 
chemical  residues  in  the  Baltic  Sea,  which  puts  an  imperative  on  the  continuation  of  the 
DAIMON 2 project activities.  

EUSBSR thematic priorities and their interrelation with the digital transition 

Digital  transformation is addressed throughout  the revised EUSBSR action plan and several 
policy  areas  have  increased  focus  and  specific  actions  on  digitalisation,  such  as  Innovation 
(digital  innovation  &  transformation),  Safe  (being  a  forerunner  in  digitalisation),  Ship 
(digitalisation to reduce shipping emissions), Transport (facilitating innovative technologies & 
solutions) and Tourism (digital transformation, skills & technology).  

As discussed above, the goals of the twin green and digital transition as well as innovation are 
also  closely  interlinked  under  the  strategy,  especially  in  the  policy  areas  covering  shipping, 
maritime industries and blue economy. Various projects have introduced cutting-edge digital 
solutions and processes to make shipping in the Baltic Sea safer, cleaner and more sustainable. 
Extended digital cooperation, i.e. a strong involvement of the private sector and collaboration 
between the public sector, industry and academia has turned out to be essential for the success, 
for  example,  for  bringing  in  digital  solutions  to  reduce  the  ecological  footprint  of  transport 
vessels. 

In  the  field  of  innovation,  the  EUSBSR  has  advanced  digitalisation  by  boosting  the 
development of the networks and digital policies and helping the SMEs, industry associations 
and  policy  makers  to  speed  up  the  region’s  transition  to  a  single  digital  market,  as  well  as 
promoting  ICT  uptake  in  the  business  sector,  developing  digital  public  services,  promoting 
transnational  interoperability  via  innovative  cross-border  e-services  and  facilitating  digital 
single market policy discussions at the regional level.  

Regions in the Baltic Sea have been actively developing their smart specialisation strategies in 
line with the EU Green Deal and with increasing focus on interregional Baltic Sea cooperation. 
Various projects have facilitated the development of long-term strategic innovation cooperation 
and partnerships that can eventually lead to joint investments, as well as provided insights and 

8 https://www.emspproject.eu/ 
9 https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/daimon-2/ 

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tools for regions to develop the smart specialisation strategies, with a strong focus on inclusive 
sustainability, green and digital transition.  

The BSR Stars Innovation Express project provided the model for the Innovation Express 2021 
- a cross-MRS call for proposals implemented across all the four macro-regions - as a response 
to the economic challenges brought about by the pandemic. Its first call in 2021 represented a 
common approach for supporting SMEs at international matchmaking and joint R&D projects 
in  the fields  of “Artificial  Intelligence in  Healthcare  Applications” and  “Digital  solutions  in 
sustainable industry”.  

Examples of projects and processes: 
BSR  Digi  co-lab  and  its  sub-projects  DIGINNO10  and  DINNOCAP11  and  (policy  area 
Innovation) were umbrella-type initiatives to enhance digital cooperation between industry 
associations,  government  agencies,  and  knowledge  institutions  in  the  Baltic  Sea  region, 
focusing on SME’s digital innovation capacity to move towards the digital market. The main 
outputs are: company digitalisation toolkit for SMEs, four show-case models of G2B cross-
border e-services (incl. feasibility analyses and proofs of concept), a White Paper with policy 
recommendations  as  well  as  an  informal  but  active  cross-sectoral  industry  digitalisation 
community of the Baltic Sea region.  

The  project  ECOPRODIGY12  (policy  area  Ship)  increases  eco-efficency  in  the  maritme 
sector by creating and piloting digital solutions in close cooperation between industry end-
users and research organisations. It addresses both environmental and economic challenges 
by promoting eco-efficiency at all stages of the vessel lifecycle from design and build, to the 
use, maintenance, storage as well as the conversion processes. The project also improves the 
capacity  of  the  maritime  industry  actors  to  enhance  eco-efficiency  in  their  operations  by 
providing training and by designing a digitalisation road map for increasing eco-efficiency. 
ECOPRODIGI  also  strengthens  the  public  support  for  digitalisation  by  providing  policy 
workshops and recommendations addressing digitalisation gaps in the industry. 

The STM BALT SAFE13 (policy area Safe) increases the safety of navigation by introducing 
common  Sea  Traffic  Management  (STM)  which  enables  maritime  services  to  digitally 
exchange voyage plans of tanker traffic in the Baltic Sea, which experiences one of densest 
sea traffic in the world. With many tanker and passengers crossing routes as well as narrow 
passages,  the  risk  of  accidents  is  high.  The  STM  services  enable  the  exchange  of  voyage 
plans therbey improving an overall situational awarness between ships, and between ships 
and shore. The shore centres develop and test new digital services, for example automated 
reporting,  which  additionally  improve  speed  and  accuracy  of  ship-shore  information 
exchange. 

The R-Mode Baltic14 (policy area Safe) project launched a technical system for a safer ship 
navigation, and placed the Baltic Sea as a first operational navigation test area for maritime 
terrestrial  navigation  on  the  global  map.  As  Baltic  Sea  is  known  for  frequent  shipping 
accidents  like  groundings,  collisions  and  other  types  of  accidents,  the  challenge  was  to 

10 https://www.diginnobsr.eu/ 
11 https://www.dinnocapbsr.eu/ 
12 https://ecoprodigi.eu/ 
13 https://www.seatrafficmanagement.info/projects/stm-balt-safe/ 
14 https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/r-mode-baltic/ 

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prevent  and  minimise  the  accidents´  frequency.  The  project  brought  together  research 
institutions, national maritime service providers and industry partners. The partners further 
developed the R-Mode technology and verified R-Mode as a suitable approach for coastal 
navigation. 

Baltic DigiTour15 is a seed money project (policy area Tourism) that is supporting a five-
member consortium from three Baltis Sea countries by conductinh background investigations 
and  thereby  preparing  for  a  fully-fledged  main  project  providing  an  online  distributed 
knowledge community on digitalisation in the Baltic tourims attrations (by embracing the 
concept of cMOOCs: connectivist Massive Open Online Courses).  

EUSBSR thematic priorities and social change, including the inflow of refugees and other 
consequences of the war in Ukraine 

The EUSBSR has been addressing the issues of social change for several years especially in the 
area  of  education  and  labour  market.  Since  2014,  the  membership-based  School  to  Work 
(S2W)16 project has been improving its members’ ability to smoothen the transition for youth 
from  school  to  work.  S2W  aims  to  prevent  early  school  leaving  and  to  develop  support  for 
vulnerable groups of students and youth, early school leavers and recently arrived refugees. Its 
members  include  local  and  regional  authorities,  state  agencies,  schools,  and  civil  society 
organisations all around the Baltic Sea. 

The refugee inflow is having a strong impact on labour markets and education systems in the 
region, especially in Poland and the Baltic countries. In 2022, from 24 February up to 29 April, 
a total of 3.03 million people entered Poland from Ukraine. As of 20 April, around 976.000 
foreigners  were  registered  for  “temporary  protection”  in  Poland.  The  increasing  number  of 
refugees is creating new challenges and putting a further strain on health and social systems, 
which were already severely affected by the pandemic. There are also specific new challenges 
regarding education in terms of being able to provide an inclusive education process, Ukrainian 
distance  learning  programmes,  examinations  and  education  documents  and  recognition  of 
previously  acquired  education  (outside  the  EU).  The  2021  action  plan  provides  further 
possibilities to take actions on the social change-related issues - such as “Easing the way for 
migrants” – especially under the following policy areas: 

-  Education: i) Preventing early school leaving and improving transition from school to work: 
ii) International  excellence and wider participation in science and research: iii) A labour 
market for all, using resources of longer lives; and iv) Recognising potential -  Easing the 
way for migrants. 

-  Health: i) Promoting active and healthy ageing to address the challenges of demographic 
change:  ii)  Promoting  health  in  all  policies  approach  with  focus  on  the  impact  of 
environmental  factors,  and  especially  climate  change  on  human  health,  iii)  Increasing 
stakeholder and institutional capacity to tackle regional health challenges. 
Innovation: i) Challenge-driven innovation: ii) Digital innovation and transformation: and 
iii) Co-creative innovation. 

- 

-  Spatial Planning: Strengthening territorial cohesion through land based spatial planning, 2: 

Ensuring coherent maritime spatial plans throughout the Baltic Sea. 

The  impacts  of  the  war  have  been  also  clearly  felt  in  policy  area  Secure,  since  most  of  the 
members  of  its  Steering  Group  are  civil  protection  agencies  directly  involved  in  providing 

15 https://lab.fi/en/project/baltic-digitour 
16 https://www.s2wflagship.eu/ 

12 

 
 
                                                           
support to Ukraine. In particular, the Steering Group members have shared their experience in 
gathering and distributing help to Ukraine and responded within the policy area Secure network 
to emerging needs for equipment such as fire trucks. Due to a high interest in addressing the 
refugee  inflow,  study  visits  are  planned  aimed  at  learning  from  the  Polish  experience, 
knowledge exchange and inventorying future needs of all actors involved.  

During recent years, the EUSBSR framework has already been strengthening the role of civil 
society  and  civil  society  organisations,  and  the  national  actors  in  many  policy  areas  have 
disseminated and showcased their models to other participating countries. The war has further 
underlined the key role that civil society organisations can play within the transnational Baltic 
Sea cooperation, by demonstrating that they can act with speed and creativity in relation to the 
war.  

Examples of projects and processes: 

The ChYResilience17 project aims to empower children and youth to play an active role as 
contributors  to  societal  resilience  and  to  remove  barriers  to  their  active  involvement  in 
prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. To this end, project identifies initiatives 
and good practices that address or promote these factors and help prepare children and youth 
to play an active role in their safety and security. The primary project activity is a pre-study 
on preparing children and youth for prevention and effective action in the event of a crisis.  

The BSLF-SWL - Baltic Sea Labour Forum for Sustainable Working Life18 project (policy 
area Education) aims  to improve working life conditions and lifelong learning provisions, 
systems  and  policies  for  an  elderly  labour  force  in  order  to  promote  active  ageing  and 
employability. The project addresses three issues crucial for the socio-economic development 
of  the  countries  in  the  Baltic  Sea  region:  the  demographic  challenge,  active  ageing  and 
lifelong learning.  

The BSLF-SEA - Support for longer working life19 project (policy area Education) promotes 
the  retention  of  the  ability  to  work  and  employment  of  the  elderly  through,  for  instance, 
measures for raising awareness for promotion of a longer and better working life, targeted 
support measures, such as  career consulting, mentoring, workplace adjustments and health 
promoting measures. Other activities include e.g. assessment of working environment and 
human resources potential and collective discussions on aging management issues.  

The  EntreFox20  project  (policy  area  Education)  supports  the  careers  and  well-being  of 
entrepreneurs and those interested in entrepreneurship over the age of 55, by providing them 
with digitisation, business expertise and new networks in order to improve their  companies’ 
competitiveness.  
The  BaltCityPrevention21 project  (policy  area  Health)  brought  together  14  SMEs 
specialised  in  IT  and  public  health  authorities  from  seven  countries  to  strengthen  their 
collaborationst  and  test  a  more  participatory  and  user-oriented  approach  to  develop  and 

17 http://www.bsr-secure.eu/chyresilience-how-do-our-partners-work-with-youth-participation-and-resilience-
building/  
18 https://bslf.eu/sustainable-working-life/ 
19 https://www.nva.gov.lv/en/department/esf-project-support-education-unemployed 
20 https://www.entrefox.fi/about-entrefox/ 
21 https://baltcityprevention.eu/ 

13 

 
 
                                                           
implement  prevention  and  health  promotion  interventions.  The  proejct  developed  a  new 
approach  helping  public  health  authorities  in  prevention  intervention  planning  by  better 
tailoring the interventions to the needs of specific user groups applying participatory and co-
creation methods in the planning procedure. 

ScanBalt  Health  Region  (SBHR)22  –  Cross-Sectoral  and  Transnational  Projects  for 
Innovation in Health and in Life Sciences project (policy area Innovation) aims to develop 
the  Baltic  Sea  region  into  a  globally  leading  and  prosperous  “Health  Region”  using  the 
ScanBalt BioRegion23 as a model. It  aims are related to: a) regional competences in these 
fields; b) smart specialisation strategies; c) promoting a trans-regionalcollaboration platform: 
d)  collaboration  and  interaction  within  different  health-related  areas;  and  e)  enhancing 
branding and visibility to attract and retain human, financial and industrial resources. 

Governance and Administrative involvement and capacity 

General 

The governance structure of the EUSBSR consists of the following functions and levels: 

 
 
 
 
 

the national coordinators;  
the presidency;  
the Trio presidency (the incumbent, past and future presidencies);  
the policy area coordinators;  
the steering groups (of each policy area) and their working groups.  

Political level 

Each year, the EUSBSR presidency rotates between the eight involved countries for a 12-month 
period between July and June (the rotation schedule is agreed by the National Coordinators’ 
group). In the reporting period, the Strategy was chaired by Germany in 2020-2021, Lithuania 
2021-2022 and Sweden took over the chair in July 2022. The EUSBSR presidency is assisted 
by the Trio presidency that includes the incumbent, past and future presidencies.  

In order to facilitate involvement at the political level, all participating countries have set-up 
mechanisms at national level to coordinate EUSBSR issues. Cross-sectoral national platforms 
have been established to support continuous dialogue amongst relevant national/regional/local 
stakeholders  and  about  on-going  initiatives.  They  aim  to  coordinate  EUSBSR  issues  and 
involve  a  wider  range  of  actors,  including  stakeholders  in  charge  of  cohesion  policy 
programmes. A common challenge among the macro-regional strategies is the fluctuation of 
participants in these platforms and the variable involvement of actors from different levels (sub-
national, regional and local). 

Since  2010,  an  annual  forum  has  been  organised  to  communicate  the  EUSBSR’s  work  and 
results, stimulate policy discussion, and provide stakeholders with a networking opportunity. 
The annual fora take place in one of the eight involved countries, aiming to attract key policy 
makers, stakeholders and local, regional, national and EU level actors (who will host the forum 
is agreed by the National Coordinators’ group).  

22 https://scanbalt.org/projects/scanbalt-health-region/ 
23 ScanBalt BioRegion is an innovation network composed of the health and bio-economy communities in 
Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, northern Germany, and the northern 
Netherlands: https://scanbalt.org/ 

14 

 
 
 
                                                           
Due to the pandemic and the lockdown that followed, the 11th EUSBSR Annual Forum in 2020 
was  organised  virtually  from  Turku,  Finland,  focusing  on  the  themes  of  sustainability  and 
innovation.  The  12th  Annual  Forum  -  with  the  motto  Revitalize-Recover-Recharge  -  was 
organised in hybrid format in the autumn of 2021, during the Lithuanian presidency. In addition, 
physical events took place in the Lithuanian cities of Kaunas and Klaipėda.  

The annual forum of 2021 was opened by Ursula von der Leyen (the President of the European 
Commission)  and  four  Prime  Ministers  (of  Estonia,  Lithuania,  Poland  and  Sweden).  The 
Secretary-General  of  the  OECD  also  participated  showing  strong  political  support  to  the 
strategy.  The  main  message  from  the  high-level  speakers  was  that  the  EUSBSR’s  goals  go 
hand-in-hand with the EU priorities and the EUSBR has the potential to influence the agenda 
setting to  increase the resilience of the EU, especially the economic and  societal  one, while 
leaving no person behind. 

Implementation level 

The 2021 action plan re-defines the EUSBSR governance rules by enhancing the role of the 
steering groups of the policy areas and setting up a new organisational framework for the policy 
area coordinators (PACs). It also establishes a new Baltic Sea Strategy Point (BSP) that is meant 
to provide administrative and technical support for the strategy’s management, development 
and communication. The BSP will be guided by and accountable to the National Coordinators’ 
group that decides on its detailed tasks. The day-to-day work of the BSP is to be conducted in 
close contact with the presidency. The BSP is to be up and running in the course of 2022. 

The national coordinators (NCs) – nominated by each participating country - are the focal point 
at national level and the decision-making body for the EUSBSR. Together, the NCs form the 
National Coordinators group’ (NCG) which meets regularly. Their primary task is to oversee 
implementation of the strategy in their countries and ensure that the EUSBSR is firmly anchored 
in the national political environment. This includes engaging with all 14 policy areas (including 
participation  in  steering  group meetings) and liaising with  national  line  ministries and other 
relevant organisations to encourage them to consider and implement EUSBSR actions in their 
policy field.  In most of the EUSBSR countries the strategy is coordinated by a ministry (such 
as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) that is different from the ministry in charge of the bulk of 
EU funding programmes. However, there are also cases where both the strategy and the EU 
funding are under the responsibility of the same ministry.  

The countries and organisations participating in the EUSBSR are responsible for coordinating 
the policy areas. Each policy area is managed by at least one policy area coordinator (PAC), 
working with their steering group (SG) members. Having the overview of a particular policy 
area,  the  PACs’  main  role  is  to  identify  key  processes  that  will  achieve  the  EUSBSR  goals 
through  different  actions  and  identify  how  to  best  implement  solutions.  The  position  of 
individual PACs remains rather difficult, as they often possess neither the funds nor the political 
and administrative influence to implement a broad set of targets. 

The steering groups are the central executive and decision-making bodies at policy area level 
for objectives and actions, formats, key areas of cooperation, and future developments. The SGs 
meet usually twice a year, a requirement met by most priority areas. However, steering group 
members’ participation in the meetings varies considerably between the policy areas.  

Civil society 

Since the beginning, civil society organisations, such as NGOs, and private sector organisations 
have played an important role in the EUSBSR. This is in particular the case in policy areas such 
as  Education,  Culture,  Health  and  Tourism.  Furthermore,  higher  education  and  research 

15 

 
 
institutions  continue  to  make  up  the  largest  category  of  project  partners  in  Interreg-funded 
activities  of  the  EUSBSR.  The  2021  action  plan  included  and  increased  the  structured 
involvement of NGOs, civil society,  youth organisations and the business community in the 
work of the strategy. 

The policy area Education has a network of 1850 stakeholders with an increasing number of 
NGOs, who actively take part in the projects and stakeholder events. Examples of the projects 
with NGOs include School to Work - S2W and Baltic Sea Labour Forum - BSLF (see above). 
Education is one of the policy areas with the most potential to further engage with the civil 
society  organisations,  as  NGOs  play  a  key  role  in  developing  solutions  in  the  area,  such  as 
reaching  out  to  and  building  trust  with  vulnerable  groups  such  as  migrants  and  young 
unemployed.  

In policy area Health, the EUSBSR actions allow for a wide participation of civil society, the 
representatives of which are regularly taking part in events and projects. Currently, the strongest 
representation of civil society actors is seen in active and healthy ageing, AgeFLAG24, through 
which the strategy has engaged with a variety of actors, such as the AGE Platform Europe.  

Youth 

Youth involvement is well recognised by the EUSBSR and the 2021 action plan aims to involve 
more  young  people  in  the  work  of  the  strategy  and  policymaking.  Youth  is  specifically 
especially addressed under the policy areas Bioeconomy, Secure, Education and Culture. The 
youth involvement is coordinated through different formats, in particular the Baltic Sea Youth 
Forum (BSYP) that aims to empower young people in the region and to make their voices heard 
at all levels. Several policy areas such as Culture, Education and Health is working together 
with the BSYP and are engaging the BSYP into their initiatives whenever possible. Policy area 
Culture has an active role in facilitating the Youth Camps and other youth events.  

In 2020, the EUSBSR Youth Declaration was prepared by the participants of the Baltic Sea 
Youth  Camps  2020  with  the  aim  to  institutionalise  the  BSYP  and  coordinate  the  youth 
involvement  in  the  EUSBSR  policy  areas.  The  Declaration  contains  statements  and 
expectations  by  the  youth  in  the  areas  of  environment,  transport  and  social  issues.  These 
priorities do not only relate to the EUSBSR but are also in line with the NextGenerationEU and 
the European Green Deal.  
An example of  youth  participation  in  the strategy  is  the  South  Baltic Bridge25  that connects 
young people in Denmark, Germany and Poland aiming to develop skills in the green and blue 
sector. Another example is the ChYResilience project (see above) that deals with the role of 
children  and  young  people  in  building  resilient  societies,  aiming  to  model  the  possible 
involvement of both groups at each stage in response to hazards.  

The  EUSBSR  Annual  Forum  of  2021  paid  special  attention  to  the  youth-related  topics  - 
including the full-day closing event dedicated to the youth - and enhanced involvement of the 
youth,  so  that  the  panellists  and  participants  included  several  representatives  of  youth 
organisations. One of the organisers of the Forum was Klaipėda, European Youth Capital of 
2021.   

24 https://si.se/en/projects-granted-funding/ageflag-roadmap-to-improve-health-and-well-being-of-ageing-
population-in-the-bsr/ 
25 https://sbbridge.eu/ 

16 

 
 
 
                                                           
Access to funding and embedding: 

General overview 

The transnational cooperation programme for the Baltic Sea region (Interreg BSR funded by 
the  ERDF)  is  closely  linked  to  the  EUSBSR  thematically,  geographically,  and  in  terms  of 
support for the governance (including the policy areas). It also continues to be the most utilised 
source  of  funding  for  projects  under  the  strategy.  Over  the  years,  integration  and  alignment 
between the EUSBSR and the Interreg BSR has greatly helped in developing and co-financing 
the EUSBSR projects.  

Other important funding sources include the cross-border cooperation programmes also funded 
by the ERDF, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and European Neighbourhood 
Instrument (ENI) - such as the Interreg South Baltic and Interreg Sweden-Norway programmes) 
- as well as other EU funded instruments such as Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), Horizon 
2020 and Life, EU's funding instrument for the environment and climate action (see also below 
on funds directly managed by the Commission). The “mainstream”, i.e. regional and national 
cohesion policy programmes as well as the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund 
(EMFAF) in the region are also sources of funding, although there is still potential room for 
increasing the funding for the EUSBSR from these programmes (as described below). 

Cohesion policy programmes 2021-2027 

As  indicated  above,  the  Interreg  programmes  alone  cannot  satisfy  all  the  funding  needs  to 
implement the EUSBSR actions. That is why it is necessary to further embed the strategy in 
other EU funding programmes. The 2021 action plan sees that the managing authorities (MAs) 
of EU funding programmes play an important role by ensuring the embedding of the actions 
into their respective programmes. Close cooperation with the managing authorities and their 
networks is therefore essential. To this end, the national coordinators and members of steering 
groups need to cooperate with MAs at the national level, NCs at the strategic level and steering 
groups  members  at  the  operational  level.  At  the  operational  level,  PACs  have  the  main 
responsibility for such cooperation in their respective policy areas. 

To this end, in the EUSBSR, MA Networks were already set up for ESF, ERDF, EAFRD and 
EMFAF.  

In order to strengthen the alignment of the cohesion policy programmes and the EUSBSR in 
the national planning for the 2021-2027 period, working groups responsible for the planning 
and  coordination  between  ministries,  social  partners  and  regional  authorities  also  included 
officials dealing with EUSBSR activities (such as NCs or PA steering group members). 

The  national  authorities  report  that  as  the  EUSBSR  responds  to  challenges  common  for  the 
countries in the region, their programmes for the 2021-2027 period do generally also take the 
strategy well in to account and align with its objectives. The specific objectives of these new 
programmes have often direct links to the EUSBSR policy areas. However, not all the policy 
areas of the strategy are covered as many of the cohesion policy programmes are focused on 
policy goals related to innovation, skills and SMEs.  

to  organise 

Furthermore,  the  national  regulations  for  the  post-2020  implementation  usually  provide 
the 
possibilities 
implementation of the EUSBSR. Often, it is also possible to allocate additional funding for new 
project  activities  implemented  together  with  international  partners  in  accordance  with  the 
objectives of the EUSBSR. This includes using parts of the EU structural funds for projects 
outside the programme area. 

international  calls  for  proposals  contributing 

joint 

to 

17 

 
 
Funds directly managed by the Commission 

As mentioned above, EUSBSR projects are also co-financed by other EU funding instruments 
directly  managed  by  the  European  Commission,  such  as  CEF,  Erasmus,  LIFE  and  Horizon 
2020/Europe. 

For example, in policy areas of Ship and Safe, most projects have been funded by the directly 
managed funds such as CEF and Horizon 2020. In the policy area Safe, examples of projects 
funded  by  Horizon  20202  are:  NEEDS,  CASCADE  and  FIRE-IN.  Also  in  the  policy  area 
Transport,  projects  have  received  funding  from  the  CEF  and  Horizon  2020  (e.g.  EU  ITS 
Platform, Shift2Rail, AiRMOUR and VitalNodes). CEF has also funded projects under policy 
area Energy.  

