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: 2025-05-13
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, 13.5.2025  SWD(2025) 116 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(2025) 196 final}  
 
 
Table of contents 

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 2 

EUROPEAN UNION MACRO-REGIONAL STRATEGIES ........................................... 3 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BALTIC SEA STRATEGY ............ 4 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DANUBE STRATEGY ................. 14 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ADRIATIC-IONIAN STRATEGY

 ................................................................................................................................... 24 

REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALPINE STRATEGY ................... 34 

ANNEXES: MAPS OF THE MACRO-REGIONAL STRATEGIES .............................. 43 

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Introduction 

This document supports the 5th 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:  the  EU  Strategy  for  the  Baltic  Sea  region,  the  EU 
Strategy for the Danube region, the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region and the EU 
Strategy for the Alpine region. The report covers the period from mid-2022 to mid-2024. 

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

The  four  strategies  were  created  at  different  times  and  are  therefore  at  different  stages  of 
maturity. This explains the differing availability of data and deliverables. 

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

https://eusbsr.eu/ 

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

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

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

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European Union macro-regional strategies 

The  size  and  diversity  of  the  European  territory  means  differentiated  approaches  to  its 
development  through  specific  strategies  for  functional  macro-regions  can  be  a  logical  and 
beneficial approach. 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  providing  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 over time, with the result 
that there are now four European Union macro-regional strategies:  

•  EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea region (“Baltic Sea Strategy”)  
•  EU Strategy for the Danube region (“Danube Strategy”)  
•  EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region (“Adriatic-Ionian Strategy”)  
•  EU Strategy for the Alpine region (“Alpine Strategy”)  

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

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

Macro-regional strategies are strategic frameworks that bring countries and regions together to 
solve  shared  challenges  that  know  no  borders.  The  strategies  offer  a  space  for  long-term 
collaboration,  streamlining  and  directing  all  available  resources  and  making  long-lasting 
change.  To  achieve  this,  the  strategies  address  challenges  from  a  cross-sectoral  perspective, 
engage relevant stakeholders, initiate, coordinate and support the implementation of  specific 
actions  (including  projects)  and  thus  align  relevant  resources,  e.g.  financial,  institutional, 
human, and legislative to transnational work. 

Macro-regional strategies 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 strategies are initiated and requested by the relevant EU Member States at the level of the 
European  Council.  The  strategies  cover  several  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 
macro-regional strategies (Communication and accompanying action plan) are prepared 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. 

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Report on the implementation of the Baltic Sea Strategy  

Introduction 

The Baltic Sea  Strategy  brings together eight EU Member States around the Baltic Sea, i.e. 
Finland,  Denmark,  Estonia  Germany,  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Poland  and  Sweden.  The  Strategy 
focuses  on  three  main  objectives:  Saving  the  sea,  Connecting  the  region,  and  Increasing 
prosperity,  which  are  further  supported  by  sub-objectives  that  address  various  common, 
interconnected  challenges  such  as  climate  change  adaptation,  maritime  safety,  energy, 
transport, connectivity, competitiveness, and civil protection.  

Long-term evolution  

Since its inception in 2009, the Strategy has been regularly updated to align with regional and 
EU  policies  and  priorities,  while  also  adapting  to  global  trends  and  emerging  needs.  These 
updates  have  ensured  that  the  Strategy’s  action  plan  remains  relevant  and  responsive  to 
evolving priorities, challenges, and opportunities. 

Over the past two years, the Strategy has undergone substantial changes driven by both internal 
and external factors. Firstly, and key among these, was the implementation of the revised action 
plan introduced in February 2021, which further aligned the Strategy with the EU’s green and 
digital transition objectives, reduced the number of actions in the action plan from 73 to 44, and 
creating a more streamlined structure with 14 policy areas. Furthermore, the establishment of 
the Baltic Sea Strategy Point as a support structure addressed an important gap by providing 
dedicated coordination and support, which was previously largely lacking compared to other 
macro-regional strategies. 