In the area of Bioeconomy, projects have been funded by LIFE, in particular its Nature and 
Biodiversity  sub-programmes  (e.g.  Life  Taiga  I  and  II,  Life  CONNECTS  and  Life  IP  Rich 
Waters). The policy area Education finds funding in Erasmus+ strategic partnerships.  In the 
policy  area  Innovation,  Erasmus+  has  funded  for  instance  the  KAforHR  project  that  aims 
supporting  SMEs.  Policy  area  Spatial  Planning  has  an  on-going  project  eMSP  NBSR  (see 
above) approved by CINEA (the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive 
Agency) under the call EMFF-MSP-2020. 

In order to promote directly managed funding possibilities within the EUSBSR, some national 
authorities  have  strengthened  the  relations  between  the  NCG  members  and  the  respective 
specialists  in  the  ministerial  departments  responsible  for  facilitating  engagement  with  EU 
financing instruments.  More knowledge of the EU funding possibilities is needed especially at 
the local and regional levels, in particular in relation to the application process and possibilities 
for international and interregional cooperation. This would facilitate that the EUSBSR evolve 
as a strategic framework for projects and funding.  

Monitoring and evaluation 

An overall macro-regional territorial monitoring tool was developed by the ESPON (European 
Spatial Planning Observation Network) programme to observe development trends and patterns 
at  the  level  of  the  four  macro-regional  strategies  (MRS).  The  ESPON  tool  focuses  on 
identifying development opportunities and territorial challenges, and these are communicated 
to the four MRS to improve or re-focus the objectives and policies, bringing together statistical 
information and policy objectives. 

The 2021 action plan sets out the monitoring and evaluation framework for the EUSBSR, and 
the  NCG  endorses  the  overall  monitoring  and  evaluation  framework  and  ensures  that  it  is 
published  on  the  EUSBSR  website.  The  PACs  monitor  their  policy  areas  and  actions  and 
prepare  annual  reports  on  the  achievements  for  their  respective  steering  groups.  The  SGs 
evaluate and endorse these annual reports and submit these to the NCG for information. The 
annual reports are reviewed by NCG and shared with the Commission. At the national level, 
monitoring is carried out by the National Coordinators through coordination structures set up 
between  the  relevant  ministries.  The  MAs  report  on  their  programmes’  contributions  to  the 
implementation of the strategy. 

Communication 

The  2021  action  plan  consolidates  the  functions  of  the  Interreg-funded  project  Let’s 
Communicate!  and  the  former  horizontal  action  Capacity.  It  envisages  that  communication, 
information and publicity for the EUSBSR and targeted capacity building for stakeholders are 
to be ensured by the NCG, supported by the Baltic Sea Strategy Point (BSP). 

18 

 
 
During  the  reporting  period  (i.e.  prior  to  setting  up  the  BSP),  Let's  communicate!  Managed 
the EUSBSR  website, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube accounts.  The  project  has  gathered 
information about EUSBSR developments for the communication channels, promoted the use 
of  the  EUSBSR  visual  identity  and  provided  stakeholders  with  communication  support  and 
tools. Let's communicate! also organised outreach to new stakeholders groups. Furthermore, 
the  project  has  been  supporting  the  policy  areas  in  addressing  non-EU  cooperation  and  in 
aligning the work, in particular EU with the climate policy objectives. 

Communication  activities  are  also  carried  out  at  the  level  of  the  policy  areas,  who  provide 
information  on  their  activities  and  manage  their  policy  area  specific  websites  through  the 
EUSBSR online platform. The policy areas are also active on social media and occasionally 
produce their own information brochures. At national level, the NCs have a key role to play in 
communicating  the  strategy  through  various  means.  Several  national  administrations  run 
dedicated website for the EUSBSR providing information on the EUSBSR activities. The NCs 
and  other  stakeholders  also  give  e.g.  interviews  to  national  magazines  and  contribute  with 
columns and articles on the strategy. 

In the reporting period, a major communication campaign was conducted by all the key actors 
in order to prepare (and involve the relevant stakeholders), launch and ensure the visibility for 
the revised action plan.  

The annual  forum  continues to  be the main event  for the EUSBSR and a key mean to  raise 
awareness about the strategy. In 2021, the 12th Annual Forum (with the motto of Revitalize-
Recover-Recharge) was organised during the Lithuanian presidency between 27 September and 
1  October  in  a  hybrid  format.  Its  agenda  covered  topics  ranging  from  climate  change, 
combatting pollution and digitalisation to culture and youth. The Forum was attended in total 
of  ca.  1700  participants  from  governments,  international  organisations,  NGOs,  universities, 
local and regional administrations, business and media. As mentioned previously, it was opened 
by the President of the European Commission, five Prime Ministers and the Secretary-General 
of OECD. The organisers used a dedicated website as well as social media to  communicate 
about the Forum. 42 posts were published through the EUSBSR Facebook site (that had 2 087 
followers  at  the  time  of  the  Forum)  and  45  posts  through  the  EUSBSR  Twitter  account 
@EUSBSR (that had 3 462 followers) before, during and after the event. The total coverage of 
all Facebook posts was 14 834 while the total impression of all Twitter posts were 21 579.  

According to the Flash Eurobarometer 497 of October 2021, the awareness of the EUSBSR 
varied between the eight surveyed countries. From 64% in Finland, 45% in Estonia, 44% in 
Sweden, 41% in both Lithuania and Latvia and to 39% in Poland. In Denmark and Germany 
(only some federal states are involved in the EUSBSR) awareness was at 17%. 

THE WAY FORWARD 

The EUSBSR institutionalises and operationalises networks of cooperation among the Baltic 
Sea stakeholders on many levels not addressed otherwise. The strategy is shifting from being a 
regional  cooperation  platform  to  a  hub  for  identifying  common  challenges  and  common 
solutions for the region, a trend which has been further accelerated by the pandemic. The 2021 
action plan was an important step forward both governance and policy-wise, by refocusing the 
strategy  to  tackle  common  global  challenges  in  the  Baltic  Sea  region  context.  Its  full 
implementation is central to the success and achievement of the objectives in the years to come. 

19 

 
 
 
 
The  European  Green  Deal,  the  digital  transition,  social  change  including  the  inflow  of 
refugees and other consequences of the war in Ukraine 

Within the EUSBSR, the EU’s green and digital priorities have traditionally been high in the 
agenda  both  politically  and  in  terms  of  concrete  actions.  The  2021  action  plan  has  further 
aligned the strategy with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the digital transition.  

In general, the stakeholders perceive that while the pandemic has brought challenges in many 
fronts, it has also presented an opportunity to rethink the actions further promoting the green 
and  low  carbon  transition  needed  to  build  a  more  robust,  sustainable,  resilient  and  green 
economy in the Baltic Sea region.  

At the same time, it must be acknowledged that the strategy’s principle objective to “Save the 
Baltic Sea” has become much more difficult to achieve after the cooperation with Russia and 
Belarus was suspended following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The future cooperation 
with Russia remains unclear.  

It is evident that the efforts to integrate refugees fleeing Ukraine need to be reinforced in the 
region.  The  revised  action  plan  provides  several  possibilities  to  support  the  integration  of 
refugees under policy areas such as Health and Education, and especially through the action 
“Recognising potential - Easing the way for migrants”. Similarly, the war in Ukraine highlights 
the issue of energy security and the need for the EUSBSR to help delivering on the REPowerEU 
Plan.  Exchange  of  information  and  experience  between  EUSBSR  stakeholders  can  further 
provide support in tackling these new common challenges.  

EUSBSR governance (including monitoring, evaluation and communication) 

Overall, the governance of the EUSBSR works well and has shown its resilience during the 
time  of  the  pandemic  and  the  war  in  Ukraine.  The  revised  action  plan  of  2021  sees  the 
establishment of a new Baltic Sea Strategy Point (BSP) as a function providing administrative 
and technical support for EUSBSR management, development and communication. It will also 
have an important monitoring and evaluation role. 

Establishing the BSP is a very welcome development, bringing the EUSBSR at  level  of the 
other  macro-regional  strategies  in  the  terms  of  governance  support  as  well  as  providing 
institutional memory. Therefore, finalising the setting up of the BSP and making it operational 
is a high priority for the EUSBSR.  

It should be noted, however, that some of the national authorities find that the EUSBSR (or 
MRS in general) should be more flexible, in particular during times of crisis. This would mean 
providing the EUSBSR policy areas with more flexibility and independence, something which 
is already envisaged by the 2021 action plan.  

The structured involvement of and support for civil society, civil society organisations and the 
youth has been strengthened by the revised action plan, the operationalisation of which needs 
to be closely monitored. 

Although the high-level attendance at the Annual Forum in 2021 did raise the political profile 
and visibility of the strategy, the stakeholders generally find that the EUSBSR is still not getting 
the political attention and support it deserves. In some cases, this might be also reflected in the 
level of resources allocated to the EUSBSR-related work in the responsible national ministries. 
In general, the resources dedicated to the strategy at regional and local level are still considered 
rather  limited,  including  the  staff  resources  needed  to  follow  and  mobilise  the  available 
financing.  

20 

 
 
Embedding, implementation and access to funds directly managed by the Commission 

The embedding process within the EUSBSR - i.e. aligning the new cohesion policy programmes 
with the EUSDR and creating adequate mechanism to facilitate contribution - is ongoing and 
needs to be finalised as soon as possible by the MA and the MA network together with the 
NCG.  

A more systemic approach to the embedding is expected once the new Baltic Sea Strategy Point 
becomes fully operational. Learning from the experience of other macro-regional on embedding 
could also help. Furthermore, as is the case of all MRS, the challenge for the years to come is 
to  move  from  the  programming  to  implementation  and  to  set  up  proper  monitoring  tools  to 
capture the progress.  

Some national authorities feel that because the strategy itself does not have funds for actions 
and projects, this leads to difficulties in embedding the strategy efficiently at the national level. 
In some policy  areas, some national  authorities also  see that issues arise  when an identified 
cross-sectorial  and  multi-modal  project  cannot  be  sufficiently  funded  by  an  Interreg 
programme, because it does not correspond with a priority of the said programme. Moreover, 
directly managed funds could do more to promote not only collaboration between countries, 
but also stress the macro-regional and cross-MRS aspects of partnerships. 

Coordination and cooperation between macro-regional strategies 

Cooperation and intensified exchanges between the EUSBSR  and the other three MRSs are 
much welcomed by the stakeholders. Sharing good practices as well as participating in the other 
MRS’ Annual Fora are considered very supportive. For example, the EUSBSR has benefitted 
from the EUSDR’s experiences on the inclusion of youth in the strategy and on setting up a 
technical support function (i.e. BSP). The stakeholders do not see that the cooperation between 
the MRS needs to be further institutionalised as the existing regular Trio presidencies’ meetings 
already provide for efficient exchange. It should be noted that the pandemic to some extent has 
affected the cooperation between the MRS negatively, due to the travel restrictions and because 
the operational focus was largely on crisis management. 

EUSBSR role in EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy 

Since  launching  of  the  strategy  in  2009,  one  of  the  EUSBSR’s  goal  has  been  strengthening 
regional collaboration and integration with the third EU neighbouring countries, i.e. Belarus, 
Iceland,  Norway  and  Russia.  Following  Russia’s  unprovoked  and  unjustified  military 
aggression against Ukraine, all cooperation with Russia and Belarus under the EUSBSR was 
suspended on 10 March 2022. The implications of this move, for the prime objective of the 
Strategy,  “Save  the  Sea”,  will  need  to  be  carefully  assessed.  At  the  same  time,  the  strategy 
continues  to  welcome  cooperation  with  Iceland  and  Norway,  which  is  also  important  in  the 
context of the EU’s Arctic and Northern Dimension collaboration. Finally, there might also be 
possibilities in the future for closer cooperation with Ukraine, which already participates in the 
EU strategy for the Danube region.  

21 

 
 
 
 
Report on the implementation of the European Union strategy for the 
Danube region (EUSDR) 

Dating from 2010, the EUSDR was the second macro-regional strategy (MRS) to be launched 
following the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region (EUSBSR). Over the years, the Strategy has 
provided stimulus to start new projects and processes of macro-regional relevance all over the 
region. The access to know-how and best practices within the macro-region has been of great 
benefit to many actors at various levels who were looking for different approaches and solutions 
when designing and implementing policy. 

The EUSDR covers 14 countries that differ considerably in terms of their development level 
and  position  in  relation  to  the  EU:  it  includes  nine  EU  Member  States,  four  EU  accession 
countries and one potential EU accession country.  

EUSDR is built around four pillars: 

  “Connecting the region” focuses on improving inland navigation along the Danube and 

promoting culture and tourism.  

  “Protecting the environment” seeks to restore and maintain water quality, among other 

issues.  

  “Building prosperity” aims, among other things, to develop the knowledge society.  
  “Strengthening  the  region”  focuses  on  improving  decision-making  capacity  and 

structures in the public and private sector. 

The four pillars are divided into 12 priority areas. 

RESULTS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES  

Main policy developments, including the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic  

The EUSDR has proven its usefulness in directing the attention of politicians, administrations, 
various institutions and civil  society organisations towards the Danube  region. A key added 
value of the strategy is that it brings together new actors across sectors, countries and levels. It 
stimulates policy learning at all levels by bringing together actors to solve common challenges 
that cannot be tackled effectively by one single country alone, be it plastic pollution in water 
bodies, inland navigation, disaster management or the protection of endangered species.  

The  EUSDR  is  a  tool  to  deliver  and  bring  a  territorial  dimension  to  key  European  political 
initiatives  such  as  the  green  and  digital  transition,  issues  related  to  social  transition,  the 
inclusion  of  civil  society  and  youth  as  well  as  responding  to  new  challenges  such  as  the 
pandemic and Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine.  The 
strategy  offers  a  cooperation  platform  for  coordinating  actions  and  funds  based  on  a  cross-
sectoral and multi-level governance approach. Finally, the strategy provides a good introduction 
and training on how the European Union works for countries that are in the process of accessing 
or aspire to join the EU. 

Ukraine took over the presidency of the EUSDR at the Annual Forum in October 2021 for a 
period of 12 months. This was the first time ever that a non-EU, non-accession country (at the 
time) took over the presidency of an MRS. However, on 24 February 2022, Russia launched a 
full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. The impact of the war had an immediate effect on 
the implementation and governance of EUSDR, as Ukraine temporarily was unable to perform 
the duties of the presidency. On the 23 March 2022 the EUSDR National Coordinators formally 
endorsed  a  temporary  EUSDR  presidency  by  the  remaining  members  of  the  EUSDR  Trio 

22 

 
 
presidency, Slovakia and Slovenia, supported by the Danube Strategy Point. The Temporary 
EUSDR presidency undertook the EUSDR presidency’s duties and tasks until 19 May 2022 
when the Ukrainian National Coordination announced that they were ready to once again take 
up the presidency. 

Russia’s  military  aggression  against  Ukraine  has  hampered  the  implementation  of  several 
strategic  projects,  for  example  in  the  field  of  water  management.  It  has  become  difficult  to 
implement and further develop already started activities, while the planning of new projects and 
further inclusion of Ukrainian stakeholders is on hold. Many actors normally engaged in the 
activities of the priority areas of the EUSDR now find themselves heavily involved with tasks 
related to the war e.g. collecting and transporting donations or supporting refugees.  

Apart  from  affecting  the  governance  of  the  EUSDR,  Russia’s  war  against  Ukraine  has 
implications for the policy context of the strategy. Energy security has thus moved to top of the 
political agenda in a region where Russian supply more than 60% of the gas. Also, transporting 
goods into and out of Ukraine by waterway has become difficult as many shipping companies 
no longer provide transport to Ukrainian harbours due to the security situation. As a result, the 
traffic  on  the  Danube  is  largely  diverted  to  ports  in  Romania,  which  in  turn  experience 
congestion.  

During the reporting period the recovery from the pandemic has been a key challenge. Apart 
from triggering new ways of working, the pandemic caused the postponement or cancellation 
of physical meetings (e.g. ministerial meetings, steering group meetings). The pandemic also 
boosted new initiatives such as innovation clusters targeting SMEs that needed to adjust to a 
new market situation post-COVID.  

EUSDR thematic priorities and their interrelation with the European Green Deal   

Overall, the potential contribution of the EUSDR to the objectives of the European Green Deal 
is high. The 2020 action plan aligns the EUSDR with the European Green Deal.  The Green 
Deal and its relevant corollary measures are covered by several priority areas. This includes 
actions  to  mitigate  climate  change,  improve  climate  adaptation  and  increase  resilience. 
Examples include securing water supply for people and agriculture, coping with more frequent 
natural  hazards  and  preserving  and  restoring  biodiversity.  Activities  falling  within  the 
framework  of  the  EUSDR  include  support  to  sustainable  inland  waterway  transport,  to 
integration of energy markets of non-EU countries and help in the implementation of the EU 
energy  acquis.  It  also  includes  sharing  experiences  and  best  practices  in  climate  change 
adaptation and initiatives on the development of green skills. 

In  2020,  the  Croatian  presidency  made  environmental  protection  and  sustainable  economic 
development a priority. This was followed up by the Slovak presidency focusing on climate 
change  and  the  protection  of  biodiversity,  issues  with  a  broad  cross-sectoral  coverage.  The 
EUSDR brings added value by facilitating coordination in decision-making and action, cross-
sectoral approaches and stakeholder involvement. The strategy also plays an important role to 
promote the European Green Deal priorities and objectives with the EU accession countries of 
the region.   

23 

 
 
 
Examples of projects and processes: 
With its activities, the GRENDEL26 project (Priority area 1A – inland navigation) aimed to 
achievea higheracceptance and use of inland waterway transport (IWT) as a more sustainable 
transport mode contributing to economic growth and a more sustainable transport system in 
the Danube region. It addressed the Danube vessel fleet operators on aspects such as use of 
low carbon and alternative fuels, reduction of air pollutant emissions (CO2, NOx, PM) and 
reduction of energy consumption.  

The  SABRINA  project27 (Priority  area  1B  –  rail,  road,  air)  focuses  on  a  very  sustainable 
mode of transport – biking – by increasing the safety for cyclists, one of the most vulnerable 
road users. The objective is to improve road bicycle infrastructure safety in the region by 
raising the capacities of all relevant national, regional, and local stakeholders to build and 
improve bicycle infrastructure in a safe and sustainable way.  

The most important achievement of Priority area 2 (energy) during the reported period was a 
comparative  assessment  of  the  National  Energy  and  Climate  Plans  (NECP)28  of  the 
Danube region countries.  It resulted in four policy briefs and  a policy recommendation to 
support  the  use  of  renewable  energy  sources  in  the  region  to  help  reaching  the  national 
emission  reduction  targets.  The  work  is  expected  to  result  in  the  preparation  of  several 
projects  in  areas  such  as  alternative  fuels  e.g.  hydrogen  which  could  help  to  deliver  the 
REPowerEU Plan. 

The Disaster Management Working Group (DM-WG)29 established within Priority area 5 
(environmental  risks)  is  based  on  a  concept  developed  with  the  Budapest  Fire  Fighter 
Association  acting  as  lead  partner.  Since  its  establishment,  19  governmental  and  non-
governmental civil protection organisations from nine countries joined the EUSDR DM WG. 
Their collaboration resulted in numerous projects, with differentiated funding, supporting the 
regional preparedness and response activities (approximately 1,5 M EUR). 

The Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DSTF), set up within the framework of Priority area 6 
(biodiversity), aims to  coordinate and foster the conservation of highly endangered native 
sturgeon  species  in  the  Danube  River  Basin  and  the  Black  Sea  by  promoting  the 
implementation of the Program STURGEON 2020. The DSTF functions as a platform for 
projects related to the protection of the sturgeon funded from cohesion policy programmes 
as well as LIFE30. New activities within the DSTF include the establishment of a Danube-
wide sturgeon monitoring system. 

LIFE MICACC31 (Municipalities as integrators and coordinators in adaptation to climate 
change) following from Priority area 5 (environmental risks) explores possible solutions to 
face  climate  change  issues  of  mountanous  and  highland  villages  with  the  design  of  an 
integrated  natural  water  retention  system  of  both  the  lower  and  upper  watersheds.  The 
objective is to retain water and sediment (coming with the flooding events) in the upper river 
basin before reaching the built environment. 

26 https://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/grendel 
27 https://www.interreg-danube.eu/news-and-events/programme-news-and-events/5771 
28 NECP_Danube_Region_REKK_2020_final_0215logo.pdf (danube-region.eu) 
29 https://environmentalrisks.danube-region.eu/disaster-management-working-group/ 
30 https://nature.danube-region.eu/projects/sturgeon-2020/ 
31 Partners - LIFE-MICACC project (bm.hu) 

24 

 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
 
EUSDR thematic priorities and their interrelation with the digital transition 

Digitalisation is one of the horizontal objectives of the 2020 EUSDR action plan which was 
further boosted as an effect of the pandemic. Innovation and digital transformation were also 
among the thematic priorities under the Slovak presidency of the EUSDR in 2021. Thus, the 
ministerial meeting held during the 2021 Annual Forum included the ministers responsible for 
innovation and digitisation expressing their commitment to innovation and digitisation in the 
implementation of the EUSDR. Furthermore, in September 2021, Slovakia organised an event 
on  how  to  boost  innovation  and  digitisation  in  the  Danube  region32,  and  the  2021  Danube 
Participation Day33 was dedicated to “Participation & Digitalisation”. The EUSDSR has also a 
role to play in cooperating for a digital future with the accession countries.  

Digitisation  is  covered  by  all  priority  areas.  It  is  of  particular  importance  to  Priority  area  7 
(knowledge society), Priority area 8 (competitiveness) and Priority area 9 (education and skills), 
given the synergies between the priority areas with knowledge, innovation, skills and thematic 
application of digital tools, but is also a prime topic for other EUSDR priority areas.  

Activities include the facilitation of cooperation among clusters and the creation of innovative 
digital  ecosystems,  support  to  increase  the  quality  of  education  systems,  promotion  of 
entrepreneurship and innovation platforms of excellence as well as support to local innovation 
and the development of smart specialisation strategies.  

Examples of projects and processes: 

Priority area 7 (knowledge society) together with Priority area 9 (education and skills) led a 
task force in all four macro-regions focused on home schooling34. In the light of the pandemic 
the objective was to collect best practice of homeschooling and e-learning. The focus was on 
education  of  migrants,  those  children  who  can  not  attend  schools  (ill  children,  immobile, 
people in need) and marginalized communities. 

Digitalisation  impacts  considerably  the  work  of  Priority  area  8  (competitiveness).  A 
dedicated working group - Digital Danube - addresses the issue and an action of the action 
plan is focussed on the establishment of an innovative digital ecosystem supporting SMEs 
tackling the challenges of a digitalised world.  

Priority  area  9  (education  and  skills)  contributed  to  increased  transnational  cooperation 
among  schools  in  the  Danube  region  by  co-organizing  two  Danube  Region  eTwinning35 
conferences. They brought together 37 teachers from 12 Danube Region countries in 2020, 
and 49 teachers from 13 Danube region countries in 2021. A total of 23 school cooperation 
projects  were  developed  by  participating  teachers.  The  conferences  support  innovative 
approaches to teaching and learning and strenghten the digital skills of teachers through the 
use of the online eTwinning platform as well as other digital communication tools. 

32 https://danube-region.eu/eusdr-thematic-conference-on-innovation-and-digitization/  
33 https://danubeparticipationday.eu/events/8th-danube-participation-day/  
34 https://knowledgesociety.danube-region.eu/dtp-capitalisation-strategy/mrs-good-practices/ 
35 https://peopleandskills.danube-region.eu/events/online-thematic-conference-school-cooperation-in-the-
danube-region/ 

25 

 
 
                                                           
 
 
With the Danube Region Platform on Centres of Vocational Excellence36, Priority area 9 
(education  and  skills)  started  a  new  initiative  developed  through  cooperation  with  the 
European  Training  Foundation.  The  platform  aims  to  support  innovation  and  smart 
specialization in the Danube region. It provides a regional forum for policy dialogue on VET 
excellence  in  going  green  and  social  inclusion  and  aims  to  promote  cooperation  between 
Danube region centres of vocational excellence (CoVEs).  

Cross-thematic cooperation between Priority areas 1A (inland navigation) and 11 (security) 
simplifies for the shipping sector through harmonized Danube Navigation Standard Forms 
(DAVID) forms now used at all checkpoints at and outside the Schengen external borders. 
After Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine introduced the DAVID forms in 2020, 
also  Romania  and  the  Republic  of  Moldova  followed  in  the  first  half  of  2022  and  thus 
completed the introduction process.  The DAVID forms  replace the three  most commonly 
used border control forms (arrival & departure report, crew and passenger list) and therefore 
facilitates the border controls for the Danube shipping sector. 

The  first-ever  IT  summer  camp  for  girls in  The  Republic  of    Moldova  was  supported  by 
Priority  area  9  (education  and  skills).  The  GirlsGoIT37  project  provides  girls  and  young 
women with entrepreneurial start-up, digital tech and IT skills encouraging them to pursue a 
career  in  IT. GirlsGoIT  organises  in-demand  technical  and  non-technical  trainings  and 
mentoring in IT, knowledge sharing events  and workshops in partnership with companies 
and promotes relatable stories of people in IT. The project was presented during the 2022 EU 
MRS Week in Brussels. 

EUSDR thematic priorities and social change, including the inflow of refugees and other 
consequences of the war in Ukraine 
As highlighted during the 3rd EU MRS Week in March 2022, Europe is confronted with major 
socio-economic  and  environmental  challenges,  and  there  is  a  rising  demand  to  deploy  new 
approaches in order to efficiently and effectively cope with these issues.   

The EUSDR has a great potential for addressing the social transition. The action plan covers 
issues mainly related to fighting poverty, promoting social inclusion, vocational education and 
social  entrepreneurship.  With  the  Danube  Region  Platform  on  Centres  of  Vocational 
Excellence, Priority area 9 (education and skills) started an important new initiative that was 
developed  through  intensified  cooperation  with  the  European  Training  Foundation.  The 
platform aims to support innovation and smart specialization in the Danube region. It provides 
a regional forum for policy dialogue on vocational education and training excellence in going 
green and social inclusion and aims to promote cooperation between Danube region centres of 
vocational excellence.  

Given current challenges, ways to address issues relating to the social transition were explored, 
not the least given the inflow of refugees and other consequences of the war in Ukraine that 
affect many EUSDR stakeholders. Thus, established networks with civil society organisations 
were used to coordinate initiatives to support people in Ukraine or refugees fleeing the war. 
The setting up of corridors in the form of train routes between Ukraine and the European Union 

36 https://www.etf.europa.eu/en/news-and-events/events/kick-danube-region-platform-centres-vocational-
excellence-regional-approach 
37 https://girlsgoit.org/en/despre/ 

26 

 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
for refugees were supported. However, as the war moves on additional activities may need to 
be explored. 

Examples of projects and processes: 

During  the  reporting  period,  the  SEED-Hub  (Social  Entrepreneurship  Education  and 
Development  Hub)38  funded  through  the  cross-border  Interreg  AT-SK  programme  was 
launched (Priority area 7 - knowledge society).  The project supports social enterprises and 
entrepreneurs, whose common feature is the assumption of social responsibility working with 
innovative and sustainable concepts. The aim is to develop long-term partnerships between 
social enterprises and entrepreneurs who carry out similar activities in the border regions of 
both countries. 

SI PLUS39 funded by the EaSI programme is a new project under Priority area 9 (education 
and  skills) set  up  in  a  partnership  between  Austria,  Bulgaria,  Slovakia,  Hungary,  Croatia, 
Germany (Baden-Württemberg) and Slovenia with the aim to foster social innovation in the 
Danube region and beyond. It boosts social innovation, notably with a focus on employment 
and the labour market. The project organises mutual learning and transforms research results 
into practical approaches and tools for implementing ESF+ programmes. It also includes the 
establishment  of  National  Competence  Centres  for  Social  innovation  in  the  participating 
countries. This umbrella project brings together a diversity of actors, be it from the ESF+, 
the ERDF, or other funding schemes such as Leader.  

TALENTMAGNET40  is  a project  that  addresses  major societal  (demographic and labour 
market) challenges caused by the outmigration of highly educated young people, primarily 
from small- and medium sized towns in the Danube region. The project intends to address 
these  challenges  by  improved  multilevel  governance,  targeted  policy  instruments  and 
practical  tools  to  attract  and  retain  talent  –  tailored  to  the  specific  needs  of  small 
municipalities.  

Governance and Administrative involvement and capacity 

The governance structure of the EUSDR consists of the following functions and levels: 

 
 
 
 
 

the national coordinators;  
the presidency;  
the Trio presidency (consisting of the incumbent, past and future presidencies);  
the priority area coordinators;  
the steering groups and their working groups.  

Annual ministerial meetings in the EUSDR are held within the framework of the annual forum 
that usually takes place in October.  

38 https://www.zsi.at/en/object/project/5803   
39 https://www.sofia-da.eu/en/news/2332-social-innovation-plus-%E2%80%93-competence-centres-si-plus-
2.html 
40 Interreg Danube (interreg-danube.eu) 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
Political level 

Each year, the EUSDR presidency is handed over to the succeeding country at the annual forum. 
Within the reporting period, the EUSDR was chaired by Croatia in 2020, by Slovakia in 2021 
and  by  Ukraine  in  2022.  Slovenia  will  chair  the  EUSDR  in  2023  and  Austria  in  2024.  The 
EUSDR national coordinators have decided to  move to a system where the presidencies are 
determined in alphabetical order. This system will be operational from 2024. 

The EUSDR presidency is assisted by the Trio presidency (predecessor/incumbent/successor). 
Following  Russia’s  aggression  against  Ukraine,  the  EUSDR  governance  system  proved  its 
resilience,  when  the  other  two  countries  in  the  Trio,  Slovakia  and  Slovenia  agreed  to 
temporarily take over the presidency until Ukraine was able to resume its responsibilities. Due 
to the pandemic and the lockdown that followed, the 9th EUSDR annual forum in 2020 was 
organised  virtually  from  Zagreb  during  the  Croatian  presidency.  The  event  was  carried  out 
under the headline Harmonious and sustainable development with a focus on the ecological, 
economic  and  social aspects  of sustainable  regional  development in  the  Danube  region.  The 
ministerial meeting gave a strong political backing to the embedding process and to the further 
strengthening of the involvement of the Western Balkans in the EUSDR. The EUSDR annual 
forum  provides  an opportunity  for the  governments  of the participating countries to  express 
their continued commitment to the strategy and give strategic direction to key implementers. A 
ministerial meeting is held in connection with EUSDR annual forum. 
In 2021, the 10th EUSDR annual forum was organised with the theme Towards a green and 
digital  Danube  region  in  hybrid  format  from  Bratislava  during  the  Slovak  presidency.  The 
ministerial  meeting  took  place  between  the  ministers  responsible  for  Innovation  and 
Digitalisation. The result was a joint declaration on digitalisation and digital transformation and 
the relevance for a better and more focused use of Cohesion Policy funds. The 2022 annual 
forum was planned to take place in Ukraine. However, due to the war, the 2022 annual forum 
will  be  organised  jointly  by  Ukraine,  Slovakia  and  Slovenia  in  hybrid  format  from  Košice, 
Slovakia on the theme recovery-development-unity.  

To support the cooperation in the Danube region at the political level, conferences of Danube 
parliamentarians take place periodically. Due to the pandemic, however, no such conferences 
were  held  in  2020  and  2021.  As  one  of  the  major  regional  conferences  addressing  current 
societal  issues,  high-level  political  dialogue  is  also  organised  in  the  framework  of  the  Bled 
Strategic Forum, an annual event organised in the Slovenian city of Bled with focus on central 
and south-eastern Europe where participants exchange views and seek innovative solutions to 
contemporary and future political, security, strategic and developmental challenges41.  

Implementation level 

The National Coordinators are the focal points at national level and form the decision-making 
body for the strategy. Their task is to oversee implementation of the EUSDR in their countries 
and ensure that the strategy is firmly anchored in the national political environment.  

Each participating country officially nominates a National Coordinators (NCs) and one or more 
deputies. Together, the National Coordinators form the “group of NCs” which meets regularly. 
The National Coordinators keep the EUSDR presidency and the European Commission updated 
on a continuous basis. The key role of National Coordinators, with support from the Danube 

41 https://bledstrategicforum.org/ 

28 

 
 
                                                           
Strategy  Point  upon  request,  is  to  coordinate,  guide  and  monitor  participation  in  the 
implementation  of the EUSDR. This  includes engaging  with  all 12 priority areas (including 
participation in steering group meetings), and liaising with national line ministries and other 
relevant  organisations  to  encourage  them  to  participate  in  the  implementation  of  EUSDR 
actions in their policy field. 

In order to facilitate the involvement of the political level, all participating countries have set 
up mechanisms at national level to coordinate EUSDR issues. Cross-sectoral national platforms 
were  established  in  several  EUSDR  countries  to  support  continuous  dialogue  with  relevant 
national/regional/local  stakeholders  in  key  areas  and  initiatives.  These  platforms  aim  to 
coordinate EUSDR issues and involve a wider range of actors, including stakeholders in charge 
of  cohesion  policy  programmes.  One  challenge  is  a  strong  fluctuation  of  members  of  the 
platforms and to ensure the involvement of actors from different levels (sub-national, regional, 
local). 

The EUSDR countries are responsible for coordinating the priority areas and to nominate the 
Priority Area Coordinators (PACs). Each priority area is managed by at least two Priority Area 
Coordinators, working with their Steering Group  members.  The Priority  Area Coordinators’ 
main role is to identify key processes that will achieve the strategy’s goals through different 
actions and identifying how to best implement activities to this end. The tasks of the PACs are 
challenging as funding and administrative structures (and political power) to implement a broad 
set of targets is limited. 

The  EUSDR  steering  groups  (SGs)  are  the  central  executive  and  decision-making  bodies  at 
priority  area  level  for  cooperation  objectives,  actions  to  be  implemented  and  future 
developments. Some priority areas (notably Priority area 6 - biodiversity) operate with several 
task forces as intermediate platforms for specific topics. Most steering groups meet, as required, 
twice a year. However, the participation of steering group members varies significantly between 
priority  areas.  For  some  countries  a  very  high  participation  level  is  recorded,  while  others 
participate  more  sporadically.  Notwithstanding  the  participation  in  the  meetings,  the 
engagement of the steering group member can be (very) limited. This may be the result of a 
high fluctuation of steering group members and the fact that steering group members lack the 
necessary project development and implementation competence to take strategic decision, when 
at all mandated to do this.  

The Danube Strategy Point set  up in  2018 as technical  support structure  has proven to  be a 
success and the key element of the well-functioning EUSDR-governance system. It is run as a 
single project with two partners, the City of Vienna as Lead Partner, together with the Romanian 
Ministry of Regional Development and Public Administration. 

The pandemic affected the work of the priority areas, due the lack of physical meetings which 
limited the smooth running of MRS activities. At the same time, online meetings provide useful 
as a modality for the future as they are easier to organise, cost less and allow more people to 
participate. However, digital events cannot permanently replace conferences and meetings in 
EUSDR. Personal contacts between stakeholders, building trust and individual connections are 
important.  

Civil society 

Civil society organisations in the Danube region act through platforms based on participatory 
planning, community-building and empowerment. Examples of such platforms include: 

29 

 
 
  Danube Civil Society Forum42 (DCSF) with its working group, the Danube Local Actors 
Platform  (D-LAP),  which  consists  of  representatives  from  civil  society,  cities  and 
municipalities. 

  DANET - Danube Networkers for Europe43. DANET promotes exchanges and working 
together in the areas of lifelong learning, social participation, dialogue and co-operation 
between  generations  and  cross-cultural  dialogue  in  Europe  and  particularly  in  the 
Danube region.  

  Budapest-based European House that coordinated the work with the so called Shadow 
Report44 - an initiative of civil society organisations from across Europe to prepare an 
implementation report on EU macro-regional policies from a citizens’ perspective. 

Efforts  to  involve civil  society  is  made across all EUSDR  priority areas.  Representatives of 
civil  society  organisations  are  key  partners  in  arranging  and  implementing  the  National 
Participation  Days  and  Danube  Participation  Day  that  are  important  arenas  to  bring  public 
administration  representatives  and  civil  society  organisations  together  and  to  coordinate  the 
implementation of the EUSDR at national/regional level. 

The  Shadow  Report  (mentioned  above)  emphasize  that  civil  society  organisations  play  an 
important  role  in  contributing  to  better  decision-making,  in  particular  by  bringing  local  and 
regional communities closer to the macro-regional strategies. This is important today as many 
civil society organisations have been severely affected during the pandemic and are only now 
about to restart their activities. It is therefore crucial to facilitate and systematically increase the 
involvement of civil society organisations on a partnership basis in the governance structure of 
the EUSDR.   

Youth 

The inclusion of youth in the governance of the EUSDR is a key priority. Annual events such 
as  the  Young  Bled  Strategic  Forum45,  a  capacity  building  and  discussion  forum  for  young 
leaders already exist. However, the involvement of youth is mainly driven by Priority area 10 
(institutional capacity) and needs a broader cross-thematic coverage.  

The 2020 Danube Participation Day discussed the draft Guidance Paper for Youth Participation 
in the Danube region, to start a debate on how to reinforce the participation of  youth in  the 
governance  of  the  EUSDR46.  In  order  to  further  advance  on  the  issue  and  following  the 
recommendation of the Manifesto for Young People by Young People to Shape the European 
Cooperation  Policy47,  the  Danube  Youth  Council  Task  Force  was  set  up  during  the  Slovak 
presidency in September 2021.  

42  https://dcsf.danubestrategy.eu/ 
43  http://www.foragenetwork.eu/database/item/702-danet-danube-networkers-for-europe/DANET%20-

%20Danube%20Networkers%20for%20Europe 

44 https://europeanhouse.hu/the-shadow-report/ 
45 https://bledstrategicforum.org/young-bsf-2021/ 
46 Final version available here: https://capacitycooperation.danube-region.eu/topics/guidance-paper-for-youth-
participation/ 
47 youth_manifesto_interreg_en.pdf (danube-region.eu) 

30 

 
 
                                                           
 
 
In  February  2022,  at  the  4th  meeting  of  the  task  force,  national  representatives  of  the 
participating  states  together  with  the  Danube  Strategy  Point  and  DG  REGIO  finalised 
the proposal  for  the  establishment  of  the  Danube  Youth  Council.  Inspired  by  the  EUSALP 
Youth  Council48,  this  proposal  was  initiated  by  the  Slovak  EUSDR  presidency  and  further 
developed during the Ukrainian EUSDR presidency. The Danube Youth Council will provide 
a platform for institutional involvement of young people in all EUSDR bodies49 to make ideas 
and viewpoints of young people heard and considered at the political level. The primary role of 
the Danube Youth Council is to provide the core decision-making bodies of the Danube region 
Strategy with advice and recommendations to enable dynamic exchange and learning processes. 
The council will have 28 members, two from each country participating in the EUSDR. The 
Danube Youth Council is expected to be established in September 2022. 

Access to funding and embedding: 

General overview 

The Danube Transnational Programme (Interreg)  continues to be the most utilised source of 
funding for implementing projects under the EUSDR action plan. Over the years, integration 
and  alignment  between  the  EUSDR  and  the  Danube  Transnational  Programme  has  greatly 
helped  in  developing  and  co-financing  EUSDR  projects.  This  programme  does  not  only 
contribute to implementing the strategy but also funds the Danube Strategy Point and the work 
of the PACs.  

Additional  funding  sources  are:  other  Interreg programmes  in  the region,  the  Instrument for 
Pre-Accession  Assistance  (IPA)  and  the  Neighbourhood,  Development  and  International 
Cooperation Instrument (NDICI). Funding has also been allocated from mainstream regional 
and national cohesion policy programmes. 

Cohesion policy programmes 2021-2027 

The Danube Transnational Programme alone cannot, by far, cover all requests for funding to 
implement the action plan. That is why it is necessary to embed the strategy in other funding 
programmes. Thus, in November 2019, on the initiative of the Croatian presidency, the EUSDR 
embedding task force was set up. The task force brings together key EUSDR stakeholders at all 
levels with the aim to facilitate access to financial sources, notably mainstream Cohesion policy 
national  and  regional  programmes.  Moreover,  embedding  is  not  limited  to  EU  funding 
programmes,  also  national  and  regional  budgets  as  well  as  financial  opportunities  by  other 
donors  should  be  considered.  During  the  reporting  period,  the  work  initiated  by  Croatian 
presidency  in  collaboration  with  National  Coordinators,  Priority  Area  Coordinators  and  the 
Danube Strategy Point was taken forward by the Slovak and Ukrainian EUSDR Presidencies. 

The  success  of  the  embedding  depends  on  the  early  involvement  of  national  and  regional 
programming  authorities.  Since  2015,  the  EUSDR  has  a  European  Social  Fund  Managing 
Authority  (MA)  Network.  In  2021,  networks  for  the  European  Regional  Development 
Fund/Cohesion  Funds  Managing  Authorities  and  the  IPA/NDICI  programming  authorities' 
network were established.  

The 2021 action plan plays a key role in the embedding process. This being said, the action plan 
(with over 85 actions) is difficult to be embedded due to its wide scope. Hence, in 2020, the 
Priority  Area  Coordinators  and  their  Steering  Groups  drew  up,  based  on  the  action  plan,  a 
shortlist  of  three  strategic  topics  for  each  Priority  area  to  be  included  in  the  relevant 

48 https://eusalp-youth.eu/eusalp-youth-council/ 
49 EUSDR_Governance_Paper_07-2020_endorsed.pdf (danube-region.eu) 

31 

 
 
                                                           
 
national/regional programmes. National Coordinators had a priori gathered national managing 
authorities of the cohesion policy/IPA/NDICI funds, as well as other relevant stakeholders to 
explore ways to take the embedding process forward. An initial shortlist of 36 actions turned 
out to be too unfocused and was narrowed down to five areas50 that matched with priorities of 
the  funding  programmes.  During  the  2nd  trimester  of  2022,  thematic  workshops  for  the  five 
areas  will  be  organised,  bringing  together  relevant  EUSDR  key  stakeholders  and  the 
programming/managing authorities.  

During the reporting period numerous supporting documents for the embedding were prepared, 
such as the following:  

  The Embedding tool51 – Prepared by the Danube Strategy Point, it supports the PACs 
in the selection of strategic topics (shortlist). It is also used by NCs when approaching 
managing authorities and provided to authorities responsible for the strategic planning 
and programming of the ESI/IPA III/NDICI funds.  

  EMBEDDING  in  a  nutshell  with  the  EUSDR  EMBEDDING  MA  LEAFLET  -  A 
comprehensive 
for 
summary 
managing/programming  authorities,  NC,  PACs  and  other  stakeholders  working  on 
EUSDR Embedding into EU programmes for the period 2021–2027.  

of  EUSDR  Embedding 

compact 

and 

  Guidance  Paper  on  embedding  the  EUSDR  into  EU  programmes52  ,  drafted  by  the 

Croatian presidency setting out the principles for the embedding in the EUSDR. 

  From Words to Action53 – a discussion paper prepared by the Slovak EUSDR presidency 
outlining  potential  embedding  activities  to  be  used  by  managing/programming 
authorities to incorporate the EUSDR objectives into their actions. An example of such 
activities is synchronised calls explored within Innovation Express54 (Priority area 8 - 
competitiveness), an initiative covering several MRS. 

  From  Actions  to  Funding  –  a  discussion  paper  elaborated  by  the  Ukrainian  EUSDR 
presidency with support of the EUSDR Trio presidency and the Danube Strategy Point.  

As  the  embedding  now  moves  from  programming  to  implementation,  the  focus  shifts  to 
monitoring where the key task will be to determine the concrete use of the embedding tools 
(calls, labelling, etc.). In this process, it will be crucial to scan calls relevant for the EUSDR via 
EuroAccess55,  monitor  projects  via  the  Priority  Area  Coordinators  Reporting  Tool,  monitor 
projects  via  managing/programming  authorities)  as  well  as  keeping  track  of  programme 
evaluations. 

Funds directly managed by the Commission 

In addition to cohesion policy programmes, EUSDR projects are also co-financed by other EU 
funding  instruments,  notably  directly  managed  programmes  such  as  the  Connecting  Europe 
Facility (CEF), Erasmus, LIFE and Horizon 2020/Europe. The number of activities that receive 
funding from these sources is increasing.  

50 Based on specific objectives 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 2.4 and 2.7 as set out in Article 3 of Regulation 2021/1059 of 24 
June 2021  
51 https://danube-region.eu/projects-and-funding/embedding-2021-2027/ 
52 Guidance-Paper_EUSDR-embedding-process_04.2020_final.pdf (danube-region.eu) 
53 https://danube-region.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Embedding-Discussion-Paper-From-Words-to-
Action.pdf 
54 https://danube-region.eu/innovation-express-2021-call-for-proposals/  
55 https://www.euro-access.eu/ 

32 

 
 
                                                           
 
 
 
The CEF has been of particular importance to projects in Priority areas 1A (inland navigation)56 
and  1B  (rail,  road,  air).  The  Komárom-Komarno  cross-border  bridge57  (Priority  area  1B) 
between Hungary and Slovakia, that included a new bridge and connecting highway sections 
across the Danube to connect the cities of Komárom and Komarno inaugurated in September 
2020, was funded by CEF.   

Horizon  2020  supported  projects  in  Priority  areas  4  (water),  5  (environmental  risks)  and  7 
(knowledge  society)  such  as  DAREnet58,  OPTAIN59  and  TRESCA60.  At  the  end  of  2021,  a 
dedicated call under Horizon Europe for the establishment of the Danube river basin lighthouses 
was  launched.  The  Horizon  Europe  work  programme  on  Widening  Participation  and 
Strengthening the European Research Area61 is of particular interst to EUSDR stakeholders.  

LIFE is used by Priority areas 5 (environmental risks) and 6 (biodiversity) to support several 
projects  such  as  LIFE  SandBoil62,  LIFE-MICACC63  and  LIFE  WILDisland64.  In  addition, 
Priority area 5 (environmental  risks) receives  funding for  DiMaND65  (Disaster Management 
Network in the Danube region) and PROFOUND66 (Flood response activities in the Danube 
region - macro-regional scale field exercise) from DG ECHO. Priority area 11 (security) gets 
support  from  the  Internal  Security  Fund  -  Police  (DG  HOME)  for  a  project  aiming  at  the 
dismantling of illegal methamphetamine laboratories (drug meth labs) in the EU67. European 
Commission’s Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) provides support to 
the SI PLUS project68 (Priority area 9 – education and skills) while Priority area 1A (inland 
navigation) finances the  COMPETING project  (education and training for inland navigation 
crew members) under Erasmus+69.  

Monitoring and evaluation 

Progress on implementing EUSDR actions is monitored through  the reporting on targets. At 
national  level,  monitoring  is  carried  out  by  the  National  Coordinators  through  coordination 
structures set up with relevant ministries. At the level of priority areas, the steering groups are 
responsible for monitoring progress. In addition, as all PACs are funded as projects under the 
Danube Transnational Programme, and PACs reports their activities according to the rules of 
the programme. Monitoring of projects is done at the level of each priority area, but also by the 
programmes under which the projects are funded. 

56 http://www.fairwaydanube.eu/cef/ 
57 2014-EU-TMC-0485-W | Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (europa.eu) 
58 http://darenetproject.eu/  
59 https://www.optain.eu/   
60 https://trescaproject.eu/   
61 European Commission Decision C(2022)2975 of 10 May 2022 
62 https://lifesandboil.eu/ 
63 https://vizmegtartomegoldasok.bm.hu/en   
64 https://danubeparks.org/news/life-wildisland-project-approved 
65 https://disastermanagement-danube.net/ 
66 https://profoundexercise.eu/ 
67 https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/org-
details/944699394/project/822773/program/31077817/details   
68 https://www.seedeuproject.eu/project/ 
69 https://www.iwt-competencies.eu/ 

33 

 
 
 
                                                           
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Until  now,  there  has  been no  structured  tool  for  monitoring  progress  and  achievements  that 
allows for an overview of developments of the EUSDR over time. Thus, in order to reinforce 
the monitoring and identify the impacts and achievements, the National Coordinators asked the 
Danube Strategy Point to develop a new monitoring system70. Introduced during 2022, the new 
monitoring tool brings together existing processes and information as well as includes topics 
and processes not covered to date. The timing of the regular EUSDR monitoring is aligned with 
the preparation of the Commission’s report of the state of play of the MRS.  

The updated EUSDR evaluation plan (2021)71 specifies the evaluation activities to be carried 
out.  The  plan  was  developed  by  the  Danube  Strategy  Point  in  close  collaboration  with  the 
steering group for evaluation (SG DANUVAL). The evaluation plan is divided in two parts. In 
2019,  an  operational  evaluation  was  conducted  with  a  focus  on  EUSDR  governance, 
communication and stakeholder involvement. This evaluation provided valuable input for the 
revision of the action plan. An impact evaluation is carried out in 2022. Its focus is on the action 
plan and the embedding  process. An updated version  of the  EUSDR evaluation  plan  is  also 
expected  during  the  year.  In  addition,  ESPON  is  conducting  Territorial  Scenarios  for  the 
Danube and Adriatic Ionian Macro-regions (TEVI2050).  

Communication 

The principles of EUSDR communication activities are stated in the EUSDR Communication 
Strategy  (2020),  the  EUSDR  Communication  Guide  (2020)  and  the  three  annual  EUSDR 
Communication Plans (2019, 2020, 2021). The  Danube Strategy Point has  a key role in  the 
work acting as a communication hub.  

Numerous communication activities were carried out during the reporting period such as: 

  The  success  stories  e-brochure  was  produced  by  the  Danube  Strategy  Point  on  the 
occasion of the 10th anniversary of the EUSDR. This is an online interactive brochure72 
that provides information on important historical landmarks of the strategy as well as 
an overview on activities supported by the strategy.  