Progress  in  implementing  the  action  plan  has  been  notable,  particularly  with  the 
operationalisation of the Strategy Point in October 2022. The Strategy Point – guided by the 
National  Coordinators’  Group  –  has  since  played  a  vital  role  in  facilitating  stakeholder 
collaboration by providing administrative and technical support, including training, capacity-
building, and knowledge sharing. This support has been important during the reporting period, 
as policy areas adjusted to the revised action plan, managed the challenges posed by COVID-
19  and  international  developments,  while  incorporating  new  policy  area  coordinators  and 
steering group members. 

Moreover, there was a noticeable change in the dynamics of international collaboration in the 
Baltic Sea region due to the suspension of all cooperation with Russia and Belarus following 
Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. This alteration has negatively 
affected  the  Strategy's  ability  to  tackle  shared  challenges  that  usually  require  collaboration 
among  all  countries  bordering  the  Baltic  Sea,  such  as  pollution,  climate  change  mitigation, 
biodiversity loss, and maritime operations and risk management. 

In response to this challenge, Strategy stakeholders increased their collaborative efforts across 
different levels and policy areas, placing a particular emphasis on working, outside the Baltic 
Sea region, with Ukraine. Consequently, enhancing resilience, recovery, and preparedness in 
partnership  with  Ukraine  has  become  an  additional  focus  for  the  Strategy,  outside  its  core 
geographic area. 

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Overall, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has strengthened ties among the Member 
States  surrounding  the  Baltic  Sea,  promoting  deeper  and  more  dynamic  collaboration  while 
heightening interest in the Strategy and other platforms for pan-Baltic Sea cooperation. 

Preparations  to  undertake  another  update  of  the  Strategy  action  plan  were  launched  in  the 
autumn of 2023, with the goal of having a newly updated plan in place by early 2026.  

Delivering on the green, digital, and fair transitions  

The Strategy advances the green transition and environmental sustainability through a range 
of  initiatives  and  projects  focused  on  reducing  greenhouse  gas  emissions  and  pollution, 
promoting  sustainable  agriculture,  improving  wastewater  treatment,  enhancing  biodiversity 
conservation, and fostering the circular economy. Significant progress has been made in climate 
action, with increased efforts to integrate climate considerations across all 14 policy areas. More 
policy areas are now reporting climate-related activities and adopting cross-sectoral approaches 
to address these challenges. 

For example, the Collaborative BSR Decarbonisation working group brings together cities 
around the Baltic Sea participating in the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities to 
promote  and  facilitate  joint  climate  actions  as  well  as  to  endorse  cross-macro-regional 
cooperation. The related activities range from equipping municipalities with tools to withstand 
climate change impacts to promoting circular lifestyles and advancing offshore wind energy 
production. (Policy Areas Innovation, and Nutri).  

The  CiNURGi  project  promotes  circular  economy  by  recycling  biomass  from  agricultural, 
municipal,  and  industrial  sources  into  safe  fertilizers,  with  the  goal  of  enhancing  nutrient 
recovery  infrastructure  and  technology  for  efficient  nutrient  use  (Policy  Areas  Nutri,  and 
Bioeconomy;  Interreg  Baltic  Sea  Region).  In  the  Creative  Circular  Cities  project,  local 
authorities,  business  support  organisations  and  non-governmental  organisations  showcase  in 
six  demonstration  cities how cultural  and  creative sectors  and industries  can trigger  circular 
business  growth  and  promote  circular  consumption  among  people  (Policy  Area  Culture; 
Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

The EMERGE (Evaluation, control and Mitigation of the EnviRonmental impacts of shippinG 
Emissions)  project  made  significant  progress  in  2023,  publishing  high-level  research  papers 
that evaluated emission reduction solutions and strategies to mitigate the environmental impacts 
of European shipping (Policy Area Ship, Horizon 2020). The OpenRisk II project develops 
practical, user-centred risk management for maritime authorities and organisations to enhance 
maritime accident prevention, thereby helping to minimise accidents and their footprint on the 
marine environment. (Policy Areas Safe, and Ship; Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

The BALTIPLAST project fosters collaboration and innovation to identify, test, and deploy 
effective solutions to mitigate plastic waste entering the sea (Policy Area Innovation; Interreg 
Baltic Sea Region). The  EMPEREST project strengthens sustainable water management by 
providing tools, recommendations, and training to local authorities and wastewater operators 
for addressing PFAS and other micropollutants, enhancing regional monitoring and supporting 
cost-effective treatment technologies. (Policy Area Hazards; Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

Similarly, the Strategy acknowledges the crucial role of digitalisation in stimulating economic 
growth and innovation. It supports the advancement of digital infrastructure, skills, and services 

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to improve connectivity, competitiveness, and efficiency, advocating for digitalisation across 
sectors such as education, maritime transport, and governance and business operations.  

The ongoing Real-Time Economy initiative, launched in 2018, serves as a prime example of 
fostering sustainable effects of digitalisation. It aims to drive digital transformation in the region 
by reducing administrative burdens and accelerating economic activities through real-time data 
exchange. A 2023 report emphasised the need to harmonise  real-time practices and develop 
interoperable  systems  to  boost  productivity  and  regional  competitiveness  (Policy  Area 
Innovation; Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

The DistanceLAB project develops tools to enhance organisational resilience and adaptability, 
focusing on "distance soft skills" for effective remote work management in the post-COVID 
era.  (Policy  Area  Innovation,  Interreg  Baltic  Sea  Region).  Similarly,  the  Baltic  Sea  e-Nav 
project is advancing the next generation of navigational products and services aligned with new 
international standards, empowering maritime authorities and organisations to achieve safer, 
more harmonised, and eco-efficient navigation (Policy Area Safe; Interreg Baltic Sea Region). 
The Strategy has also promoted and contributed to cross-macroregional projects like SMART 
ERA, which promotes digital solutions tailored to the needs of rural areas that fosters digital 
solutions for rural areas (Policy Areas Innovation, and Tourism; Horizon Europe).  

The AMBeR (Advanced Modeling of Baltic Cancer e-caRe) project aims to enhance cancer 
care  in  the  South  Baltic  region  by  developing  e-health  solutions  that  facilitate  home-based 
treatment monitoring and rehabilitation for patients. By conducting pilot programmes across 
multiple sites, it seeks to create a model of e-care that reduces hospital visits, improves patient 
quality  of  life,  and  addresses  healthcare  disparities,  particularly  in  rural  areas.  (Policy  Area 
Innovation; Interreg South Baltic). 

The strategy promotes a fair transition based on social inclusion, cohesion and well-being by 
supporting  initiatives  that  address  e.g.  social  challenges  or  enhance  education  and  training 
opportunities.  It  supports  innovation-driven  projects  that  improve  skills  and  stimulate 
entrepreneurship, job creation and sustainable solutions.   

For  instance,  in  the  RESIST  (Regional  Ecosystems  for  Social  Innovation  and  Social 
Transformation)  project,  regional  authorities,  business  support  organisations,  and  sectoral 
agencies  are  collaborating  to  develop  a  model  for  opening  up  existing  regional  innovation 
ecosystems to social innovators and entrepreneurs (Policy Area Innovation; Interreg Baltic Sea 
Region). We make transition! is a collaborative project between public authorities and civil 
society in 12 cities in six countries to promote social and ecological initiatives in such areas as 
consumption, mobility, energy, and social life, e.g. by facilitating the co-creation of sustainable 
solutions (Policy Area Innovation; Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

The projects BSR Cultural Pearls, BALTIC UKH and BaMuR, strengthen the role of cities 
and  regions  in  actively  involving  citizens  and  fostering  a  sense  of  belonging  and  trust.  For 
example,  BaMuR  equips  public  authorities,  non-governmental  organisations  and  small-  and 
medium-sized enterprises with a toolbox to help cultural and heritage institutions maintain their 
consolation  role  to  people  in  times  of  crisis  (Policy  Areas  Culture,  Spatial  Planning,  and 
Tourism;  Interreg  Baltic  Sea  Region).  The  BSG-Go!  develops  methods  to  enhance  the 
resilience in the game industry, so that the created tactics can be also adapted to other cultural 
and creative industries, creating a safety net in the case of future crises (Policy Area Culture; 
Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