  The EUSDR newsletter regularly informs about strategy developments. In November 
2021,  the  EUSDR  newsletter  had  673  subscribers,  of  which  167  were  a  part  of  the 
EUSDR governance.  

  Since April 2020, 31 videos were created and disseminated on the YouTube channel. 
These videos include 25 thematic clips on pillars or Priority areas of the Strategy (posted 
in series), two clips of general presentation, two interventions of Commissioner Elisa 
Ferreira,  and  two  videos  highlighting  progress  made  during  specific  EUSDR 
presidencies. 

  Between 16 April and 30 June 2021 (ten weeks), an ad campaign was conducted via 
Google ads and Facebook. The ad campaign ran on 28 web portals in the 14 Danube 
region countries and on relevant Facebook accounts.  

70 The need for a new monitoring concept was defined by in the EUSDR NC Meeting of September 2017 in 
Budapest. 
71 https://danube-region.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/EUSDR-Evaluation-Plan_v2_20210531_final.pdf   
72 https://danube-region.eu/communication-tools/multimedia/  

34 

 
 
                                                           
Moreover, in June 2021 the EUSDR SmartApp was introduced. It provides similar information 
to  the  Danube  Strategy  website,  e.g.,  general  information,  news,  events  calendar,  calls  for 
projects, etc. By November 2021 it had 94 downloads, which overall is assessed as a relatively 
good result for a novelty.  

In the wake of the pandemic, the 9th EUSDR annual forum gathered more than 700 participants 
online from Zagreb on 22 October 2020. The 10th annual forum took place on 26-27 October 
2021 in Bratislava in hybrid mode with almost 700 participants, including 90 persons on-site.  

A proxy for verifying the efficiency of the EUSDR communication is the increase in citizen’s 
awareness of the EUSDR. The Flash Eurobarometer 497 published in October 2021, showed 
that on average, the awareness in the EUSDR Member States increased by 18% from 19 to 22, 
i.e. every fifth resident of the region is aware of the strategy.   

Communication activities are also carried out at the level of the priority areas running their own 
websites through the platform of the Danube Strategy Point. The priority areas are also active 
on social media and at time produce information brochures. They provide information on their 
activities to the Danube Strategy Point, as the coordinator of EUSDR communication activities. 
At national level, National Coordinators have a key role in communicating about the strategy 
through  various  channels.  Several  national  administrations  run  dedicated  web  pages  that 
provide information on activities related to the EUSDR.  

THE WAY FORWARD 

The significant social and economic differences that continue to exist both between and within 
the  individual  countries  in  the  EUSDR  represent  a  challenge  that  was  exacerbated  by  the 
pandemic. However, the strategy has proven to be a stable and resilient governance framework 
also in times of crisis and an important anchor for macro-regional cooperation in the Danube 
region.  It  has  been  useful  in  mobilising  political  support  within  the  region  as  well  as  in 
institutionalising networks of cooperation among stakeholders on many levels that otherwise 
would not have taken place.  

The European Green Deal, the digital transition, social change including the inflow of 
refugees and other consequences of the war in Ukraine 

In general, the potential for contribution of the EUSDR to the objectives of the green and digital 
transition is high. This is also reflected at political level and manifested through the priorities 
of  the  last  EUSDR  presidencies.  However,  crucial  topics  such  as  the  EU  missions73,  e.g., 
climate-neutral and smart cities, water and ocean quality, healthy soils, adaptation to climate 
change,  e-governance,  social  economy  and  long-term  territorial  governance  are  only  partly 
covered by the action plan.  

Moreover,  fully  integrating  the  principles  of  the  European  Green  Deal  and  other  strategic 
initiatives such as the REPowerEU Plan into the EUSDR action plan would mean that that the 
priority areas dealing with  energy, environmental risks, biodiversity  and  digitalisation  could 
assume a more central and overarching role.  

73 https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-
open-calls/horizon-europe/missions-horizon-europe_en  

35 

 
 
                                                           
Issues related to social transition are considered in the action plan and a number of initiatives 
were launched in this field. The war in Ukraine and the recovery from the pandemic put renewed 
spotlight on social issues.  

The  pandemic  reversed  an  otherwise  positive  trend  showing  a  decreasing  number  of  young 
people  not  engaged  in  education,  employment  or  training  (NEETs)  in  the  region.  While 
refugees are seeking shelter across Europe, some of the countries participating in the EUSDR 
are  particularly  concerned.  The  refugee  crisis  differs  from  previous  crises,  as  many  of  the 
refugees are  young women with children, often  well-educated but lacking practical working 
experience.  As  a  result,  many  take  jobs  below  their  level  of  qualification  due  to  difficulties 
getting their degrees formally recognised. Thus, future activities related to social transition most 
likely will have to be reconsidered and reinforced.  

EUSDR governance (including monitoring, evaluation and communication) 

Overall, the governance of the EUSDR has reached a certain level of maturity and has shown 
resilience during the times of crisis. However, for the future, the following issues needs to be 
considered: 

  The political commitment to the strategy needs to be strengthened. A reinforced role for 
the strategy in delivering on key European policy initiatives (i.e. the green and digital 
transition, social change), in responding to key challenges such as the recovery from the 
war in Ukraine and the pandemic, and in facilitating EU enlargement could help to make 
the strategy more politically relevant. The organisation of annual conferences of Danube 
parliamentarians should be resumed. 

  The EUSDR would benefit from more cross-cutting work between priority areas. This 
could help to reinforce the capacity to deliver on key European political priorities as 
well  as  on  new  challenges  such  as  the  war  in  Ukraine  and  the  recovery  from  the 
pandemic. 

  Priority  area  steering  groups  need  a  stable  composition  of  active  members  with  the 
required  competence  and  mandated  to  take  strategic  decisions.  This  calls  for  a 
reinforcement  of  human  resources,  administrative  capacity  and  practical  experience.  
New  steering  group  members  should  be  properly  introduced  to  their  roles.  It  is  also 
important  that  they  are  made  fully  aware  and  have  the  full  capacity  to  contribute  to 
horizontal topics such as key European policy priorities. Capacity building with joint 
activities across priority areas could facilitate such processes. 

  A balance should be found between frequent, targeted digital meetings for coordination 
and information exchange and in-person meetings that allow for direct exchange and 
joint development of new ideas.  

  The Danube Strategy Point is playing a very important role in ensuring continuity and 
stability in the implementation of EUSDR. It is thus crucial for the strategy to continue 
to  benefit  from  the  continuity,  professionalism  and  accountability  of  the  Danube 
Strategy Point.  

  The  structured  involvement  of  civil  society  and  civil  society  organisations  in  the 
EUSDR governance structures is still a challenge. An institutionalised citizen’s dialogue 
at  macro-regional  level  could  strengthen  the  participation.  The  new  Danube  Youth 
Council  to  be  set  up  in  2022  is  an  important  achievement  that  need  to  be  closely 
followed and assessed.  

36 

 
 
 

Intensified  exchanges  with  the  other  MRS  and  other  regional  cooperation  networks 
should increase exchange and develop synergies. EUSDR can learn from other MRS, 
for  example  in  relation  to  inclusion  of  youth  (EUSALP).  Similarly,  EUSDR  could 
provide valuable experience to EUSAIR on the revision of the action plan and to the 
three other MRS on the embedding.   

Embedding, implementation and access to funds directly managed by the Commission 

Overall, the EUSDR embedding process is assessed as comprehensive and well-developed. It 
has been built on continuous efforts to show the national and regional authorities' ways to align 
the new programmes with the EUSDR and create adequate mechanism to facilitate appropriate 
contribution.  The  challenge  for  the  years  to  come  is  to  move  from  programming  to 
implementation, including progress monitoring tools to be introduced in 2022. It will thus be 
important that the work already done within the EUSDR embedding task force is properly taken 
forward by all key stakeholders, especially the Managing Authority networks.   

Funds from centrally managed programmes already play a role in EUSDR and efforts to explore 
synergies between these programmes and the strategy have already been made at the level of 
priority areas. This work needs to be continued to ensure that an increasing number of EUSDR 
projects can benefit from such funding74.  

EUSDR role in EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy 

Covering a total of 14 countries of which four are accession countries (Montenegro, Serbia, 
Moldova  and  Ukraine)  and  one  potential  accession  country  (Bosnia  and  Herzegovina),  the 
EUSDR serves as an interface between EU Member States and third countries. The strategy 
provides  an  excellent  introduction  to  how  the  European  Union  works  for  countries  in  the 
process  of  accessing  or  aspiring  to  join  the  EU.  It  is  especially  in  the  enlargement  and 
neighbourhood policies that the EUSDR has a significant role acting as a platform for capacity 
building and cooperation on an equal footing with non-EU countries.  

The  fact  that  Ukraine  took  over  the  presidency  of  the  EUSDR  triggered  new  cooperative 
activities  within  the  strategy  intensifying  the  cooperation  in  the  Danube  region  and 
strengthening the European integration processes. Ukraine needs stronger cooperation, closer 
partnership, and peer-to-peer exchange to accelerate the process of European integration. The 
Ukrainian MRS presidency has the potential to further facilitate the development of common 
activities with tangible and sustainable results.  

Thus, the EUSDR should continue to play a role in preparing accession countries to the EU. 
Similarly, the EUSDR together with the EUSAIR should continue to support EU enlargement 
policy in the Western Balkans. 

74 For example, in future the Danube Sturgeon Task Force (DSTF) should consider integrating in its work the 
Horizon Europe Mission Danube river basin lighthouse on restoration of fresh and transitional water ecosystems. 

37 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
Report on the implementation of the European Union strategy for the 
Adriatic and Ionian region (EUSAIR) 

The EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region (EUSAIR) was adopted in 2014 as the third 
macro-regional  strategy.  Since  its  creation,  the  EUSAIR  has  provided  a  unique  platform  of 
cooperation  for  joint  planning  of  processes,  projects,  and  activities  for  the  sustainable  and 
harmonious development of the entire region. The region is a functional area primarily (but not 
exclusively)  defined  by  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  Sea  basin.  Home  to  more  than  70  million 
people, the macro-region plays a key role in strengthening geographical continuity in Europe. 

The macro-regional approach has proved attractive over the last few years in the region. In fact, 
following the inclusion of the Republic of North Macedonia in April 2020, the Republic of San 
Marino  acceded  to  the  EUSAIR  almost  two  years  later,  in  February  2022.  This  testifies  the 
attractiveness of the macro-regional approach. “The inclusion of San Marino in the EUSAIR 
will step up cooperation in the Adriatic and Ionian region. It will also strengthen the EUSAIR 
partnership  and  the  relations  between  San  Marino  and  the  EU”75.  Currently,  the  EUSAIR 
covers 10 countries, four EU Member States, five candidate countries and potential candidates 
and  one  third  country.  It  includes  both  some  of  the  most  developed  and  some  of  the  least 
developed regions in Europe. This makes it an important instrument for convergence. 

The  EUSAIR  is  built  around  four  thematic  pillars:  Blue  Growth,  Connecting  the  Region, 
Environmental Quality, and Sustainable Tourism. It allows a sector by sector integration, and 
promotes European policies and investments in the Adriatic and Ionian region. As the EUSAIR 
partner countries are currently working on revising and updating the strategy, its thematic focus 
may slightly change in the future.  

The region faces several challenges which can be tackled more successfully together than on a 
purely national or local level, for instance:  

  socio-economic disparities (e.g. in terms of GDP per capita and unemployment rates);  

  a lack of research-to-business networks;  

  shortcomings in transport links (road, rail and air) and vessel traffic congestion;  

 

inadequate interconnections of electricity grids;  

  unsustainability of fisheries;  

  environmental  threats  such  as  marine  pollution,  the  preservation  of  a  highly  diverse 
marine environment and the adverse effects of climate change (in the form of rising sea 
levels, flooding, drought, soil erosion and forest fires); 

  and insufficient institutional and administrative capacity. 

75 Addendum to the Communication 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 Adriatic and Ionian Region, COM(2022) 44 final.  

38 

 
 
                                                           
RESULTS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES  

Main policy developments, including the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic  

The EUSAIR has so far largely built on the Maritime Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Seas 
adopted  on  30  November  2012.  The  EUSAIR  countries  share  the  same  geography,  many 
challenges and the main growth and jobs opportunities of the Maritime Strategy, as well as adds 
a  new  dimension  of  cooperation  between  partners  on  the  coastal  hinterland.  Crucially, 
EUSAIR’s other fundamental goal is to contribute to the EU integration of the participating 
Western  Balkans,  by  bringing  together  countries  with  much  shared  history  and  geography. 
Cooperation at different levels, on different sectors and on an equal footing allows countries of 
the Western Balkans to get acquainted with Cohesion Policy, as well as with other EU policies 
and  EU  strategies.  This  will  facilitate  the  EU  intergration  processes,  strengthen  regional 
cooperation and help building capacities. 

The EUSAIR territory is not directly affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however its 
side effects, including the wave of refugees, inflation, rising food and energy prices, have an 
impact  that  requires  joint  actions  of  EUSAIR  countries  in  close  coordination  with  EU 
institutions. Following a meeting held on 28 February 2022, the Adriatic Ionian Initiative and 
the EUSAIR Trio presidency jointly issued a statement condemning the unjust aggression of 
the Russian Federation against Ukraine, violating international law and threatening the regional, 
European  and  global  security.  EUSAIR’s  solidarity  for  Ukraine  and  its  people  was  further 
cemented in the Tirana Declaration, adopted on 16 May 2022 by the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative/ 
EUSAIR Ministerial Meeting.  

Even though signs of recovery are evident in the region, the negative effects of the pandemic 
are still felt, particularly on those economies that rely on tourism as significant part of GDP and 
growth (Greece, Croatia, Montenegro or Albania). In fact, due to the restrictions of international 
and internal travel and limits to non-essential travel, the tourism sector was the most affected 
by  the  pandemic.  At  the  same  time,  the  travel  restriction  affected  many  border  areas  in  the 
region where people cross countries for work, education, healthcare, etc, putting the economy 
on standstill76. Due to the pandemic, in the region, EU member States as well as the Western 
Balkans  were  affected  by  transport  restrictions  resulting  in  financial  difficulties  for  most 
transport companies.  

Since its establishment, the support to EU enlargement for the candidate countries and potential 
candidates has been a priority of EUSAIR. This became even more important after the inclusion 
of North Macedonia, which made it the only EU macro-regional strategy with more EU aspiring 
countries  than  EU  Member  States.  The  adoption  of  the  new  methodology  for  the  accession 
negotiations in February 2020, making the process more credible, predictable and political, was 
seen as an occasion by candidate countries and potential candidates to get early access to some 
EU policies and speed up their accession processes. In July 2022, the Czech presidency of the 
European Council announced the start of the accession negotiation process with Albania and 
North Macedonia, initiating the screening of the EU acquis enabling both countries to get more 
familiar with the rights and obligations of the EU. While these countries find themselves in the 
starting process, the role of the EUSAIR is even more important to help them on their path at 
sectoral  level  and  to  show  political  support.  The  report  on  the  EUSAIR  facilitating  the 
enlargement  process  of  the  Western  Balkans  examined  the  complementarities  between  the 
EUSAIR  and  the  enlargement  process  to  make  recommendation  for  strengthened  actions 

76 “Cohesion in Europe towards 2050, eight report on economic social and territorial cohesion”, European Union, 
2022, pag. 9.  

39 

 
 
                                                           
towards enlargement. According to the report, the EUSAIR presents a number of opportunities 
such as: 

  a regional dimension that connects the Western Balkans to  the EU, fostering  a regional  
sense of identity that goes beyond the region as well as a Europeanisation process; 

  a convergence of interests on enlargement; 

  a capacity-building approach, based on  cooperation in  different fields  and at  different 

levels; 

  an emphasis on territorial cooperation that stimulates positive dynamics between local 
authorities, the  private  sector, and other  relevant stakeholders  at the local,  national, 
and transnational level; 

  an inclusive approach that empowers stakeholders as active participants in the macro-

region. 

In this perspective, key EUSAIR implementers have realized that it is time to work on revising 
and updating the strategy taking into account new EU priorities and the above-mentioned crisis, 
the REPowerEU Plan, as well as the acceleration of the EU Green Deal and the Green Agenda 
for the Western Balkans. 

EUSAIR thematic priorities and their interrelation with the European Green Deal 

All countries of the EUSAIR are bound to the objective of a climate neutral Europe by 2050. 
This is enshrined in the EU Climate objectives, which aim to achieve this target through the EU 
Green  Deal  and  through  the  Green  Agenda  for  the  Western  Balkans.  The  EUSAIR  aims  to 
support  these  two  catalysts  for  climate  goals  and  economic  recovery  efforts  through  joint 
actions. 

Pillar 3 of the EUSAIR is specifically dedicated to Environmental Quality to  ensure a good 
environmental and ecological status of the marine and coastal environment, to contribute to the 
goals  of  the  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  and  to  improve  waste  management.  Nevertheless,  all 
other EUSAIR pillars include horizontally the principle of sustainability aiming at making the 
Adriatic and Ionian region more climate resilient.  

In  the  example  of  Pillar  2,  connecting  the  region,  needs  for  such  horizontal  approach  are 
evident. The region relies too much on road transport, border crossing points suffer from a lack 
of  coordination  between  EU  Member  States  and  non-EU  countries  and  cross-border 
infrastructures are sub-optimal, to name a few challenges. To address these, there is a need to 
ensure connections and complementarities between large scale projects, actions and regional 
initiatives. The potential needs and gaps at regional are subject of Pillar 2 flagship The Adriatic-
Ionian multi-modal corridors, as part of the European Green Deal.  

Pillar  1  on  Blue  Growth  focused  on  macro-regional  cooperation  under  the  concept  of  the 
Commission Communication on a new approach for a Sustainable Blue Economy, introducing 
innovation  as  a  key  aspect  for  ensuring  sustainability  through  the  implementation  of  smart 
specialization strategies, mobilizing the 4ple helix stakeholders for creating innovative value 
chains. 

Other  important  cross-pillar  and  mono-pillar  projects  with  an  environmental  horizontal 
approach are in the process of being developed to be submitted for calls to enhance blue and 
green corridors, circular economy and sustainable coastal development combined to tourism 
activities and environmental protection.  

40 

 
 
The successful application of the first ever EUSAIR project, under Pillar 3, was a key milestone.  
In February 2019 the thematic steering group members began the work towards the flagship 
ASOSCOP  to  develop  an  Adriatic  Sea  Oil  Spill  Contingency  Plan  for  effective  response  to 
emergency marine pollution. After its development into a bankable project under work package 
two of the Facility Point Project, Pillar 3 submitted this flagship under the new project name 
NAMIR in June 2021. Four months later, it received co-financing under a call from DG ECHO 
in  the  framework  of  the  European  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  and  currently  under 
implementation.   

However, the exchanges of experiences and best practices is also an important learning factor 
for the participating countries. The cooperation within Pillar 3 on marine protected areas for 
example, assisted Montenegro in the preparation of declaring its first marine protected areas 
(Platamuni, Katič i Stari Ulcinj) as well as its monitoring in 2021.  

Examples of projects and processes:  

The NAMIR project (North Adriatic Maritime Incident Response System) co-financed by the 
European  Union  Civil  Protection  Mechanism  is  the  partial  realization  of  the  first  EUSAIR 
successfully  submitted  flagship.  The  project  will  establish  cooperation  mechanisms  and 
measures ensuring a high level of preparedness and response to emergency marine pollution in 
Slovenia,  Croatia,  and  Italy.  To  further  strengthen  the  macro-regional  approach,  a 
complementary  project  proposal  is  planned  under  a  call  by  the  Interreg  IPA  ADRION 
Programme 2021-2027.  

The  project  ADRINET  financed  by  the  Interreg  IPA  CBC  Italy-Albania-Montenegro 
programme  improved  joint  coastal  management  systems  and  focused  on  the  protection  of 
biodiversity, coastal ecosystems, tackling pollution and to reduce over-exploitation of fishing 
stocks and illegal fishery. These objectives were reached through investments in technology, 
mapping  fishing  routes,  monitoring  pollution,  providing  services,  scientific  support  and 
improving skills for fisheries professionals. It also raised awareness with consumers to make 
fish consumption safer and in line with EU standards. 

The study EUSAIR bringing the Green Deal to the Region aims to support the adoption of 
more  sustainable  practices  in  the  governance  of  the  EUSAIR  and  to  raise  environmental 
awareness in the daily work and life. More specifically, it promotes sustainable consumption, 
sustainability  principles  (e.g.  restriction  of  single  use  plastic)  the  use  of  green  public 
procurement,  the  reduction  of  a  carbon  and  environmental  footprint,  capacity  building  and 
green transformation of the EUSAIR community.  

The ENERMOB project, financed by the Interreg ADRION transnational programme 2014-
2020, aims to propose solutions for electric transport systems by implementing pilot networks 
of charging infrastructures and assessing sustainable technologies to manage energy demand of 
electric mobility. The project promoted the use of electric vehicles in the existing regional/local 
transport  systems  of  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  and  developed  pilot  actions  to  test  longer 
connections  between  different  cities  with  the  use  of  electric  vehicles,  by  checking  possible 
problems in the driving and charging phases.  

The  BLUEAIR  project,  financed  by  the  Interreg  ADRION  transnational  programme  2014-
2020 aims at  enhancing  institutional  capacities of ADRION territories in the definition of  a 
common  S3  policy  on  Blue  Growth  guaranteeing  the  alignment  of  local  initiatives  with  the 
EUSAIR  strategy.  Adopting  a  coordinated  approach  will  improve  administrative  capacities, 
innovativeness and economic development for participating territories as well as for the whole 
ADRION area. It is focusing on improving competences of blue economy innovation players, 

41 

 
 
identifying  sectors  of  macro-regional  interest,  exploiting  potentials  for  transnational 
cooperation, supporting the development of a single Macro-Regional S3 on Blue Economy in 
the Adriatic-Ionian region. 

The  Manual  for  recognising  and  planning  green  infrastructures  is  a  tool  supporting 
decision-makers in the planning of green infrastructures in the Adriatic and Ionian region. Its 
aim  is  to  improve  the  inclusion  of  the  ecology  systems  and  natural  green  and  water  areas 
represented by forests, inland waters, the sea, etc., in the planning processes. In a region with 
many political borders and administrative and physical obstacles to the protection of nature and 
biodiversity, joint planning and implementation of green infrastructures is key to reversing the 
loss of biodiversity. The initiative has been financed in the framework of the EUSAIR Facility 
Point.  

EUSAIR thematic priorities and their interrelation with the digital transition 

A strong social Adriatic-Ionian region is based not only on its citizens’ prosperity and well-
being, but also on a competitive economy. Skilled innovative workforce capable of shaping and 
adapting to the green and digital transitions will be the key to guaranteeing accessibility to the 
labour market and tomorrow’s society. The ongoing revision of the EUSAIR communication 
and action plan will take account of the new, post-Covid reality.  

The green and digital transition are interlinked, and the EUSAIR can play a significant role also 
in the digital transition, supporting the implementation of the European Digital Strategy in the 
region.  For  instance,  one  EUSAIR  flagship  will  support  the  development  of  a  network  of 
sustainable tourism business  and clusters in  the Adriatic-Ionian region  through:  networks of 
creative  industries,  networks  promoting  and  sharing  best  practices  in  environmental  quality 
management and tourism clusters for the implementation/adoption of the EU Eco-Management 
and  Audit  Scheme  (EMAS),  the  European  Tourism  Indicators  System  for  sustainable 
destination management (ETIS) and other green (sustainable) Certification Schemes. 

Examples of projects and processes 

Port of Koper. In the field of digitalisation and digital transformation, the Port of Koper is 
working  in  the  direction  dictated  by  industry  trends:  the  introduction  of  automated  work 
processes and an expansion of the use of new technologies such as the Internet of Things and 
blockchain. In relation to the ports in the region, digitalisation will speed up the process of 
building a single customs entry window benefitting both shipowners and port operators. 

FUTURE  4.0  PLUS  project  (financed  by  the  Interreg Adrion  transnational  programme 
2014-2020). The Naval Industry, shipbuilding and the related supply chain in the Adriatic-
Ionian region are facing great challenges. The significant transformation of manufacturing 
industry,  the  fourth  industrial  revolution  involving  the  entire  value  chain  will  affect 
production processes, intercompany relations and human capital development and requires 
technology brush-ups. The FUTURE 4.0 project developed an experimental methodology of 
knowledge transfer addressing companies operating in the sector supporting their transition 
toward  an  industry  4.0  and    reducing  barriers  to  innovation  between  university,  center  of 
research and enterprises.  

INERRANT project (financed by the IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro programme). The 
main goal of the project INERRAnT is to create an innovative ecosystem, inter-linked with 
research  and  entrepreneurial  actors  in  public-private  partnerships,  able  to  foster  dialogue 
between  different  territories,  strengthen  collaborative  research  actions,  and  enhance  the 
ability to attract private sector financing. This ecosystem, through the International Digital 

42 

 
 
Innovation Hub, will guarantee support to SMEs, facilitate knowledge sharing, support talent 
mobility  and  improve  international  competitiveness  by  developing  systemic  cooperation 
between institutions, businesses, universities, research centers and other key territorial actors. 

EUSAIR thematic priorities and social change, including the inflow of refugees and other 
consequences of the war in Ukraine 

The Recovery and Resilience Plans of the EU Member States together with the Economic and 
Investment Plan for the Western Balkans are powerful instruments for mitigating the negative 
social and economic impacts of the pandemic and the consequences of the Russian aggression 
against Ukrain. The Reskill and Upskill flagship component in the EU Recovery and Resilience 
Facility, and the Human Resources - the Youth Guarantee in the Western Balkans Economic 
and Investment Plan both aim at supporting high-quality employment opportunities, continued 
education, and apprenticeships or traineeships by providing investment and reforms that could 
be  brought  together  and  targeted  specifically  at  promoting  growth  in  the  region’s  maritime 
sector.  EU  cohesion  policy  and    IPA  in  combination  with  the  EU  sectorial  programmes  are 
complementing  such  responses  to  better  tackle  the  needs  after  the  crisis  and  support  job 
creation, in line with the new built economic paradigm. 

The  EUSAIR  has  promoted  investment  in  skills  and  education  for  a  more  Sustainable  Blue 
Economy in the Adriatic-Ionian region and identified vocational and entrepreneurial skills and 
training as a main flagship, DES_AIR, under the Sustainable Tourism Pillar. 

With view of the refugee crisis, projects such as the Refugees’ Economic Integration Through 
Social  Entrepreneurship  (REINSER)  are  further  needed  to  give  refugees  the  chance  to 
contribute to economic development in the hosting country. Financed by the Interreg ADRION 
transnational  programme  (2014-2020),  REINSER  has  set  up  a  network  to  encourage  the 
participation  of  refugees  in  social  entrepreneurship  and  thus  support  their  inclusion  into  the 
labour market.  

Examples of projects and processes 

AI-NURECC  PLUS  is  a  preparatory  action  and  spin-off  of  the  AI-NURECC  Initiative, 
which  capitalises  on  the  results  of  the  latter.  Its  aim  is  to  enhance  regional  and  local 
authorities’ appropriation of EUSAIR’s main objectives and opportunities, by promoting an 
efficient participatory and bottom-up approach. The project focuses on the implementation 
of the EUSAIR cross-pillar topics: Research and Innovation, SMEs Development and Skills 
Development to support entrepreneurship, transnational clusters, and digital innovation hubs 
activities  in  the  region.  Special  attention  has  been  paid  to  youth  for  the  sustainable 
development  of  the  EUSAIR  area,  also  through  initiatives  that  are  expected  to  further 
encourage community cohesion and solidarity in the area such as sport, integration or social 
inclusion. 

Boost Environmental Guardianship for Inclusion (BEGIN) – is a project financed by the 
Interreg  Adrion  transnational  programme  (2014-2020).  The  innovative  feature  and  main 
objective of BEGIN is the creation of tools to encourage the establishment and development 
of social start-ups active in safeguarding environmental protection for social work inclusion 
and employment of disadvantaged people. 

43 

 
 
 
 
Social Innovation for Integrated Health Care of Ageing Population in Adrion Region 
(SI4CARE)  -  financed  by  the  Interreg  Adrion  transnational  programme  2014-2020. 
SI4CARE addresses the need of the healthcare industry which consumes three to nine percent 
of GDP in the Adriatic-Ionian region and it is often marked by increasing inequalities. To 
this  end,  SI4CARE  has  focused  on  the  elderly  population  by  supporting  public 
administrations to act as social innovators, promoting cooperation between research centres 
and enterprises. 

Governance and Administrative involvement and capacity 

The governance structure of the EUSAIR consists of the following functions and levels:  

  The EUSAIR presidency 

  The Trio presidency (cosisting of the past, incumbent and future presidencies)  

  The national coordinators 

  The pillar coordinators 

  The thematic steering groups 

Political level 

The  yearly  rotating  system  of  the  EUSAIR  presidency  allows  the  participating  countries  to 
provide  guidelines  on  the  actions  and  priorities  of  the  strategy.  This,  together  with  the 
establishment of the Trio presidency system, ensures continuity, exchange of best practices and 
on  the  tasks  and  responsibilities  the  EUSAIR  presidency  upholds,  such  as  for  the  EUSAIR 
Annual Forum. On that occasion, a Ministerial meeting including Ministers of Foreign Affairs 
and  Ministers  responsible  for  EU  funds  is  regularly  organized.  This  meeting  represents  the 
political  level  of  the  strategy,  adopting  a  political  declaration  including  the  biggest 
achievements of the incumbent chairmanship while providing guidelines for the future one. The 
National  IPA Coordinators are working closely together with EUSAIR and provide political 
and strategic direction. 

The Governing Board (GB) meets biannually and acts as the main driving force of the EUSAIR 
Governance,  being  the  interface  between  the  political  level  of  national  coordinators  and  the 
operational level of pillar coordinators. According to the rules of procedures, it gives strategic 
guidelines  to  Thematic  Steering  Groups  for  the  implementation  and  management  of  the 
EUSAIR and its action plan, coordinates their work and ensures linkages between them.  

During the last year, the works of the GB, supported by a technical/informal meeting of national 
coordinators,  focused  on  the  embedding  process.  This  is  currently  considered  the  most 
important priority with the possibility to take cooperation in the EUSAIR framework to a higher 
level, allowing for the implementation of strategic macro-regional projects. 

Also pillar coordinators meet for a technical meeting prior to the GB to exchange their work 
process. However, these meetings developed as a reporting character and should be restructured 
to serve as the basis for brainstorming and exchange of cross-pillar ideas. 

Notwithstanding the pandemic, EUSAIR countries have shown their commitment to continue 
the cooperation. After an initial period of uncertainty, it was decided to transfer most of the 

44 

 
 
regular meetings to online formats, including the EUSAIR Annual Forum and the Adriatic and 
Ionian Council / EUSAIR Ministerial meeting. The pandemic disrupted the plans of the Serbian 
presidency (June 2019 – May 2020) to organize its 5th Annual Forum and Ministerial meeting 
in  Belgrade.  However,  the  will  to  continue  cooperating  regardless  of  the  situation  was 
demonstrated by the successful organization of the Ministerial meeting in June 2020 and the 
first fully online EUSAIR Annual Forum in January 202177.  

The  same  amounted  for  the  Slovenian  presidency  (June  2020  –  May  2021),  finishing  its 
chairmanship with an online annual forum in May 2021. With improved sanitary conditions, 
the Albanian presidency (June 2021-May 2022) organized a hybrid EUSAIR forum with the 
possibility allowing for  online presence as well as for the return to  physical  participation  in 
Tirana after two years.  

Implementation level 

The implementation level in the EUSAIR is run by the Thematic Steering Groups (TSGs) which 
have the important role to implement the strategy' work under each priority sector, including 
identifying key processes, priorities and projects in line with the objectives of the EUSAIR and 
to “match-make” between project proposals and available funds. Each TSG is led by at least 
two  Pillar  Coordinators,  one  from  an  EU  Member  State  and  one  from  a  non-EU  country. 
Following the inclusion of North Macedonia, TSG 2 - Connecting the Region, includes three 
coordinators,  one  EU  Member  State  (Italy)  and  two  Western  Balkans  countries  (Serbia  and 
North Macedonia). This is both the case for its Pillar sub-groups transport and energy.   

Meetings of the TSGs are held at least twice per year and have taken place continuously even 
during the pandemic, with  varying participation of TSG members depending on the priority 
area. Certain countries record a very high participation level while others are more uneven in 
terms of their participation. While travel and accommodation costs are provided by the EUSAIR 
Facility  Point,  regular  attendance,  in  some  cases,  is  hampered  by  limited  human  resources. 
There is little doubt that TSG are important venue for the exchange of best practice, however it 
is paramount that these meeting have to be used to brainstorm on concrete actions as done for 
the development of cross-pillar and mono-pillar project ideas into bankable projects.  

In  the  organisation  of  the  EUSAIR  Annual  Fora,  TSGs  oversee  selecting  the  topics  of 
discussion and the speakers from different stakeholder groups. In some pillars most of this work 
is undertaken by the Pillar Coordinators and in some cases, only by one Pillar Coordinator and 
should move towards being a fully joint exercise.  

The annual reports of the four pillar demonstrates that most countries have strengthened their 
internal mechanisms and structures supporting the governance and the implementation of the 
EUSAIR by enlarging their multi-level, multi-sectoral teams engaging more relevant ministries 
and  regional  administrations,  which  normally  cooperate  with  the  offices  in  charge  of  the 
European Territorial Cooperation.  

Civil society 

As mentioned under the section of the EUSDR, the Shadow Report revealed the importance of 
civil society participation for EU macro-regional strategies. When it comes to EUSAIR, parts 
of the Adriatic and Ionian civil society is well engaged, particularly through the Adriatic and 
Ionian Initiative (AII) and its networks. Civil society gets involved through platforms based on 

77 Both events were held during the period of the Slovenian presidency of the EUSAIR.  

45 

 
 
 
 
                                                           
participatory planning, community building and empowerment. In EUSAIR three fora are very 
active: the forum of the Adriatic Ionian Chambers of Commerce (Forum AIC)78, the Forum of 
Adriatic and Ionian Cities (FAIC)79 and the Association of the Universities of the Adriatic and 
Ionian region (UNIADRION)80. These three for a represent a network of more than 120 bodies 
and institutions and reffered to as important contributor in the the Tirana Declaration of 16 May 
2022 in Tirana.  

A  good  step  into  a  broader  civil  society  involvement  took  place  during  the  Mediterranean 
Coastal  and  Macro-Regional  Strategies  Week  in  November  2021.  This  event,  jointly  co-
organised by Slovenia and North Macedonia held a roundtable on Youth and protection of the 
environment in Skopje with the participation of youth environmental NGO’s as important actors 
in the fight against climate change.   

It  is  furthermore  important  to  recognise  the  contribution  of  civil  society  both  in  terms  of 
implementation (through the participation to actions and projects) and in terms of inclusion into 
policy  discussions  and  consultations.  Whereas  the  recognition  of  the  three  fora  as  a  main 
bottom-up actors for the implementation of the EUSAIR has repeatedly been mentioned in the 
past by high-ranking officials, EUSAIR needs to reach out to more civil society organizations 
in order to raise the involvement in events and actions and the awareness of the opportunities.  

Youth  

EUSAIR has put youth early on on its agenda, dating back to the Annual Forum 2018 in Italy. 
The strategy recognises the importance of bringing youth into the governance and to give them 
a platform for their ideas to improve their region. In this context of this reporting period, online 
workshops were organised with students, researchers and youth organisations on enviromental 
topics, circular economy or enlargement within the past two years.  
One  of  the  main  platforms  was  launched  during  the  6th  EUSAIR  Annual  Forum  under  the 
Slovenian  presidency  in  form  of  EUSAIR  Popri  youth  event.  Organized  by  Primorski 
tehnološki park in close cooperation with its network, accelerators and incubators of EUSAIR 
countries, it awards the best entrepreneurial ideas of high school students and students from the 
Adriatic-Ionian  region.    What  is  more,  young  people  were  invitated  at  opening  and  plenary 
sessions of EUSAIR Annual Fora, to actively take part in the discussions with decision-makers. 
This year, the Albanian EUSAIR presidency highlighted many youth-related activities during 
the 2022 Annual Forum held in Tirana - which coincided with the Tirana European Capital of 
Youth 2022, the European Year of Youth – such as the continuation of EUSAIR POPRI youth 
2022 competition or the Forum of Adriatic-Ionian Youth Organizations.  

EUSAIR will continue placing young people high on the agenda and a Youth Council is in the 
process  of  being  established.  Beyond  that,  call  for  papers  complement  youth  engagement 
through concrete proposals to promote economic development and regional integration. One 
example is the paper competition Present and future challenges in regional development in the 
Adriatic-Ionian  Region   by  the  9th REDETE  conference  with  support  of  the  Adriatic  Ionian 
Initiative. Another action is EUSAIR4Youth, which started its planning phase in the first half 
of 2022 and will be launched towards the end of the year. The iniative, funded by technical 
assistance from the European Commission, includes two activities: a student paper competition 
to decide on the possible future of EUSAIR and EUSAIR olympic games for social inclusion.  

78 https://www.forumaic.org/?lang=en 
79 https://www.faic.eu/en/home-e/ 
80 https://www.uniadrion.net/ 

46 

 
 
                                                           
 
 
 
However,  the  launched  stakeholder  consultation  for  the  revision  of  the  EUSAIR  strongly 
encouraged young people from the region to share their views and opinion. The results of the 
consultation were not available during the time of this report, however communication matter 
concentrated also on making this groupe the owners of their future. 

Examples of projects and processes 

Young  EUSAIR  Communication  Academy  –  is  a  communication  capacity  building 
programme  for  young  people  between  18  and  35  interested  in  the  EUSAIR  and  macro-
regional cooperation in general. It took place online (21 – 22 April 2022 and 2 – 3 June 2022) 
as well as in-person (in October 2022 in Slovenia). It is an in-depth, and hands-on course on 
communication  with  a  special  emphasis  on  digital  communication  organised  by  EUSAIR 
Facility Point Lead Partner (Government Office for Development and European Cohesion 
Policy of the Republic of Slovenia) and Centre for European Perspective. 

#Youth4Coop - During the Adriatic Ionian Youth Organisations forum – AI NURECC in 
Tirana,  youth  engagement  in  the  EUSAIR  and  other  topics  related  to  youth  issues  in  the 
region, such as brain drain, were raised. The discussion showcased interesting projects like: 
Interreg volunteering opportunities (IVY), AI-NURECC PLUS opportunities for EUSAIR 
youth and the Adriatic Ionian Youth Network adhesion campaign (AIYN).  

Many generations – one future! – was a webinar for students, researchers and professors 
aiming  at  improving  the  knowledge  about  the  cooperation  framework  of  macro-regional 
strategies and the EUSAIR in particular. The aim was to put the participants into the role of 
identifying challenges in the Adriatic-Ionian region and mechanisms to solve them jointly. 
The event took place on 5 May 2021 in advance of  the EUSAIR Annual Forum.  

EU-Balkan  Youth  Forum  (EBYF)  -  The  Forum  included  a  special  session  dedicated  to  
inclusion of youth within the EU policies set up by DG NEAR and DG REGIO, with a special 
emphasis  on  MRS  and  EUSAIR  particularly.  The  EBYF  conveyed 
its  original 
recommendations to the Conference on the future of Europe, to keep its  promises to be a 
“unique and timely opportunity for European citizens to debate on Europe’s challenges and 
priorities” and “the place to think about what future you want for the European Union”. The 
event was organised by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation 
in Rome on 22-26 November 2021. 

Access to funding and embedding: 

General overview 

Access to funds for the implementation of EUSAIR projects is one of the main concerns of both 
key  implementers  and  stakeholders.  After  eight  years  of  implementation,  the  EUSAIR  is 
becoming  more  and  more  popular  among  Adriatic  and  Ionian  stakeholders  and  project 
beneficiaries. Over the past two years, important steps have been undertaken to accelerate the 
embedding process, supported by visibility campaigns during the time of the pandemic. The 
most  important  but  not  exclusive  source  of  funding  for  the  EUSAIR  are  Cohesion  Policy 
programmes  for  EU  Member  States  and  IPA  III  for  candidate  countries  and  potential 
candidates. 

The  approved  EUSAIR  flagships  from  the  extraordinary  meeting  in  June  2020,  prioritize 
actions under each EUSAIR sector that would be embedded into national and regional Cohesion 

47 

 
 
 
 
Policy funds and IPA III. This was an important step in order to provide guidance to funding 
programmes for the 2021-27 preparation.  

Cohesion policy programmes 2021-2027 

The embedding process in the EUSAIR is based on an internal and external process.  National 
Coordinators  are  responsible  for  the  internal  process  in  terms  of  making  sure  that  funding 
programmes  integrate  EUSAIR  priorities  and  flagships.  All  countries  engage  in  internal 
preparations and financial dialogues in order to  promote the EUSAIR with its programming 
authorities.  At  the  same  time,  pillar  coordinators  supported  to  spread  awareness  about  the 
EUSAIR  flagships  in  countless  meetings.  However,  a  harmonized  approach  on  how  to 
communicate with programming authorities was not developed which would have also helped 
the implementation level to better steer the embedding process. 

The external process concerns the establishment of networks of Managing Authorities (MAs) 
of Cohesion Policy funds and NIPACs responsible for IPA III, to enhance cooperation during 
the  programming  cycle.  This  entails  specific  selection  criteria  and  collaboration  in  the 
preparation  of  calls,  increased  exchange  of  information  at  programme  level  and  the 
implementation  of  coordinated/  complementary  projects  in  the  region.  During  the  reporting 
period, a number of meetings were organized, e.g. by the EUSAIR Facility Point in order to 
further engage programming authorities such as:  

  Mainstream, Transnational & Cross-Border Cooperation Programmes meet EUSAIR, 

organised by the Slovenian FP Lead Partner - April 2021. 

  Financial Dialogue meetings held in Croatia (September 2020), Montenegro (July 2021) 

and Slovenia (September 2021) organised by the Facility Point. 

  EUSAIR Action Labs “Networking and complementarities for embedding of EUSAIR”, 
jointly organised by the Italian national authorities in charge of Cohesion Policy and the 
EUSAIR Facility Point - July, October November 2021 and April 2022. 

  2nd  Meeting  among  EUSAIR  key  implementers  and  programming  authorities 
(MA/NIPAC) during the Mediterranean Coast and Macro-Regional Strategies Week - 
November 2021. 

  Presentation  of  flagship  projects  at  Interreg  Italy-Croatia  Workshop  -  April,  August, 

October 2021. 

The preparation of networks of mainstream MAs and NIPACs is still at an early stage and will 
need to be further strengthened. In the case of NIPACs, the EUSDR provides a good example 
which could be relevant for the EUSAIR as well. However, a big challenge for the EUSAIR 
remains the necessity to combine two sources of funding (Cohesion Funds and IPA III) which 
are implemented according to different regulations, methodologies, and timelines and through 
different  structures.  It  is  paramount  that  EUSAIR  key  implementers  make  further  efforts  to 
synchronize these two different frameworks and find viable solutions for the implementation 
of macro-regional actions and projects. 

In  addition,  a  series  of  national  embedding  meetings  were  organised,  leading  to  exchanges 
between  managing  authorities  of  ESIF  programmes  or  NIPACs  and  EUSAIR  key 
implementers. 

The creation of partnerships to plan joint activities and projects has become more common, not 
only  with  Interreg  programmes  in  the  region,  but  also  with  funding  programmes  directly 
managed by the Commission and with possible cooperation actions under the Cohesion Policy 
funds. EUSAIR key implementers must continue to make efforts to keep the momentum and to 
improve their capacity to match-make between funds and project ideas. Some EUSAIR project 

48 

 
 
ideas have already been developed into bankable pillar projects with the support of the EUSAIR 
Facility Point. However, the number of successfully developed bankable projects vary among 
pillars. Given the start of the implementation period 2021-2027 and the launch of new calls, it 
will be important to speed up the process to benefit from the many funding opportunities. 

The  current  Interreg  Adrion  transnational  programme  is  an  integral  contributor  to  both  the 
governance structures and to the implementation of the EUSAIR and continues to be.  During 
the programming process 2021-2027, the Interreg Adrion transnational programme has grouped 
its  projects  into  thematic  clusters  in  line  with  EUSAIR  priorities.  Each  cluster  is  currently 
engaged in capitalisation activities to increase synergies between projects, to develop thematic 
analysis for the identification of new actions and to increase their visibility, dissemination and 
transferability of results. 

Other Interreg IPA CBC Programmes have also significantly contributed to the implementation 
of  the  EUSAIR.  Some  are  aligned  in  terms  of  objectives  and  priorities  and  include  specific 
selection criteria allowing the participation of EUSAIR NCs in their Monitoring Committees. 
By  way  of  example,  the  Interreg  IPA-CBC  programmes  contribute  widely  to  the  EUSAIR 
objectives.  The  project  LASPEH  of  the  Interreg  IPA  CBC  Italy-Albania-Montenegro 
programme, for example, contributes to Pillar 3 objectives by reducing the loss of biodiversity 
and the degradation of ecosystem services, and by addressing threats to marine and terrestrial 
biodiversity.  

Funds directly managed by the Commission 

Following  the  Council  Conclusions  of  2  December  2020  on  the  3rd  report  on  the 
Implementation  of  EU  macro-regional  strategies,  the  Commission  organised  a  series  of 
workshops dedicated to the directly managed EU programmes. In addition, MRS contact points 
were identified in all Commission DGs during the 2021 EU MRS Week. In order to improve 
the  alignment  of  MRS  with  directly  managed  funds  by  the  European  Commission  more 
information will be needed to address the specific needs of EU and non-EU countries for future 
calls. 

Moreover, as a result of the consultations within the Commission, references to MRS have been 
included  in  some  key  frameworks  like  the  IPA  III  Programming  Framework  or  the  Joint 
Declaration on a Western Balkans Agenda on Innovation, Research, Education, Culture, Youth 
and Sport of May 2021.  

Monitoring and evaluation  

Initiatives  to  develop  monitoring  systems  are  on-going  in  all  MRS,  notably  by  determining 
indicators and targets for the priorities included in the action plans. The overall macro-regional 
territorial  monitoring  tool  developed  by  ESPON  (European  Spatial  Planning  Observation 
Network) observe development trends and patterns in all four MRS. These observations should 
be  explored  when  assessing  options  to  improve  or  re-focus  their  objectives  and  policies. 
Additionally, for EUSDR and EUSAIR, the ESPON Territorial Scenarios for the Danube and 
Adriatic Ionian Macro-regions provide valuable input. 

Monitoring specific EUSAIR activities began with some delay in autumn 2020 when an initial 
monitoring system of the EUSAIR was kicked-off by the EUSAIR Facility Point at pillar level.  

An evaluation of the EUSAIR was presented to the GB in March 2022. The evaluation assesses 
the EUSAIR results, the appropriateness of the action plan to support its strategic objectives, as 
well as the quality of the implementation mechanisms and its governance system. The results 
of the evaluation will provide inputs for the revision process of the EUSAIR launched during 

49 

 
 
the Albanian presidency at the beginning of 2022. The findings showed that there is a need to 
revise the action plan by expanding the flagship concept and focus on fewer and more strategic 
priorities. The evaluation also identified a need to define a coherent system of indicators with 
a common methodology for the pillars and standardizing the working methodologies of TSGs. 
In  terms  of  active  involvement,  the  evaluation  finds  MAs,  the  European  Commission  and  a 
stronger political backing of TSGs crucial.  

More specifically the evaluation findings are as follows: 

  At strategy dimension  

o  It is important to move concrete results and outcomes 
o  Link the strategy with funding programmes 
o  To make outcomes and results more visible and create a leverage effect on 

stakeholders 

  At territorial dimension 

o  Increase territoriality of pillars, involving more the regional level 
o  Promote a network of urban centres 
o  Use of integrated territorial investment tools in the region 

  At governance level 

o  Match EUSAIR thematic areas with policy and specific objectives of Cohesion 

funds 

o  Use of appropriate fields of intervention to implement flagships  

Communication 

During  the  pandemic,  the  EUSAIR  had  to  move  from  physical  activities  to  purely  online 
ones,which created challnges for planned events  as well as for communication and capacity 
building workshops in particular during 2020. However, after the intital adjustment, the year of 
2021-2022  whitnessed  a  comeback  of  activities  and  initiatives.  The  online  meeting  tool 
provided  by  the  EUSAIR  Stakeholder  Platform  was  useful  for  the  continuation  of  online 
meetings for both the governance structure and stakeholder workshops with over 400 organised 
meetings  in  total.  Whereas  the  support  for  online  meetings  has  been  substancial,  tEUSAIR 
stakeholder  platform  per  se  still  needs  to  unleash  its  potential  a.o.  by  developing  astronger 
community engagement strategy to  be a tool for the development of project ideas and match-
making for project partners. 

Over  the  course  of  two  years,  EUSAIR  organised  two  annual  fora  (Serbian  presidency  in 
January  2021  and  Slovenian  presidency  in  May  2021),  numerous  embedding  workshops, 
stakeholder conferences and youth workshops. The Mediterranean Coastal and Macro-Regional 
Strategies Week continued in digital format in 2020 under the Slovenian EUSAIR presidency.  
The  2021  edition  was  organsied  jointly  by  Slovenia  and  EUSAIR’s  ninth  member,  North 
Macedonia. In May 2022, the hybrid 7th EUSAIR Annual Forum under the Albanian presidency 
brought back the possibility for physical exchanges with more than 500 on-site stakeholders. 
The return to physical meeting and attendances of high-level politicians attracted the highest 

50 

 
 
number of media representation at an EUSAIR annual forum, from all ten countries, including 
the newest member San Marino. 