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Overall, within the strategy, projects and initiatives related to green and digital transitions and 
social inclusion are often closely interconnected. By addressing these areas collectively, they 
create  synergies  that  reinforce  each  other,  working  in  tandem  to  promote  sustainable 
development  across  the  Baltic  Sea  region.  This  comprehensive  approach  weaves  together 
environmental  objectives,  technological  innovation,  and  social  equity,  fostering  a  balanced 
framework that supports the region's overall development. 

Supporting EU enlargement  

Although  there  are  no  EU  candidate  countries  in  the  Baltic  Sea  region,  the  Strategy  has 
established strong cooperation with Ukraine since 2022. This collaboration aims to strengthen 
Ukraine’s resilience, support its recovery, and assist in its long-term goal of EU membership. 
This cooperation and support for Ukraine complements the active role that Ukraine plays as a 
full member of the Danube Strategy. 

The cooperation between the Baltic Sea region and Ukraine fosters international cooperation 
and solidarity through initiatives focused on capacity building, aligning Ukraine's policies with 
EU  standards,  and  creating  opportunities  for  institutional  reforms  to  facilitate  future  EU 
integration. It also offers direct humanitarian and economic assistance to address the immediate 
challenges posed by the Russian aggression. A key aspect of this collaboration is strengthening 
ties between Ukrainian and Baltic Sea cities, regions, and stakeholders. 

In addition, Baltic Sea stakeholders support Ukrainian organisations in participating in Interreg 
projects  as  associated  partners,  enabling  joint  learning  and  leveraging  expertise  to  address 
Ukraine’s urgent needs. By promoting multi-level partnerships and integrating Ukraine into the 
broader European cooperation framework, the strategy not only aids Ukraine’s recovery but 
also enhances the resilience and cohesion of the Baltic Sea region as a whole. 

Responding to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine  

In March 2022, following Russia's unjustified war against Ukraine, the Strategy suspended all 
cooperation with Russia and Belarus in March 2022. In response to the heightened geopolitical 
and regional tensions, the Strategy started providing support to Ukraine. This aligns with the 
broader  political  priorities  in  the  region,  which  have  included  helping  Ukraine,  particularly 
through  humanitarian  and  economic  assistance,  as  well  as  initiatives  like  the  EU-Ukraine 
Solidarity Lanes to create essential transport corridors. 

Initially,  in  the  second  half  of  2022,  workshops  and  events  were  organised  with  Ukrainian 
representatives to explore potential areas of cooperation with the Strategy. These discussions 
focused  on  policy  areas  such  as  Education,  Secure,  Innovation,  Nutri,  Hazards,  Ship,  and 
Bioeconomy,  aiming  to  provide  effective  support  to  Ukraine  and  to  establish  structures  for 
collaboration in the recovery phase. The Strategy’s first cooperation initiatives with Ukrainian 
stakeholders were launched in December 2022. 

For example, the BSI_4Women project empowers refugee women through entrepreneurship, 
tackling war-related socio-economic challenges and fostering integration. By providing tailored 
support, training, and networking, it promotes economic independence, resilience, and inclusive 
growth in refugee and host communities (Policy Area Innovation, Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

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The  Civil  Protection  Faculty  unites  Baltic  Sea  experts  to  train  Ukrainian  educators  in 
emergency medicine, mine safety, resilience, and democratic engagement. By spring 2024, over 
40,000 Ukrainians, including civilians and first responders, had received training at Ukraine's 
first folk high school (Policy Areas Education, and Secure, Swedish Institute).  

Collaboration  with  Ukraine  is  noteworthy  in  areas  such  as  wastewater  treatment,  nutrient 
management, hazardous substances, and the bioeconomy, given its connection to the Baltic Sea 
via  the  Vistula  River.  Policy  areas,  including  Nutri,  Hazards,  Ship,  and  Bioeconomy,  are 
partnering with Ukrainian counterparts to address these issues. In October 2023, they organised 
a  conference  that  outlined  plans  for  sustainable  reconstruction,  emphasising  environmental 
damage  monitoring  and  supporting  Ukraine's  transition  toward  environmental  and  social 
sustainability. Ukraine also participates as an observer in Baltic Marine Environment Protection 
Commission  meetings and works with  national  water  associations through the  Clean Baltic 
Source  initiative  to  tackle  urgent  water  management  challenges  in  the  Vistula  River  basin 
(Policy Area Nutri; Swedish Institute). 

Promoting cohesion and place-based development  

The  Strategy  aligns  closely  with  key  EU  cohesion  policy  goals,  specifically  focusing  on 
promoting balanced economic, social, and territorial development across the Baltic Sea region. 
Through the mobilisation of EU and other funding sources and the coordination of investments, 
it fosters economic growth and social inclusion in the region. By doing so, it seeks to reduce 
regional disparities, ensuring that no area is left behind in terms of growth and development.  

Improving territorial integration involves creating better connections and interactions between 
different  areas  within  the  Baltic  Sea  region,  fostering  a  more  cohesive  and  interconnected 
territory. By improving communication and transportation links, the strategy helps to facilitate 
easier  movement  of  people,  goods,  and  services,  thereby  boosting  economic  activity  and 
cooperation.  

Central to the Strategy is the encouragement of partnerships and cooperation among a diverse 
range  of  stakeholders.  Local  and  regional  authorities  are  brought  together  with  civil  society 
organisations, businesses, and academic institutions to work collaboratively towards common 
goals. This multi-level governance model ensures that different perspectives and expertise are 
integrated  into  the  planning  and  implementation  processes,  leading  to  more  effective  and 
comprehensive solutions.  

For example, the SMART ERA project mentioned above aims to combat rural depopulation 
by  enhancing  adaptability  for  the  twin  transition  through  a  community-driven  approach 
addressing demographics, digitalisation, participation, and inclusive transition (PA Innovation, 
and Tourism; Horizon Europe). The BSR Cultural Pearls, BaMuR, BALTIC UKH projects, 
which are also described above, strengthen the role of cities and regions in actively involving 
citizens and fostering a sense of belonging and trust (Policy Areas Culture, Innovation, Spatial 
Planning, and Tourism; Interreg Baltic Sea Region).  

Thus, the Strategy not only supports EU cohesion policy objectives but also ensures that these 
objectives are tailored to the specific needs and priorities of the region.  By addressing local 
challenges  and  leveraging  regional  strengths,  it  contributes  to  a  more  harmonious  and 
prosperous region, ultimately improving the quality of life.  

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The partnership – involving civil society, local communities and young people 

The 2021 action plan enhanced the structured participation of non-governmental organisations, 
civil society, youth organisations, and businesses in the Strategy. Civil society organisations 
and  local  stakeholders  are  represented  in  policy  area  steering  groups,  national  coordination 
groups,  thematic  panels,  events,  and  expert  fora.  The  Strategy  relies  largely  on  local 
stakeholders  and  civil  society  for  project  implementation,  recognising  the  value  of  local 
knowledge, expertise, and ownership.  

For  instance,  the  above-mentioned  'We  Make  Transition!'  initiative  focuses  on  fostering 
collaboration between public authorities and civil society organisations across 12 cities in six 
countries to promote social and ecological advancements (PA Innovation; Interreg Baltic Sea 
Region). 

Youth engagement is promoted through various formats, notably the Baltic Sea Youth Forum, 
which empowers young people and amplifies their perspectives. The Council of the Baltic Sea 
States  coordinates  youth  representation  across  policy  areas,  providing  resources  to  build 
capacities among relevant stakeholders. Alongside the policy area “Culture”, it supports Youth 
Camps and other youth-centric events to foster participation.  