The Facility Point Lead Partner, in charge of the communication work package of the EUSAIR, 
made an important step by creating a dedicated EUSAIR section on the website of the Interreg 
IPA ADRION programme. In addition, digital communication via the website, newsletter and 
especially  the  social  media  accounts,  continued  to  be  a  key  way  to  inform  stakeholders  on 
Twitter, Facebook and Youtube about developments and milestones of the strategy. The Do you 
know? campaign was launched in the second quarter of 2021 to engage the audience in cultural, 
historical  or  geographic  questions  on  the  participating  countries  and  the  EUSAIR  itself. 
Activities  extended  also  to  LinkedIn  as  the  main  tool  for  business  communication  and 
networking.  Besides  the  main  EUSAIR  account,  a  networking  group  for  the  innovation 
community has been opened for targeted community engagement. 

The  Facility  Point  Lead  Partner  is  the  main  coordinator  for  communiation  activities  with 
support  of  the  eight  Project  Partners.  However,  communication  about  the  EUSAIR  is 
everyone’s  business  including  the  key  implementers.  In  that  context,  the  EUSAIR 
communication academy,launched by the Facility Point, took these actor into focus together 
with  young people  and  government  communicators. As the interest  exceeded the number of 
available places a second edition is being considered. Complementing the communication work 
of the Facility Point Lead Partner, four Project Partners started publishing newsletter, promoting 
EUSAIR on their Ministry’s websites and created social media accounts in the respective native 
language to improve the country-related visibility and understanding of the strategy.Whereas 
efforts at national level have increased,  varying results in the countries are noticable, especially 
among the Western Balkan countries. Six out of ten countries engage communication experts 
to  produce  content  or  to  launch  articles  around  the  strategy  and  pillars  in  national  media. 
Successful  undertakings  led  to  to  the  invitation  of  the  Montenegrin  Facility  Point  Project 
Partner at Radio Crne Gore, the Croatian Ministry of Tourism and Sport to talk about EUSAIR’s 
Sustainable Tourism Pillar at the morning show Dobro Jutro Hrvatska and various articles being 
published on national  online outlets.  In Croatia for example, 46 national  stories and articles 
have been written and a total of three television show appearances took place.  

The aim for the next years is to promote awareness of the EUSAIR at the different levels, from 
local to international, build on the multi-level governance and ensure the involvement of public, 
economic, civil society and environmental partners, all this compiled into a strong and coherent 
(digital) communication strategy.  

THE WAY FORWARD 

In the eight years of its existence, the EUSAIR has been able to establish and reinforce networks 
of  cooperation  among  stakeholders;  it  has  incentivized  the  creation  of  new  partnerships  in 
different  sectors  that  have  engaged  in  a  large  number  of  initiatives,  actions,  processes  and 
project, and it has strengthen regional cooperation. Due to its geography on the EU external 
border and the participation of candidate countries and potential candidates, the EUSAIR has 
focused more and more on supporting the EU enlargement process.  

The  Adriatic  and  Ionian  region  benefits  from  its  unparalleled  natural  and  cultural  heritage, 
which makes it one of the most attractive regions in Europe in terms of tourism, and it has a 
large potential for developing renewable energy and blue economy. However, the region faces 
substancial challenges such as socio-economic disparities, territorial fragmentation, a lack of 

51 

 
 
connectivity  and  climate  change.  EUSAIR  countries  must  better  exploit  the  potentials  and 
opportunities of the region and address challenges through reinforced cooperation. The ongoing 
revision  of  the  EUSAIR  is  an  opportunity  to  make  the  strategy  more  fit  for  this  endeavour. 
Finalising the revision will be one of the key challenges for the upcoming EUSAIR presidency 
of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  (June  2022-May  2023).  The  stakeholder  consultation  has  been 
launched (16 May  -  30  June 2022) resulting in more than 600 contributions  currently being 
analysed. Whereas key implementers agree on the need to strengthen enlargement as a priority, 
it remains to be seen whether the stakeholder consultation will show new priorities or a stronger 
concentration on the existing ones. 

According to the evaluation of the EUSAIR delivered in March 2022, the twin digital and green 
transition  together  with  a  stronger  focus  on  supporting  the  EU  enlargement  process  should 
feature more prominently in the strategy, especially given the new momentum. In the evaluation 
report, it was noted that the EUSAIR might not be an appropriate tool to respond to global crisis 
and emergencies. However, the revision can certainly be used to make this a stronger reality.  

At the same time, the EUSAIR could become more political and improve its positioning in the 
realm  of  many  initiatives,  international  organizations  and  processes  of  the  region.  Being  an 
intergovernmental platform, it promotes cooperation on equal footing, has strong links with EU 
Cohesion policy and has the potential to bring back South Eastern Europe to the attention of 
EU decision-makers. 

The  European  Green  Deal,  the  digital  transition,  social  change  including  the  inflow  of 
refugees and other consequences of the war in Ukraine 

Since the beginning, sustainability has been a prominent theme in the EUSAIR. Together with 
Pillar 3 on Environmental Quality, all other pillars feature sustainability as a horizontal aspects 
of their actions.  

Nevertheless a “quantum leap” is now needed. Acting on mitigating and adapting to climate 
change has become even more urgent and the objectives and targets of the EU are now much 
more ambitions to make Europe the first climate neutral continent in the world by 2050. The 
EUSAIR must adapt to such objectives and can set the example, starting by aligning its action 
plan with the main sectoral strategies in line with the EU Green Deal. These include the new 
approach for a Sustainable Blue Economy in the EU, the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, the 
Smart and Sustainable mobility strategy, the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Transition Pathway for 
Tourism, etc. or also other key strategic initiatives, going beyond the European Green Deal, 
such as the RepowerEU Plan. 

However,  as  repeatedly  mentioned  that  the  green  and  digital  transition  are  interlinked, 
digitization  should  also  be  stronger  considered  as  a  horizontal  aspects  for  all  pillars.  Some 
EUSAIR flagships already include actions to digitize multi-modal transport operations, smart 
grids, or tourism services. However this can be expanded and better included to connect people, 
business, administrations through the newest available technologies. 

The EUSAIR region faces important social and economic challenges going from brain drain, 
major emigration flows, ageing population which could be considered. Although social change 
and social issues are not a key priority in the current EUSAIR, these issues can only be tackled 
through a stronger attention to investments that would benefit job creation in sectors such as 
blue economy, green economy and sustainable tourism that have a large potential in the region. 

52 

 
 
MRS governance (including monitoring, evaluation and communication) 

Over the last two years, the EUSAIR governance has been resilient. Key implementers have 
shown continuous willingness to cooperate in times of the pandemic, promptly switching to the 
new  digital  formats  amidst  a  changed  reality.  Efforts  were  made  to  strengthen  the  political 
commitment. However, more must be done, particularly at sectoral level, in order to be more 
effective in delivering relevant sectoral policies. In some cases, human resources are still not 
adequate to facilitate the well-functioning of a multi-level and multi-sectoral strategy like the 
EUSAIR. Capacity building activities should be extended further that the key implementers, 
reach relevant local, regional and national authorities, potential beneficiaries of projects, etc., 
especially now that physical meetings are possible again. The case of the embedding process 
demonstrated the need for clearer communication and responsibilities of key implementers to 
avoid delays and to explain what is expected from the national level. Furthermore, it could be 
considered  to  form  task  forces  e.g.  for  the  establishment  of  the  EUSAIR  Youth  Council,  to 
advance faster on a topic instead of taking it from GB meeting to GB meeting. 

In order to make the governance more efficient, key implementers have expressed the necessity 
to  improve  the  engagement  of  all  countries  in  the  EUSAIR  objectives  and  governance.  An 
important step is to improve cross-pillar coordination as well as the dialogue between TSGs 
and the GB and to engage more the Commission (in particular DG NEAR and EU Delegations) 
in the Western Balkans countries. Monitoring and evaluation are also considered crucial to have 
up-to-date impression on the efficiency of the strategy and its capacity to deliver results.  

The EUSAIR Facility Point has proven to be an essential element for the functioning of the 
EUSAIR governance and has played a key role in ensuring continuity of action, supporting the 
follow-up  of  meetings,  capacity  building,  communication,  etc. 
organization  and 
Notwithstanding its crucial role, some key implementers express a wish to better specify the 
duties and mandate. Concerns have also been raised with regard to the complexity of the Facitliy 
Points' organsiation that may hinder efficient implementation of some actions. It is important 
that the new setup financed under the Interreg IPA ADRION programme 2021-2027 will reflect 
the need for simplification. 

As for communication, the improved communication tools and the strengthened use of existing 
channels allow for a broadening of the scope about its potential and variety of actions. In this 
respect, the move to LinkedIn was well chosen and enhanced communication efforts in national 
language contributing to greater awareness. However, it will be crucial to secure the human 
resouces  to  implement  and  maintain  the  communication  strategy.  In  the  next  progamming 
period,  it  will  be  decisive  to  boost  (digital)  communication  as  part  of  an  improved 
communication plan and to improve the communication flow between all partners, also through 
existing facilitating online sharing tools accessible to e.g. better capitalise on communication 
materials already developed. 

Embedding, implementation and access to funds directly managed by the Commission 

Embedding is widely considered as a critical process for the implementation of the EUSAIR. 
The challenge in the EUSAIR is to combine different funding systems, Cohesion Funds and 
IPA  III  funds  and  different  levels  of  funding  between  EU  Member  States  and  candidate 
countries and potential candidates.  

53 

 
 
 
  
The role of National Coordinators is to keep the dialogue with their programming authorities 
thriving  during  the  entire  programming  period  2021-2027.  To  this  aim,  financial  dialogues 
meetings must be continued and strengthened. Once EUSAIR priorities have been embedded, 
cooperation and coordination must be implemented at programme and project level in order to 
fully exploit the potential of macro-regional strategies. The inclusion of IPA III funds in this 
process is certainly challenging, therefore both financial dialogue and capacity building should 
be  strengthened.  In  this  prespective,  it  is  crucial  to  raise  awareness  regarding  the  financing 
issues within Commission services (particularly DG NEAR and EU Delegations) and NIPAC 
offices  in  the  region.  The  role  of  the  IPA  Monitoring  Committee  to  support  the  embedding 
process should also be considered.  

The experience of the Action Labs for the EUSAIR ETC programmes is very positive, however, 
it should be extended to mainstream operational programmes and to IPA III programmes. The 
outcome should be the establishment of network of Managing Authorities and National  IPA 
Coordinators  that  would  cooperate  through  all  phases  of  the  programme  implementation 
including preparation of calls for proposals, information to beneficiaries and on supporting the 
implementation of joint or parallel projects contributing to EUSAIR flagships. Lessons learnt 
from the EUSDR, who are in the midst of this process, should be explored. 

Funds directly managed by the Commission are a key source of funding for the EUSAIR. In 
most cases, candidate countries and potential candidates are included in these programmes with 
specific agreements (Horizon Europe, LIFE, etc.). The existing experience with development 
of project ideas in the EUSAIR together with the potential to create new thematic and if possible 
quadruple helix collaborations through the EUSAIR Stakeholders Platform, must be used the 
to apply for projects under programmes directly managed EU programmes. Also countries and 
regions should make the best possible use of the S3 platforms of the JRC for this purpose. 

EUSAIR role in EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy  

The  EUSAIR  can  become  a  key  tool  supporting  the  Enlargement  process  of  its  candidate 
countries and potential candidates. The report “EUSAIR facilitating the enlargement process of 
the  Western Balkans” highlighted different  features  of the EUSAIR that are already helping 
candidate countries and potential candidates in their accession process and that can be further 
strengthened in the future, particular in the revision process of the strategy. The EUSAIR in 
fact: 

  Eases the adoption of the acquis communautaire in the Western Balkans; 

  Fosters administrative capacity on different EU policies, including cohesion policy; 

  Offers a platform for cooperation where different levels of governance, processes, strategies 

and funds may converge; 

  Promotes  a  stronger  involvement  of  stakeholders  and  increases  accountability  of 

governments also consolidating democratic processes. 

The EUSAIR can support the enlargement process at sectoral level for the relevant negotiating 
chapters. Cooperation actions can act as peer-to-peer learning relevant for candidate countries 
and potential candidates (as seen under Pillar 3) in order to align their legislations and practices 
to EU standards. With the takeover of the EUSAIR presidency by Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 

54 

 
 
 
fourth participating country of the Western Balkans has been given the responsibility to guide 
the  region  towards  a  better  future  at  a  time  when  the  revision  of  the  action  plan  and  the 
embedding  process  are  at  a  decisive  stages.  Moreover,  the  EUSAIR  is  a  political  platform 
guided by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and for EU funds, which, together with the technical 
support can give an early access to some critical EU strategies and policies.  

55 

 
 
 
 
 
Report on the implementation of the European Union strategy for the 
Alpine region (EUSALP) 

The  EUSALP  was  endorsed  by  the  Council  of  the  EU  on  27  November  2015  and  by  the 
European  Council  on  28  June  2016,  on  the  basis  of  a  Communication  adopted  by  the 
Commission in July 2015, and its accompanying action plan. 

The strategy was developed around the Alpine region seen as a functional area, inhabited by 
about  80  million  people  (approximately  18%  of  the  EU’s  population)  and  covering  seven 
countries  (five  EU  MS  - Austria,  France,  Germany,  Italy  and  Slovenia  -  and  two  non-EU 
countries - Switzerland and Liechtenstein) and 48 regions. EUSALP builds upon a high level 
of existing cooperation in the region, among others thanks to the Alpine Convention, signed in 
1991. 

As its main objective, the  EUSALP  aims  to ensure that this  region  remains one of the most 
attractive areas in Europe, taking better advantage of its assets and seizing the opportunities for 
sustainable and innovative development in a European context. 

The strategy focuses on areas of (macro) regional mutual interest. Therefore, the priority areas 
and  specific  objectives  selected  should  reflect  genuine  commitment  to  working  together  to 
achieve common solutions to challenges or unused potential. The EUSALP has three thematic 
policy areas and objectives, which are also key challenges of the strategy: 

  Economic Growth and Innovation: fair access to job opportunities by building on the high 

competitiveness of the region; 

  Mobility and connectivity: sustainable internal and external accessibility; 

  Environment and energy: a more inclusive environmental framework and renewable and 

reliable energy solutions for the future. 

In  addition,  there  is  a  cross-cutting  objective  aiming  to  build  a  sound  macro-regional 
governance model for the region namely to improve cooperation and the coordination of action. 

RESULTS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 

Main policy developments, including the pandemic and war in Ukraine 

The  EUSALP  has  been  a  valuable  tool  to  draw  the  attention  of  politicians,  public 
administrations,  private  organizations,  SMEs,  cluster  organizations,  educational  and  cultural 
institutions and civil society organizations towards the Alpine region. A key added value of the 
EUSALP is its continuous efforts to bring governance closer to the citizens of the region. The 
strategy is strongly focused on youth with the creation of a Youth Council in 2021 under the 
French presidency, gathering 28 young people, representing the diversity of the Alpine region: 
This  council  gives  a  voice  to  the Alpine  youth  in  all  EUSALP  governing  bodies,  from  the 
thematic Actions Groups (implementing the strategy) to the General Assembly, through to the 
Executive Board.  

The EUSALP is a tool to deliver in a territorial dimension, core European policy initiatives like 
the green and digital transition, issues related to social change as well as the inclusion of civil 

56 

 
 
 
society  and  youth.  During  the  2021  European  Year  of  Rail,  joint  political  positions  were 
elaborated within the framework of EUSALP. The EU concept of Smart Villages has been taken 
up as initiatives on both political and administrative levels, and developed as an INTERREG 
project  (Alpine  Space  Programme)  as  well  as  an  alpine-wide  conference  on  digitalisation 
(Digital Alps) in 2022.  

During  the  reporting  period,  the  pandemic  had  a  strong  impact  on  EUSALP  activities  and 
significantly  restricted  the  cooperation.  Priority  was  given  to  crisis  management  by  many 
authorities,  rather  than  cooperation  and  this  has  slowed  down  some  activities  and  delayed 
programming of the new EU funding programmes.  

The pandemic resulted in postponement or cancellation of physical meetings (e.g. ministerial 
meetings)  however,  it  also  generated  new  ways  of  working  and  boosted  new  initiatives. 
EUSALP adopted a post-pandemic plan to be implemented by the Action Groups to strengthen 
the  EUSALP  resiliency  and  finalised  a  Manifesto  of  the  States  and  Regions  involved  in 
EUSALP promoting sustainability and resiliency.  

In 2020 and 2021, the EUSALP Action Groups were urged by the Lombardy region, as leader 
of the AlpGov2 project, to give priority to activities and projects in favour of a green recovery 
and resilience of the Alpine region, with a view to alleviate the economic and social effects of 
the  pandemic.  The  Italian  presidency  2022  designed  its  programme  with  a  strong  focus  on 
climate  resilient  energy  strategies,  including  a  strong  link  to  the  New  European  Bauhaus 
Initiative.  

Across the EUSALP area, the local, regional and national authorities are facing the challenge 
of supporting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. In the future they may be confronted with 
new  sources  of  pollution,  and  the  need  for  energy  diversification  has  already  triggered  new 
national and regional policies. Increasing inflation and unemployment are concrete risks to be 
addressed also in the EUSALP region. This can also be an opportunity for better cooperation. 
A coordinated vision to meet these challenges could be envisioned at a macro-regional level 
and could be facilitated through structures such as the new Technical Support Structure (TSS) 
that ensures stability and continuity and a timely exchange of information with all implementers 
of the strategy. 

Especially in the current situation (pandemic, the war in Ukraine), the EUSALP offers added 
value and the possibility to involve new actors in the cooperation and to address some strategic 
challenges  such  as  supply  chain  resilience,  the  Green  Deal,  digital  transition  and  transport 
issues. 

EUSALP thematic priorities and their interrelation with the European Green Deal 

Addressing climate change is an important objective for the EUSALP and within this current 
reporting period EUSALP has put the environmental protection high on the agenda. Several of 
the actions of the EUSALP action plan contribute to the European Green Deal’s objectives. In 
2020-2021, the main objective of the French presidency was to contribute to accelerating the 
green  transition  of  the Alpine  region,  in  order  to  fight  against  climate  change.  The  Italian 
presidency 2022 (held by the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano/Bozen and Trento) is inspired 
by the ambition of making the EUSALP region the first European carbon-neutral macro-region 
in line with the EU Climate Action and the European Green Deal, promoting the roll-out of 
renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures. 

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Overall, the potential contribution of the EUSALP to the objectives of the European Green Deal 
is high. As already proven, EUSALP can mobilize institutions/stakeholders and funds for the 
implementation of the European Green Deal in the Alpine region. It can facilitate coordination 
in  decision-making  and  action,  cross-sectoral  approaches,  multi-level  governance  and 
stakeholder involvement, all very important elements for the implementation of the European 
Green Deal on the ground.  

Several  projects  and  processes  of  the  Action  Groups  contribute  to  the  implementation  of 
different European Green Deal actions on the ground and also of  key strategic initiatives going 
beyond the EGD such as the RepowerEU Plan 

Examples of projects and processes 

Facilitating  the  establishment  of  an  Alpine  Universities  Alliance/Network  (AG1- 
Research and Innovation): Universities and Research & Innovation Centres are essential 
agents of territorial development able to promote a beneficial interaction between mountain 
regions and lowlands, to facilitate the implementation of sustainable models and to foster the 
implementation  of  the  European  Green  Deal  in  the  Alpine  region.  In  order  to  do  so  a 
preliminary set of identified universities coming from the seven Alpine region countries were 
invited. The meeting, held online on the 19th  of January, 2022 saw the participation of 26 
Universities coming from six Alpine region’s countries. A questionnaire was issued to all the 
participating institutions collecting feedback from 18 Universities concerning the possible 
connection with EUSALP and the establishment of an informal network. A second meeting 
is being organised to start-up three preliminary projects to be submitted to different funding 
calls. 

“Green Hydrogen for the Alpine Region” initiative (AG2-Economic Development and 
AG9-Energy): Nine alpine regions, represented in six different EUSALP AG, declared and 
formalised  their  intention  to  cooperate  on  hydrogen  projects  in  the  transport  sector,  in 
innovation and training, by signing a formal Letter of Intent. A Focus Group was established, 
holding  regular  meetings  at  least  three-monthly  since  September  2020.  The  regions  and 
experts involved are cooperating to explore potential opportunities for collaboration, and to 
develop  new  project  proposals  for  funding  e.g.  SPIRALPS  (Horizon  2020), AMETHYST 
(ASP 2021-27). The group also functioned as a Financial Dialogue Network hub working 
towards the integration of the hydrogen topic into the current MFF. 

Project Assessment Methodology for Individual Projects & 2nd call for project proposal 
20/21  (AG4-Mobility):  The  Assessment  Methodology  for  Individual  Projects  serves  to 
identify projects with a relevance for the fostering of sustainable mobility solutions in the 
Alpine region from a macroregional perspective. In 2020, 14 EUSALP projects were labelled, 
and the AG4 Lead launched a second project call in 2021 (a total of 16 submissions and six 
labelled  projects).  The  label  helps  the  project  promoters  to  communicate  the  projects' 
endorsement  by  the  macro-region  towards  decision-making  authorities  who  are  in  the 
position to promote the implementation of the respective project and/or to provide adequate 
financial  support. AG4  promotes  the  visibility  of  the  projects,  as  for  example  the Alpine 
Platform of Knowledge for Mobility and Transport or in virtual and physical exhibitions (EU 
Week for Cities and Regions 2021, EUSALP Mobility Conference 2022, EUSALP Roadshow 
stop on spatial planning 2022).  

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Second  international  conference  “Territorial  Brands  in  the  Alpine  Region”  (AG6-
Resources):  Conference  with  more  than  90  practitioners  from  the  agri-food  sector  and 
experts  on  local  development  focusing  on  small  scale  territorial  brands  in  the Alps.  The 
participants  met  online  to  discuss  ways  of  creating  a  successful  territorial  brand  and  the 
framework  conditions  underpinning  such  processes,  as  well  as  the  impact  of  a  territorial 
brand on the sustainable development of the corresponding territory. 

“GI  goes  business”  competition  (AG7-Green  Infrastructure):  In  2021/2022,  a  new 
competition to support innovative ideas, products and services for a Green Economy in the 
Alpine region was launched. Almost 40 start-ups, established enterprises and creative minds 
from  Austria,  Germany,  Italy,  Liechtenstein,  Slovenia  and  Switzerland  submitted  their 
products, services and ideas in the first GI goes business award. Six winners and two special 
recognition teams were identified and invited to an individual coaching series to bring the 
ideas further. The official ceremony for the GI goes business award took place under political 
EUSALP presidency patronage on 13 May 2013 in Bolzano.  

Interactive  physical  natural  hazard  model  and  the  accompanying  study  on  didactic 
principles and educational support of natural hazard models (AG8-Risk Governance):  
The study provides an assessment of existing models from the Alpine region. Based on the 
results  of  the  study  a  new  model  prototype  was  created.  More  information  and  an 
accompanying  video  can  be  found  here:  https://www.alpine-region.eu/Study-physical-
natural-hazard-models-Finalreport 

EUSALP thematic priorities and their interrelation with the digital transition 

To implement the EUSALP action “to connect people electronically and promote accessibility 
to public services”, activities of the Action Group 5 - Connectivity and Accessibility have been 
boosted the past two years, especially in response to the pandemic and its consequences with 
regard the new ways of working and communicating. Overall, the EUSALP has a great potential 
to continue to be a digital laboratory by exploring: concrete ways to develop smart SMEs, E-
health systems for the basic medical care, or the new delivery of service for general interest. 
The EUSALP French presidency (2020-2021) and the EUSALP Italian presidency (2022) have 
also made connectivity and digitalisation a priority accompagnying the green transition. The 
political vision based on the capacity of the Alps to be forerunners of digitalisation has led to 
the implementation of a series of activities for the Alpine region. Since 2016, the concept of 
“Smart  Villages”  has  been  considerably  improved,  as  the  Smart  Villages  project  received 
funding from the Interreg Alpine Space Programme. The  years 2020-2022 delivered outputs 
such  as  policy  recommendations  for  digitalisation,  the  creation  of  the  Digital  Exchange 
Platform, and the development of the Smart Alps Network.  

Examples of projects and processes 

Smart Villages - Using the potential of digitization in Alpine villages (AG5-Connectivity 
and Accessibility). The Interreg Alpine Space project aims at gathering actors on different 
levels to initiate a transformation into a smart village or smart region. By exchanging good 
practices, digitalisation helps to overcome the natural handicaps of mountain and rural areas, 
to develop new business models and to strengthen the resilience of the mountain and rural 
villages. The projects  has made come true  Smart Alps Network  and the  Digital  Exchange 
Platform .   

59 

 
 
 
Smart SMEs (AG5)  The aim of the Smart  SMEs project  is  to  understand to  what  extent 
SMEs  that  produce,  process  and  apply  natural  fibres  use  digitalization  tools  and 
approaches. The project also evaluates obstacles that prevent SMEs from exploiting the full 
potential of digital solutions. The report of policy recommendations based on findings can be 
found  here 
:  https://www.alpine-region.eu/publications/report-policy-recommendations-
based-findings. 

Reporting the chances of E-Health in the basic medical care (AG5). A lack of General 
Practicioners (GPs) and other health care providers is a growing problem in rural areas of the 
alpine countries. The problem is becoming even more acute with demographic change which 
results  in  a  higher  demand  for  basic  health  care  services  per  inhabitant.  With  the  long 
distances between patients and service providers, e-health can offer even greater benefits to 
the  rural  than  in  urban  areas.  The  report  gives  examples  of  how  the  problem  is  being 
addressed in different regions.  

How digitalization changes the delivery of Services of General Interest SGI (AG5). In a 
news set up Think Tank composed of experts from all Alpine countries, good practices on the 
potentials of digitalisation to improve the access to Services of general interest are collected.  

Digital Alps Conference (AG5). The first Digital Alps Conference took place in 2021 (250 
participants) and the second in May 2022. This annual conference brings together all actors 
and initiatives dealing with the topic on digitalization in the Alpine area. The 2022 conference 
saw  cooperation  with  AG3  to  explore  synergies  across  topics  such  as  digitalization, 
education, labour market and smart villages.  

EUSALP thematic priorities and social change, including the inflow of refugees and other 
consequences of the war in Ukraine 

The  pandemic  had  put  significant  stress  on  the  labour  market  and  education  systems  and 
institutions  in  the Alpine  region.  Moreover,  the Alpine  region  is  as  other  regions  receiving 
refugees that will have an impact the labour market and education systems. This will require 
development  of  responses  in  education  and  access  to  the  labour  market  (upskilling  and 
reskilling, recognition of diploma, access to public and social services). 

Projects  under AG3-Labour  Market,  Education  and Training  aim  to  foster  the  creation  of  a 
common labour market and learning space in the EUSALP area. Education is considered as a 
high priority to cope with the global challenges and a condition for the Alpine region to stay 
competitive  and  synergies/complementarities  especially  with  AG1  and  AG5  are  sought.To 
implement  the  EUSALP  action  “to  improve  the  adequacy  of  labour  market,  education  and 
training in strategic sectors”, the AG3 has started new activities the past two years aimed at 
equipping the young generation with the skills and education necessary to cope with the twin 
transition and societal challenges.  

Financed by the Interreg Alpine Space (Interreg) programme, many projects related to social 
innovation,  social  change  have  been  implemented.  These  projects  aim  to  improve  the 
framework for social innovation and to produce innovative solutions in order to develop the 
Alpine region into a more attractive place to live and work.  

60 

 
 
 
Examples of projects and processes 

AlpGov2 and AG3: In the AlpGov 2 project it was dveloped a Work Plan for AG3 for the 
three-year period 2020-2022 to support the following main areas of action: soft skills, green 
and digital jobs, mutual recognition of Higher Vocational Education and Training (HVET) 
title and competences. 

Study on Soft Skills: AG3 launched a study to develop the theme of soft skills with the final 
objective to create a common framework of tools for the monitoing and assessment of soft 
skills.  A  standardised  set  of  soft  skills  related  to  work-based  learning  is  useful  to  the 
development of the Alpine economy. The results will be presented at the Annual Forum 2022. 
This process can facilitate the recognition of competences acquired in an informal way and 
help  the  re-integration  in  the  labour  market  of  unemployed  people  and  the  support  the 
mobility into other EUSALP countries.  

Dual  Training  Systems  (a  mode  of  training  delivery  which  combines  theroretical  and 
practical training): During the period a process was started to produce a quality assurance 
guidelines for dual training systems, aiming at developing a legal framework for dual training 
in line with the evolution of the labour market and request for new skills such as green and 
digital  competences. The document aims at simplifying the dual  training process  and will 
define quality criteria and guidelines for effective dual training (dual systems) in the Alpine 
region and it will also include examples of best practices. The results will be presented at the 
Annual Forum 2022. 

Fostering  Cooperation  in  Higher Vocational  Education  and Training  (HVET)  in  the 
EUSALP” conference: The Conference held in Brussels as part of the European Vocational 
Skills  Week  2022  was  the  starting  point  for  a  mutual  recognition  of  HVET  titles  and 
qualifications in the EUSALP area to the mobility of students  and workers. The aim is to 
launch the debate towards a future adoption of a pact for HVET in line with the European 
Skills Agenda and the European Strategy for Higher Education.  The mutual recognition of 
HVET  titles  can  be  a  useful  instrument  to  ensure  a  more  inclusive  and  social  Europe. A 
technical  panel  discussed  the  added  value  of  cooperating  on  higher  education  for  its 
implications  in  terms  of  inclusion,  mobility,  digitalisation,  lifelong  learning,  knowledge 
transfer and sharing.  

ASIS (Alpine Social Innovation Strategy): The project ASIS (2018-2021) aims at defining 
a  new  vision  of  social  innovation  t  in  order  to  increase  the  innovation  capacity  of Alpine 
space regions byaddressing new challenges. The underlying idea of ASIS is that all forms of 
innovation are concerned by societal challenges (socio-economic and environmental). ASIS 
develops  a  strategic  approach  to  promote  social  innovation  in  the  region  and  increase 
cooperation between actors. ASIS has proposed new tools and methodologies, an innovative 
platform, new strategic policies & recommendations to public actors through a white book, 
simulation 
(White-book-online.pdf 
and 
(socialinnovationstrategy.eu)).  

other  materials 

models 

many 

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Governance and Administrative involvement and capacity 

The governance structure of the EUSALP consists of the following functions and levels: 

  The General  Assembly gathers  the  high-level  political  representatives  of  states  and 
regions  involved  in  the  strategy,  the  Commission,  and  the  Alpine  Convention  as 
observer.  It  should  mainly  be  responsible  for  laying  down  the  general  political 
guidelines for the strategy. 

  The Executive  Board is  formed  by  representatives  of  states  and  regions  and 
representatives from the Commission and, as observers, the Alpine Convention and the 
Interreg Alpine Space Programme. It oversees the implementation of the EUSALP and 
it  is  meant  to  provide  strategic  guidance  with  respect  to  management  and 
implementation of the EUSALP and its action plan. 

  The  core  of  the  implementation  level  is  the Action  Groups and  Action  Group 
leaders. The Action Group leaders are the drivers of day-to-day implementation. Their 
role, capacities, resources and engagement is a key element to the success of the strategy. 

Political level 

The rotating presidencies mechanism has been established to ensure that all partner states get 
involved in governance and presidency of the strategy. After two years of French presidency, 
extended  due  to  the  pandemic,  Italy  has  agreed  to  take  over  the  presidency  of  2022  and 
Switzerland is planning to hold the presidency in 2023. Slovenia has proposed to take over the 
presidency in 2024. The role of the rotating MRS presidency is increasing, as the participating 
countries realise its importance in steering the strategic direction of the EUSALP. In parallel, a 
Trio presidency (previous, current and future presidencies) was established and its role has been 
increasingly strengthened. 

The annual fora, the presidencies kick-off events and the EUSALP General Assembly meetings 
are occasions for the political level in the Alpine region to show political commitment and to 
show how the EUSALP brings significant added value to cooperation in the region. However, 
in  contrast  to  other  MRS,  so  far  no  dedicated  thematic  ministerial  meetings  have  been  held 
back-to-back with the EUSALP annual fora. 

Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Annual Forum took place online (French presidency). In 2021, 
annual  forum  took  place  in  Nice  in  hybrid  format  (on  14  December  2021  under  French 
presidency), and offered an opportunity to raise awareness of the strategy and to increase its 
visibility. The 2022 annual forum and General Assembly (Italian presidency) is planned to take 
place in Trento (23-25 November). 

However,  political  awareness  and  commitment  need  to  increase  further.  Communication  of 
success stories to the political level seems be key to support this. The current political steering 
of  EUSALP  by  the  Ministers  responsible  for  coordination,  needs  to  be  complemented  by 
initiatives from the sectorial ministers to strengthen the links between sector policies and AGs 
and increase legitimacy and visibility.    

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Implementation level 

The seven participating countries are represented in the nine Action Groups (AGs) with varying 
levels of involvement of the participating states and regions. The EU member states are well-
engaged  in  the  strategy  with  Italy  co-heading  5 AGs,  France  heading  3 AGs, Austria  also 
heading  3 AGs.  It  is  important  to  ensure  that  the  EUSALP  is  high  on  the  political  agenda, 
especially in the non-EU members, through active partipation in the AGs. In 2020, EUSALP 
had entered into its 2nd  implementation period. The focus has been on the EUSALP AGs and 
these becoming key players in policy-making. One of the central objectives of the current action 
plan is to enhance the cooperation between the 9 AGs. 

In  order  to  better  implement  and  monitor  the  actions  and  projects  of  the  strategy,  different 
mechanisms have been put in place, including a Technical Support Structure (TSS) ensuring 
continuity  between  rotating  presidencies  and  bringing  support  to  all  governing  bodies  of 
EUSALP. The strategy has also established its first Financial Dialogue Networks (to bridge the 
gap  between  the  Action  Groups  and  the  EU  funding  programmes).  Last  but  not  least,  a 
monitoring and evaluation tool (matrix with indicators) was elaborated in order to improve and 
facilitate the follow up of the EUSALP implementation in the future, in line with the continuous 
effort to evaluate the results of the strategy. 

The  reports  from  the AGs  show  that  almost  all AGs  are  systematically  implementing  and 
continuously adjusting their work plans along the topics of the EUSALP’s action plan, and in 
some  cases,  even  taking  new  topics  on  board. An  increasing  number  of  projects  have  been 
developed  by AGs.  These  projects  are  providing  more  transnational  added  value,  showing 
important improvements and an increasing professionalisation. The AlpGov 2 project, funded 
until 31 December 2022 by the Interreg Alpine Space transnational programme set up a special 
work package to assist AG leaders and members to address and implement the policy cycle and 
improve efficiency. 

The national coordinators (NCs), nominated by each participating country, are the focal point 
at national level and part of the Executive Board, which is the decision-making body of the 
strategy. Their primary task is to oversee implementation of the strategy in their countries and 
ensure that the EUSALP is firmly anchored in the national environment. This includes engaging 
with  all AGs,  and  liaising  with  national  line  ministries  and  other  relevant  organisations  to 
encourage implement EUSALP actions in their policy field.  

In relation to national coordination, several national coordinators highlight that the EUSALP’s 
structure helps to streamline and improve horizontal (cross-sectorial) and vertical coordination 
within  and  between  national  and  regional  administrations  in  each  country.  A  number  of 
participating countries have established internal coordination systems involving ministries of 
foreign  affairs,  authorities  in  charge  of  EU  Funds,  sectoral  ministries  and  regional/local 
administrations. In most of the EUSALP countries, the strategy is coordinated from a ministry 
(such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) which is different from the ministry in charge of the 
bulk of EU funding programmes.  

In  2020  and  2021,  EUSALP  entered  into  an  important  phase  of  its  operations.  The  Joint 
Ministerial  Declaration  of  Milan  of  November  2019  emphasized  the  need  to  strengthen  the 
governance of the strategy and called for adequate representation of the priorities of EUSALP 
in  the  programming  of  European  and  national  funds.  Since  then,  EUSALP  has  been  paying 
increasing attention to  the advancement of operational  procedures, alignment  of  governance 

63 

 
 
levels, and development of methods for implementation including a focus on macro-regional 
priorities and identification of result indicators. By seeking concrete implementation for macro-
regional projects, EUSALP has entered a new and more mature phase of operation and visibility. 

The milestones  of this process  were  represented  by the  adoption of the EUSALP Manifesto 
(June  2020),  the  approval  of  the  cross-cutting  Strategic  Initiatives  (September  2020),  the 
progressive setting-up of a Monitoring Matrix (since November 2020), the establishment of 
Financial  Dialogue  Networks  (July  2021),  and  the  start  of  the  implementing  phase  of  a 
Permanent Secretariat (Technical Support Structure) at the service of the rotating presidencies 
and thematic AGs. 

The EUSALP members agreed to set up a Technical Support Structure (TSS) in 2021 which 
will support EUSALP in communication, support to the AGs, monitoring, etc. The exact and 
full scope of the TSS tasks is currently under discussion.The setting up of the Technical Support 
Structure  (TSS)  aims  at  also  helping  the  presidencies  and  the  transition  between  them. 
Establishing these new processes and enhancing existing ones has been very helpful in various 
partner states to  generate greater awareness and consideration of EUSALP priorities in both 
mainstream and Interreg ERDF programmes during the 2021-2027 programming phase. 

Civil society 

Under  the  French  presidency,  many  professional,  economic  and  environmental  associations 
have been supported to organise thematic events. In the framework of the AG’s work actions 
and events have been implemented, during for example the annual mobility conference (AG4), 
the  energy  conference  (AG9),  the  Digital  Alps  Conference,  (AG5),  or  the  Conference  on 
Education and labour market (AG3). Civil society is systematically involved at the Annual Fora 
of  the  EUSALP.  At  these  annual  fora,  a  significant  number  of  participants  from  national, 
regional and local administrations, universities, the business sector, youth representatives and 
media  took  stock  of  progress  achieved.  The  discussion  focused  on  challenges  facing  the 
EUSALP  region  and  exchanged  ideas  and  experience  from  projects,  actions  or  activities  of 
macro-regional relevance. 

During  the  French  presidency,  there  was  a  specificeffort  to  involve  French  sub-regional 
authorities  and  NGOs.  In  France  and  Italy,  seminars  and  conferences  are  regularly  held  to 
inform and enable civil society to participate, notably in Interreg programmes and seminars and 
in meetings of both Alpine and Jura Massifs Committees. On an on-going basis, Switzerland 
informs interested stakeholders and organise meetings (when necessary) to discuss involvement 
of  new  partners.  This  echoes  the  way  European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  (ESIF) 
programmes located in the EUSALP area functionning in terms of involving civil society in the 
Monitoring Committees. 

One  of  the  concrete  results  under  the  French  presidency  was  the  development  of  a  digital 
participatory  platform  to  boost  sustainable  initiatives,  dissemination,  and  involvement  of 
various stakeholders  (sub-regional authorities, SMEs, NGOs,  young people and members of 
the public). With this initiative, initially envisaged in the EUSALP’s action plan, there has been 
a boost in strengthening civil society and youth involvement in implementing the EUSALP. The 
Italian presidency continues this initiative. As part of the civil society, the focus group of young 
people  was  particularly  involved  in  the  EUSALP  governance,  and  many  activities  were 
organised and a systematic participation in the EUSALP decision process. 

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Youth 

Youth became a top priority in 2018 with the objective to bring EUSALP closer to the citizens’ 
needs,  in  particular  to  young  people. The  past  years’  objective  was  to  better  involve  young 
people  at  all  level  of  the  strategy’s  governance.  Many  efforts  through  a  variety  of  actions 
towards young people allow them to take part of the EUSALP activities, either from as project 
manager  for  the  benefit  of  EUSALP,  or  by  structuring  a  group  of  young  people  through  an 
official governance body within the strategy. Therefore, the years 2020-2021 were marked by 
achievments  in this  field. The project Youth.Shaping. EUSALP  gathered  many  activities for 
young people as escribed in the following.  

Firstly, the 3rd and 4th Pitch Your Project competition in 2020 and 2021, have rewarded six youth 
projects at a total of EUR 20 000 (co-financed by the European Commission and Land Tyrol) 
for projects addressing a solution to EUSALP challenges.  

Secondly, due to the pandemic, the first EUSALP Youth Camp took place in summer 2021 in 
an adapted format. In 2022, three camps will take place in France, Germany and Italy to allow 
young people to participate. Their aim is to make young people debate about EUSALP actions 
and to bring new format of civil society interactions within the EUSALP governance, similar 
to living labs.  

Finally, 2021 marked the implementation  of the  1st EUSALP Youth  Council:  28 (4 persons/ 
country) young people between 18 and 29 years old, were selected to take part in the EUSALP 
discussions at all governance levels. The 28 councillors represent the EUSALP Youth Council, 
as a consultative body of the EUSALP governance. They have the possibility to participate in 
the implementation of the EUSALP during one year with the possibility of a one-time extension 
of their mandate. Two representatives are in the Executive Board and in the General Assembly 
as observers. The Youth Council also cooperate closely with the AGs. 

EUSALP  has  improved  its  online  communication  and  participation  opportunities  and  the 
website https://eusalp-youth.eu informs young people about the different possibilities. Young 
people  can  apply  there  for  the  Youth  Council,  the  camps  or  Pitch  Your  Project. 
youth.shaping.EUSALP also runs social media channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and 
YouTube and organizes regular online meetings where interested young people can learn more 
about EUSALP.   

On  the  policy  side,  each  member  of  EUSALP  takes  its  responsibilities  towards  youth 
involvement. For example the  Land Tyrol  takes care of international  networking with  youth 
organizations and projects in the Alpine region to use synergies.  

In Italy, the Youth Council is currently  strengthening the links with youth organizations and 
networks and consultation bodies at national level. Youth empowerment is also a main axis of 
the 2022 Italian presidency, with several activities focused on the promotion of youth skills and 
active involvement in  macroregional activities. Among the  activities, a peer to  peer training 
program delivered in cooperation with Fondazione Antonio Megalizzi is planned. Its first part 
was held in Brussels during the MRS week 2022, with a training session on specific topics such 
as  mobility,  economic  development,  environment  with  the  aim  to  formulate  proposals  to  be 
submitted to the COFE platform.  

65 

 
 
In  addition,  the  Italian  presidency,  in  cooperation  with  some Action  Groups,  planned  three 
workshops where  representatives of EUSALP Youth Council and other youth organizations of 
the Alpine regions work on shared visions of possible and desirable futures in the Alps on the 
following : jobs, digitalisation and the future order in the Alps. 

At national  level,  communication towards citizens is  also  improving:  the  Italian Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation organised in Rome (22-26 November 2021) a 
Youth Forum dedicated to gathering 78 young students from all EU Member States and from 
candidate countries, to discuss the future of the European Union and to contribute to the the 
Conference on the  Future of Europe. The Forum included a special session dedicated to the 
perspective of the inclusion of young people in EU policies set up by the Commission, with a 
special emphasis on MRS, raising awareness on macro-regional strategies among youth.  

The results of the workshops will be presented to EUSALP bodies during the General Assembly 
and the Annual forum in November in Trento. 

Access to funding and embedding: 

General overview 

The  EUSALP  countries,  supported  by  the  Commission,  have  initiated  thematic  financial 
dialogue networks in order to bridge the gap between the AGs and the EU funding programmes 
and  to  facilitate  funding  of  EUSALP  implementation.  Currently,  three  such  networks  are 
operational: energy transition, especially hydrogen, digitalisation and sustainable mobility. 

The current financial dialogue networks need reorientation. On one hand, they need to have a 
broader coverage of financing bodies (also including EU directly managed funds), on the other 
hand,  a  more  focused  but  flexible  approach  working  on  concrete  projects  or  initiatives  is 
needed.  

The strategy has further increased its capacity to attract funding from different funding sources. 
The success rate with programmes within the EUSALP territory has increased considerably, 
with more and more programmes integrating EUSALP implementers into their decision-making 
mechanisms, especially during the preparation for the new funding period. The strengthened 
involvement  in  decision-making  bodies  offers  additional  possibilities  for  Strategies  and 
implementers alike.  

National  Coordinators  are  involved  in  programming  processes  in  several  programmes.  For 
instance, NCs joined a German task force contributing to the programming of the future Interreg 
transnational Alpine  Space  Programme.  In  the  ERDF  mainstream  programme,  one  NC  is  a 
member of the monitoring committee and has ensured the link to the EUSALP and at the same 
time  proposed  concrete  activities  in  line  with  EUSALP  activities.  Furthermore,  regional 
information  events  and  online surveys held  by  cross-border  Interreg programmes have been 
used  to  highlight  EUSALP  topics. The  mobilisation  on  funding,  not  only  from  Interreg  and 
mainstream ERDF funds, but also from the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Agricultural 
Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD),  shows  the  strategy’s  ability  to  pool  and  combine 
different funding for macro-regional action.   

The Alpine Space Programme (Interreg) has been since the beginning the main financing source 
for the strategy and often its sole source of funding. The new programme 2021-2027 will for 

66 

 
 
the first time cover the administrative costs of implementing the strategy (e.g. contribution to 
the cost of AGs and the new technical support structure as well as the support for the Annual 
Forum).  The  coordination  between    the  strategy  and  the  programme  works  well,  and 
representatives of both participate in each other’s decision-making processes. An important part 
of the governance of the strategy has been supported by the Alpine Space Programme, namely 
the AlpGov projects (AlpGov1 and AlpGov2). 

In  2021,  the  LIFE  programme  launched  a  call  for  projects  targeting  EU  Macro-regional 
strategies, further strengthening the relation between funding and coordination instruments.  

Cohesion policy programmes 2021-2027 

Concerning  embedding,  several  initiatives  have  been  launched  to  improve  the  situation  and 
mobilise the almost 100 ESI Fund programmes covering the Alpine region. In order to support 
priorities  and  objectives  of  the  strategy,  the  second  EUSALP  embedding Workshop  and  the 
Workshop on Financial Dialogue Networks were organised respectively in the framework of 
the 2nd and 3rd Macro-Regional Strategies weeks in March 2021 and March 2022.  

At the political level, regions, Member States and non-EU countries involved in the strategy 
have highlighted the need to integrate the strategy into the available funding programmes. This 
was a priority for both the French presidency (2020-2021) and the Italian presidency 2022.  

In  the  participating  countries,  the  coordination  mechanisms  have  evolved  significantly.  For 
example,  the  relevant  committee  of  the  Austrian  Conference  on  Spatial  Planning  has 
commissioned its Partners/Constituents to reconsider the current national governance structure 
of  transnational  and  cross-border  funding  programmes  with  a  view  to  more  effectively 
embedding the MRS. 

Also on a regional level, actors promote the embedding of the  EUSALP. In some regions, a 
structured dialogue has begun, involving authorities in charge of the strategy and other cross-
border strategic activities, as well as representatives of managing authorities (ERDF, ESF).  

On a more general level, a report produced by the EUSALP AGs “Funding Requirements from 
Future EU Funding Programmes post 2020”, formally endorsed by the EUSALP EB, clearly 
highlighted the funding needs of the AGs to the various EU funding programmes. Some ERDF 
mainstream  programmes  going  to  be  adopted  for  the  2021-2027  programming  period 
explicitely refers to EUSALP and its priorities. 

Funds directly managed by the Commission 

Various  partners  indicated  that  very  little  information  is  provided  in  relation  ot  these 
programmes. Some information is available on ERASMUS+ and the YAFA project (Youth Acts 
for Alps) was financed in the frame of ERASMUS+. 

Therefore,  more  structured  dialogue  and  networking  should  be  promoted  between  these 
programmes and stakeholders in (relevant) AGs. In addition, communication on the projects 
financed under direct managed programmes should be improved, and these should be included 
in a comprehensive monitoring tool run at EUSALP level.  

National Contact Points for EU-directly managed funds could be further involved in AGs and 
National  Governance  bodies.  Commission  line  DGs  managing  a  fund  could  appoint  desk 

67 

 
 
officers referent for each strategy, who could be involved in thematic activities and as observer 
at governance level. 

Monitoring and evaluation  

The EB and the AGs are in charge of monitoring and evaluation. A monitoring matrix, adapted 
to monitor the complexity of EUSALP, was developed by and for EUSALP (Nomisma). Within 
this  matrix,  targets  and  indicators  are  defined  for  the  EUSALP  monitoring  process.  The 
indicators has been established within the AlpGov  II project with  the  collaboration of AG1. 
Monitoring  is  also  ensured  through  direct  contact  with  the AGs  members  and  through  the 
regular exchange meetings (ex. Switzerland).  

Communication 

After the great efforts to organise the EUSALP communication activities, the communication 
strategy is now led by a dedicated communication officer as part of the TSS. Each year, the 
communication strategy is adapted to its target audience and objectives. The communication 
strategy  implemented  during  the  French  presidency  was  mainly  focusing  on  Institutional 
communication to relevant governing bodies, especially the French Alpine Massif Committee. 
Events with political representatives were also organised. EUSALP provided online services 
through the EUSALP website and institutional websites of the EUSALP states and regions, as 
well  related  social  networks.  EUSALP  also  disseminated  promotional  videos  and  radio 
podcasts, and communicated about youth activities through the website eusalp.youth.  

The year 2020 was marked by the pandemic and led to that communication went digital and 
that social media became the main channel  for communication. Hence,  EUSALP  got  a new 
YouTube channel, where a series of videos showing solidarity within EUSALP reached a large 
audience.  The  EUSALP  YouTube  channel  has  since  become  more  attractive  to  the  general 
public,  promoting  EUSALP  events,  conferences,  achievment  and  Presidencies’  agenda.  In 
addition, the EUSALP twitter account now has 1031 followers (compared to 600 in 2019) and 
Facebook counts more than 1500 followers. To reach young people, EUSALP also opened an 
Instagram account with almost 800 followers. Resources are needed by the EUSALP TSS to 
engage a social media manager. As another important digital tool, the EUSALP website is now 
getting reviewed and updated to become more userfriendly.  

The pandemic led to less events and the EUSALP meetings turned digital which allowed for 
more  general  public  attendance  (1000  participants  for  a  hybrid Annual  Forum).  EUSALP  is 
continuously present in the main EU events, like the European Year of Rails (AG4-Mobility 
High Level Conference on Mobility), the EU Green Week (AG7-Green Infrastructure, AG8-
Risk Governance and AG9-Energy), the EU Regions Week (French presidency).  

New innovative ways of communication have been developed as well as events to re-connect 
after the pandemic. Summer camps and road shows are ongoing. They should inevitably raise 
EUSALP awareness on the Alpine region.  

THE WAY FORWARD 

The EUSALP countries see great importance in having a good alignment of EUSALP with key 
EU strategies, as well as a robust, balanced and efficient governance support structure with all 
key functions organised within a single body to withstand current and future challenges. 

68 

 
 
The  European  Green  Deal,  the  digital  transition,  social  change  including  the  influx  of 
refugees and other consequences of the war in Ukraine 

New  pressing  challenges  arising  because  of  current  geopolitical,  environmental  and 
macroeconomic  context,  add  a  new  intensity  and  layer  of  complexity  to  already  existing 
territorial trends in the region. These include for instance, territorial polarisation, energy poverty 
and diversification through renewables, unemployment and depopulation, digitisation in remote 
areas,  human  capital  development,  risk  governance. The  current  initiatives  developed  in  the 
framework of EUSALP, such as the Initiative “Green Hydrogen for the Alpine Region”, present 
a solid basis to face some of these challenges, such as energy transition and energy security. 
These topics are tackled also by key strategic initiatives going beyond the EGD such as the 
REPowerEU Plan, which in its Staff Working Document81 recognises the role of the MRS in 
promoting cooperation in investments in hydrogen infrastructure. 

EUSALP governance (including monitoring, evaluation and communication) 

One of the most pressing improvements need will be to focus on the overall transparency (with 
regard to working group and EB activities) and the structuring of decision making within the 
EB.  In addition,  the partners welcome the establishment of a predictable  and stable rotation 
mechanism for EUSALP presidencies. 

Also, political ownership of AG priorities should be increased via dialogue with EB. 

Main issues and suggestions for the future:  

1.  Increase  the  involvement  of  the  political  level,  including  having  regular  meetings  at 
ministerial  level  and  communicating  the  benefits  and  opportunities  of  EUSALP  to 
political decision-makers.  

2.  Improving identification of priorities and embedding utilising: 

a.  The  monitoring  matrix,  linking  EUSALP  priorities  to  already  financed 
projects/activities and new funding opportunities 
b.  Circular  Thematic  Dialogue  among  AGs  and  MAs  of  relevant  programmes 
under  consolidated  and  structured  Financial  Dialogue  Networks  (accessible  to 
interested  National  coordinators)  with  a  focus  also  on  capitalisation  of  already 
funded projects results 
c.  Stable support to AGs and review/streamlining of priorities identification 
d.  Explore way to further coordinate/aggregate AGs activities from an integrated 
the  Crosscutting  Strategic  Initiatives 
multi-sectoral  perspective  (assessing 
experience)  
e.  Further  involvement  of  Commission  line  DGs  desk  officers  and  National 
Contact Points for directly managed funds. 

81 18.5.2022 SWD(2022) 230 final 

69 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
3.  Presidency:  clear  political  engagement,  and  stabilise  and  simplify  the  support  to 

presidency (a recurrent activity), timely start of the TSS. 

4.  Increasing the engagment of new stakeholders via, among others: Stakeholder Platform 
development, developing synergies between the Youth Council and the AGs in order to 
reinforce  the  incubation  of  innovative  projects  and  increasing  youth  involvement  in 
Interreg and cohesion policy (also in monitoring and implementation). 

5.  The coordination and cooperation between EUSALP and other MRS can be improved, 
but ad hoc exchange on relevant issues is already working well (e.g. exchange between 
the EUSALP and the other MRS on youth participation).  

6.  There  is  a  need  to  streamline  and  coordiante  sectoral  administrative  approaches  still 
restricting  territorial  cooperation.  The  variety  of  Euro-Alpine  cooperation  (Alpine 
Convention, Alpine Space Programme, EUSALP with their own activities, governances, 
rules, and staff), also generates a lack of consistency which discourages sectoral experts 
to participate.   

7.  The  EUSALP  should  aim  to  develop  a  balance  between  more  frequent,  short  digital 
meetings  for  coordination  and  information  exchange,  and  high-quality  in-person 
conferences  such  as  the  Annual  Forum  to  allow  for  direct  exchange  and  joint 
development of new ideas and strengthen networks. 

8.  The dialogues and exchanges of experiences/good practices among EUSALP and  the 
other  MRS  could  provide  relevant  inputs  for  their  implementation,  as  they  share 
common features. Cross-MRS activities run under INTERACT proved to be a good tool 
to promote this kind of exchange. A specific focus could be dedicated to topic such as 
monitoring  and  evaluation,  embedding  during  implementation,  communication  and 
capitalisation, civil society involvement. 

9.  Structurally,  more  harmonization  and  unification  across  MRS  would  also  help 
coordination and  cooperation between the strategies. The Alpine partners would also 
encourage a more concrete and structured exchange across MRS on specific topics, such 
as:  governance  structures,  capacity  building,  communication,  etc.,  could  prove 
beneficial.  

Embedding, implementation and access to funds directly managed by the Commission 

Embedding of EUSALP into programmes covering the EUSALP territory has been a priority 
for  the  Commission  in  the  reporting  period.  The  implementation  has  been  facilitated  by  a 
streamlined process of priorities identified by the AG and endorsed by EB and GA. Specific 
typologies  of  action  should  be  identified  in  order  to  facilitate  their  inclusion  in  funding 
instruments;  standardisation  and  ranking  among  priorities  would  help  to  focus  on  the  most 
important priorities.  

Development  of  a  digital  information  tool  for  matching  between  priorities  and  funding 
instruments (Monitoring Matrix 2.0) would support EUSALP’s actors and particularly National 
Coordinators  in  the  steering  of  the  strategy.  Specific  support  on  cooperation  actions  with  a 
particular view to administrative specificities of Member States is needed to ease cooperation 
actions implementation under mainstream programmes.  

70 

 
 
 
The  projects  financed  under  direct  managed  funds  should  be  mapped  in  a  comprehensive 
monitoring  tool  run  at  EUSALP  level.  Directly  managed  funds  National  Contact  Points  at 
national level could be further involved in Action Groups and National Governance bodies. EC 
line DGs managing a fund could appoint desk officers responsible for each strategy, who could 
be involved in thematic activities and as observer at governance level.  

Reflections  within  the  strategy  has  reached  a  level  that  allows  the  formal  identification  of 
concrete  actions  to  be  financed  at  a  coordinated  macro-regional  level,  although  with  the 
limitations  that  still  need  to  be  addressed.  For  example,  regarding  green  hydrogen  the 
importance  of  testing  and  training  activities,  of  using  hydrogen-powered  vehicles  in  public 
transport and of the availability of a network of recharging stations, has been clearly identified. 
This will aim to favour the development of an infrastructural network from the west to the east 
(from France to Slovenia) of the Alpine area. 

To conclude for the EUSALP, based on the experience and on the information gathered from 
EUSALP  key  implementers,  the  following  areas  have  been  identified  as  needing  further 
improvement:  

  Strengthen the ownership and commitment of line Ministers and Presidents of regions. 

  Achieve greater policy impact through strategic activities: alignment of policymaking 

and alignment of funds, macro-regional projects and flagship processes. 

  Strengthen the role of the Trio presidency. 

  Ensure impactful actions through monitoring and evaluation. 

  Facilitate and strengthen the stakeholders dialogue. 

  Quickly operationalise the Technical Support Structure for the governance. 

  More structured dialogue and networking between relevant AGs and the related funding 
instruments should be envisaged, in order to better embed the EU policy priorities and 
achieve a real impact through a territorial approach.  

  Political awareness and commitment need to increase. Monitoring and communication 
of success stories to the political level seems key for this. The current political steering 
level  of  EUSALP  –  with  the  Ministers  responsible  for  coordination  –  needs  to  be 
complemented  by  initiatives  from  the  sectorial  line  ministers  in  order  to  increase 
dynamics, visibility, legitimation and interest by sector policies, represented by the AGs 
(mostly only on administrative level).  

  The current role of AGs and their leaders are to a broad extent limited to own activities 
as “hands-on” implementers. In comparison to EUSDR or EUSBSR, the role as strategic 
coordinators of actions is underdeveloped and AGs should be transformed more towards 
this direction, resulting in a broader involvement of implementing actors, including civil 
society as well.  

  The current financial dialogue network needs reconsideration. On one hand it needs to 
achieve a broader coverage of financing bodies (also including EU directly managed 

71 

 
 
instruments), on the other hand its activities need a more focused but flexible working 
approach along concrete projects or initiatives, which require a well coordinated funding 
approach  through  specific  programmes  from  different  (national,  regional  and  EU) 
sources.  

EUSALP’s role in EU enlargement and neighbourhood policy 

Contrarily to the other MRS, EUSALP is not concerned by enlargement and neighbourhood 
policy. Consequently, this section is not filled out for EUSALP. 

72 

 
 
 
 
Contribution of programmes to macro-regional strategies 

1. 

Introductory remarks 

The tables presented in this section are based on the reported data in the Annual Implementation 
reports. There is no other data on what the programmes have invested to support the macro-
regional strategies.  It  is  also  the understanding that some managing authorities still a lack  a 
complete understanding on what determines a project with macro-regional added value.  

As Annual  Implementation reports do not include a mandatory report on the contribution of 
programmes to macro-regional strategies, the response rate remains rather low and the quality 
of data may vary. In addition, due to different levels of detail in the information provided and 
interpretation of the term “contribution to macro-regional strategies” considerable diffreences 
are  recorded  between  the  four  EU  macro-regional  strategies.  This  also  helps  to  explain  the 
substantial changes between the last report of 2020 and the current edition.  

2.  The EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region 

Eigthy-six programmes (Cohesion policy mainstream and Interreg programmes) are relevant 
for the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region (EUSBSR).  

Forty-six out of a total of 86 programmes provided replies to the questionnaire included in the 
Annual  Implementation Report 2021 (submitted in 2022). This corresponds to a 53% of the 
EUSBSR relevant programmes replying to the questionnaire, which is a satisfactory reply rate 
(although  lower  than  in  the  previous  reporting  period,  when  the  response  rate  was  at  72%). 
These responding programmes included: 

  30 mainstream ESI Funds programmes;  

  16 Interreg programmes (14 cross-boder and 2 transnational programmes) 

The aggregated data are provided in the table below: 

Country 

Germany 
Denmark 
Estonia 
Finland 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Poland 
Sweden 

Total 
Interreg A (Cross-border) 
Interreg B (Transnational) 

Total 
Grand total 

Number of 
relevant OPs 
13 
4 
3 
6 
3 
3 
23 
12 
70 
15 
4 
19 
86 

Number of OPs 
that replied 
1 
3 
1 
3 
2 
- 
19 
1 
30 
14 
2 
16 
46 

Percentage of OPs 
that replied 
7% 
75% 
33% 
50% 
67% 
0% 
83% 
8% 
42% 
93% 
50% 
84% 
53% 

Programmes committed to contribute can apply several approcahes. The most important ways 
are: 

73 

 
 
✔  Sixteen (16) programmes indicated that extra points have been attributed to specific 

measures supporting the EUSDR. 

✔  Three (3) of the programmes have carried out calls for proposals targeting the macro-

region. 

✔  Sixteen  (16)  have  given  extra  points  to  a  project/action  with  high  macro-regional 

significance or impact. 

✔  One (1) of the programmes have supported other actions. 

✔  Five (5) out of 86 programmes in their Monitoring Committee include representatives 
of  macro-regional  strategies  (i.e.  national  coordinators,  policy  area  coordinators; 
flagship leaders). 

✔  Twenty-four (24) ESI Funds operational programmes reported to have already invested 

funds, which contribute to the implementation of the EUSBSR. 

The aggregated financial data  per fund are provided in the table below: 

ERDF 

EARFD 

EMFF 

CF 

ESF 

ENI 

31.873.109.438 

0 

0 

11.433.950.249 

4.681.608.922 

2.085.392 

Other Funds 
(national) 
4.877.714 

Countries reporting the largest investments  

EU Member 
States 

ERDF Total 
Amount  

CF Total 
Amount  

ESF Total 
Amount 

EAFRD Total 
Amount 

PL 

LV 

26.000.410.110 

10.913.658.994 

4.586.389.177 

1.127.045.795 

520.291.255 

7.119.600 

The question “Please indicate the obtained results in relation to the EUSBSR” aims to explore 
which  programmes  deem  themselves  to  be  compatible  with  the  macro-regional  strategy.  In 
total, 27 programmes acknowledge their compatibility with the EUSBSR priorities. This could 
lead to an understanding whether synergies between programmes and the strategy have been 
identified, and whether the managing authorities consider that a contribution to the EUSBSR 
will result in win-win opportunities. Additionally, four programmes stated that the question was 
not applicable to them. 

3.  The EU strategy for the Danube region 

Ninety-five  programmes  (Cohesion  policy  mainstream,  Interreg  and  IPA-CBC  programmes, 
and IPA II mainstream) are relevant for the EU strategy for the Danube region (EUSDR).  

Thirty-four out of a total of 95 programmes provided replies to the questionnaire included in 
the Annual Implementation Report 2021 (submitted in 2022). This corresponds to a 36% of the 
EUSDR relevant programmes replying to the questionnaire. These programmes are composed 
of: 

  21 mainstream ESI Funds programmes;  

  10 Interreg programmes (15 CBC programmes and 3 transnational programmes) 

  3 IPA-CBC programmes 

74 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  0 IPA-IPA CBC programmes 

The aggregated data are provided in the table below: 

Country 

Austria 
Bulgaria 
Croatia 
Czechia 
Germany 
Hungary 
Romania 
Slovakia 
Slovenia 
Interreg TN 
Interreg CBC 

Number of 
relevant OPs 
4 
10 
4 
9 
9 
9 
8 
8 
3 
3 
18 

Number of OPs 
that replied 
1 
4 
1 
3 
1 
7 
3 
1 
- 
2 
8 

Total 
IPA-CBC (HU-RS, RO-RS, HR-RS, 
HR-BiH-MNE) 
IPA-IPA CBC (BiH-MNE, RS-MNE, 
RS-BiH) 
IPA mainstream BiH, RS, MNE 
IPA multi-country 2018 

Total 
Grand total (ESI Funds+IPA II) 

84 

5 

5 

3 
1 

14 
95 

31 

3 

0 

0 
0 

3 
34 

Percentage of OPs 
that replied 
25 % 
31% 
25% 
33% 
11% 
78% 
37% 
12% 
0 
67% 
44% 
37% 

60% 

0 

0 
0 
21% 
36% 

Programmes committed to contribute can apply several approaches. The most important ways 
are: 

✔  Ten  (10)  programmes  indicated  that  extra  points  have  been  attributed  to  specific 

measures supporting the EUSDR. 

✔  Three (3) of the programmes have carried out calls for proposals targeting the macro-

region. 

✔  Eight  (8)  have  given  extra  points  to  a  project/action  with  high  macro-regional 

significance or impact. 

✔  Three (3) of the programmes have supported other actions, especially specific projects. 

✔  Fourteen  (14)  out  of  95  programmes  in  their  Monitoring  Committee  include  
representatives  of  macro-regional  strategies  (i.e.  national  coordinators,  policy  area 
coordinators; flagship leaders). 

✔  Seven (7) ESI Funds operational programmes reported to have already invested funds, 

which contribute to the implementation of the EUSDR. 

The aggregated financial data  per fund are provided in the table below: 

75 

 
 
 
ERDF 

EARFD  EMFF 

CF 

ESF 

IPA 

ENI 

Other 
Funds 
(national) 

6.283.309.286,62  0 

0 

6.302.714.900,83  47.985.858,82 

88.179.192,00 

10.000.000  0 

Total in €: 12.732.189.238,27 

Countries reporting the largest investments  

EU Member 
States 

ERDF Total 
Amount  

CF Total 
Amount  

ESF Total 
Amount 

EAFRD Total 
Amount 

HR 

HU 

SK 

3683902712 

2787559347 

2210750000 

916000000 

In total 17 programmes acknowledge their compatibility with the EUSDR priorities. This shows 
that cases of synergies between programmes and the strategy have been identified, and could 
help to assess whether the managing authorities consider that a contribution to the EUSDR will 
result in win-win situations. Four additional programmes, claim that either it is not possible to 
assess any results this far, or that they are relevant in relation to the EUSDR. 

4.  The EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region  

One hundred twelve (112) programmes82 (ESI Funds mainstream, Interreg, IPA-CBC and IPA 
II mainstream and IPA-IPA) are relevant for the EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region 
(EUSAIR).  

Nineteen  (19)  out  of  the  one  hundred  twelve  (112)  programmes  provided  replies  within  the 
Annual Implementation Reports 2021. This corresponds to a very modest reply rate of 17% of 
EUSAIR relevant programmes, resulting in fewer responses from national and/or regional 
programmes as well as of IPA II programmes. The majority of information stems from Interreg 
programmes  and  Interreg  IPA  CBC  according  to  the  replies  in  percentage  below.  The 
breakdown is composed of: 

  13  country-specific  programmes  covering  ESI  funds  (9  regional  and  4  national 

programmes); 

  8 Interreg programmes (2 CBC, 2 transnational, 4 IPA CBC) 

The aggregated data is provided in the table below: 

82 This includes three transnational Interreg (Mediterranean; Balkan-Mediterranean, Central Europe) and one Interreg CBC 
programme (Italy-Austria) - marginally covering the EUSAIR region. All this considered, 112 programmes are relevant for 
the analysis. 

76 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
 
EU Member States 

Number of 
relevant OPs 

Number of 
replied OPs 

Percentage of programmes 
replied 

Croatia  

Greece  

Italy 

Slovenia  

Interreg CBC 

Interreg TN 

Total 

4 

23 

57 

3 

5 

3 

95 

0 

5 

6 

0 

2 

2 

15 

0% 

22% 

11% 

0 

40% 

66% 

16% 

IPA Countries (IPA CBC, 
IPA mainstream + IPA-
IPA)i 

Total IPA II 
programmes 

Total 
programmes 
replied 

Percentage of programmes' 
replied 

IPA CBC 

Albania 

Bosnia and Herzegovina 

Montenegro 

Serbia 

Multi- country programmes 
2018 

Total 

Grand Total (ESI 
Funds+IPA II) 

5 

2 

2 

2 

4 

2 

17 

112 

4 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

4 

19 

80% 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

24% 

17% 

The  Operational  Programmes  committed  to  contribute  to  the  EUSAIR  objectives  in  several 
ways, which does not automatically involve the implementation of macro-regional projects or 
actions, but has the potential to promote it and signal a strong interest to it, notably : 

-  Seven (7) programmes opened the participation in their Monitoring Committee to 
EUSAIR  key  implementers  (4  ESI  Funds  programmes,  1  CBC  and  2  IPA  CBC 
programmes). 

-  Four (4) ESI Funds and eight (8) Interreg programmes (2 CBC, 1 transnational and 4 

IPA CBC) attributed extra-points to EUSAIR labelled projects. 

-  One (1) IPA CBC Monitoring Committee decided to directly invest funds on EUSAIR 

objectives opening targeted calls for proposals. 

77 

 
 
 
-  One (1) ESI Funds operational programme, one (1) CBC and two (2) IPA-CBC 

programmes reported to have invested funds, which contribute to the implementation 
of the EUSAIR. 

The aggregated financial data per fund is provided in the table below: 

ERDF 

CF 

1.199.649.303,4
0 € 

1.420.452.213,6
2 € 

ES
F 

0 

EAFRD 

EMFF 

IPA II 

Other Funds 

119.776.26
4 

0 

7.239.061,3
4 € 

34.462.669,19 
€ 

Total in M €: 

2.661.803.247,
55€ 

Countries reporting the largest investments  

EU Member 
States 

ERDF Total 
Amount  

CF Total 
Amount  

ESF Total 
Amount 

EAFRD Total 
Amount 

HR 

3.683.902.712 

2.787.559.347€ 

The highest compatibility of Cohesion policy programmes to EUSAIR priorities was reported 
to: 

-  Blue Growth (23). 

-  Connecting the region (20) 

-  Environmental quality (29). 

-  Sustainable tourism (31) 

However, it can be positively noted that the responding programmes  acknowledge synergize 
with  the  strategy  with  a  strong  focus  among  Interreg  IPA  CBC  programmes  where  one 
programme even issued a dedicated call. In view of the embedding process, the number of ESIF 
and IPA III programmes is expected to increase for the upcoming reports on the implementation 
of the EU MRS. 

5.  The EU strategy for the Alpine region 

Following a very strict  geographical approach (which means to include all programmes that 
touch  the  EU  Strategy  for  the  Alpine  region  (EUSALP)  perimeter)  ninety-eight  (98) 
programmes can be identified that are relevant for the EUSALP. This concerns country specific 
as well as Interreg programmes. However, from a functional point of view only seventy-eight 
(78) programmes are de facto relevant for the EUSALP. This means to exclude programmes 
like e.g. the transnational ADRION programme that primarily focuses on the EUSAIR or cross-
border cooperation programmes like Interreg V-A – Slovenia-Hungary. 

78 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sixteen (16) out of 78 programmes provided replies to the checklist: 

  Nine (9) mainstream programmes covering the ESI Funds 

  Seven (7) Interreg programmes (6 cross-border and 1 transnational programmes) 

Country 

Number of 
relevant OPs 

Number of replied 
OPs 

Percentage of 
programmes’ 
replied 

Austria 

France 

Germany 

Italy 

Slovenia 

Interreg TN 

Interreg CBC 

Total 

4 

11 

9 

38 

3 

3 

10 

78 

1 

3 

1 

4 

0 

1 

6 

16 

25% 

30% 

11% 

11% 

0% 

33% 

60% 

21% 

Programmes committed to contribute can apply several approaches. The most important ways 
are: 

✔  Five  (5)  programmes  indicated  that  extra  points  have  been  attributed  to  specific 

measures supporting the EUSALP. 

✔  None  of  the  programmes  have  carried  out  calls  for  proposals  targeting  the  macro-

region. 

✔  Six  (6)  have  given  extra  points  to  a  project/action  with  high  macro-regional 

significance or impact. 

✔  None of the programmes have supported other actions, especially specific projects. 

✔  Seven (6) out of 78 programmes in their Monitoring Committee include  representatives 
of  macro-regional  strategies  (i.e.  national  coordinators,  policy  area  coordinators; 
flagship leaders). 

Three (3) cohesion policy programmes reported to have already invested funds contributing to 
the implementation of the EUSALP. 

The aggregated financial data per fund is provided in the table below: 

 ERDF 

39.753.168,96 € 

CF 

ESF 

EAFRD 

0 

0 

0 

Total in M€: 

39.753.168,96 € 

Countries with the greatest investments reporting 

Member States  ERDF Total Amount 

CF Total Amount 

EARFD Total Amount 

DE 

28,818,673.03 

0 

0 

79 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
It  is  worth  noting  that  the  above  table  reports  only  on  the  reported  data  in  the  Annual 
Implementation  reports.  Only  three  programmes  named  a  contribution  in  financial  terms, 
whereas programmes such as the Alpine Space Programme simply added a descriptive part, in 
absence of a clear definition of the term mentioned above. For the previous reporting period, 
especially the large contribution of the EAFRD France increased the overall investment figures. 
This current reporting period shows no such statistical irregularity. This might point to a more 
cautious or qualitative reporting. The data situation is however unsatisfactory.  

80 

 
 
 
 
Annexes: Maps of the macro-regional strategies 

Annex 1: map of the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region 

81 

 
 
 
Annex 2: map of the EU strategy for the Danube region 

82 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 3: map of the EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region  

83 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex 4: map of the EU strategy for the Alpine region 

84 

 
 
 
 
 
Annex 5: map of the four EU macro-regional strategies 

iInformation  on  mainstream  and  cooperation  programmes  with  North  Macedonia  will  be  part  of  the  fifth  report  on  the 
implementation of EU MRS. 

85