An  example  of  a  youth  initiative  is  the  creation  of  Youth  Guidance  Centres  to  support 
vulnerable young adults aged 20 to 30. This model, developed with input from experts across 
all  eight  Member  States  of  the  Strategy,  and  inspired  by  successful  practices  in  Denmark, 
Finland, and Germany, is now being implemented in Lithuania and Poland.  

In August 2022, the Baltic Sea Youth Camp in Lappeenranta, Finland, led to the  Baltic Sea 
Youth Declaration 2022, unveiled at the Annual Forum in in the same city. Developed with 
input from 200 participants and the Baltic Sea Youth Platform's Advocacy Working Group, the 
declaration offers policy recommendations across 14 areas, emphasising youth involvement in 
the Strategy.  

The 2023 Annual Forum in Riga also prioritised youth engagement, featuring workshops on 
youth  and  culture  in  community  development  and  fostering  cooperation  with  Ukraine  for 
sustainable  rebuilding.  Discussions  with  experts  and  youth  representatives  highlighted  the 
importance of involving Ukrainian youth in the strategy's activities and networks, generating 
concrete ideas for further collaboration. 

Improving governance and administrative capacity  

During the reporting period, the Strategy was chaired by Sweden from July 2022 to June 2023, 
and by Latvia from July 2023 to June 2024. The National Coordinators’ Group, comprising 
representatives from the eight Member States, met about eight times a year. As a result, the Trio 
Presidency  arrangement  (involving  the  past,  current,  and  future  presidencies)  was  not 
frequently required. In line with the revised 2021 action plan, the policy areas and their steering 
groups  underwent  a  reorganisation,  which  included  adopting  new  rules  of  procedure  and 
integrating numerous new coordinators and steering group members. 

The establishment and activation of the Baltic Strategy Point in October 2022 marked a  key 
step in enhancing the governance and administrative capacity of the strategy. The Strategy Point 
replaced the "Lets Communicate!" project, which primarily focused on internal and external 

9 

 
 
communication  activities.  Instead,  the  Strategy  Point  now  supports  the  work  of  all  key 
stakeholders by assisting in the management and development of the strategy. It operates under 
the  guidance  and  accountability  of  the  National  Coordinators’  Group,  which  determines  its 
terms of reference and tasks, while the Strategy Point works closely with the presidency on a 
day-to-day basis. 

The  Strategy  Point  team,  consisting  of  seven  members,  is  hosted  jointly  by  the  Centrum 
Balticum Foundation in Turku, Finland, and the Senate Chancellery of the Free and Hanseatic 
City of Hamburg, Germany. Its responsibilities include coordinating overall communication, 
monitoring and evaluating activities, serving as the institutional memory of the strategy, and 
providing technical support to the National Coordinators’ Group and policy area coordinators. 
Additionally,  the  Strategy  Point  supports  the  planning  and  organisation  of  the  annual  fora, 
coordinates capacity-building efforts, and facilitates knowledge sharing and the exchange of 
best  practices,  particularly  in  areas  such  as  climate  change  and  cooperation  with  non-EU 
neighbouring countries. 

A key challenge identified by stakeholders is maintaining stability and continuity within policy 
area  governance.  Frequent  changes  in  the  steering  group  composition  and  varying  levels  of 
expertise can impact the smoothness of cooperation and effectiveness of implementation. A few 
steering groups experience difficulties to attract members from all partner countries, and the 
lack  of  dedicated  funding  and  resources  creates  uncertainty,  making  it  difficult  to  secure 
participation and sustain long-term engagement. Additionally, the vast majority of the 14 policy 
area  coordinators  for  the  Strategy  manage  this  role  alongside  their  primary  responsibilities 
within national administrations. 

Adding  to  these  governance  challenges,  the  Baltic  Sea  Strategy  stands  out  among  other  EU 
macro-regional strategies - as well as the intergovernmental pan-Baltic Sea organisations – due 
to the absence of regular ministerial-level meetings. This lack of a political forum presents a 
distinct challenge for the Strategy in gaining high-level political commitment and addressing 
emerging challenges. It also contrasts strongly with the high-level political involvement that 
existed at the time of the creation of the Strategy. 

In conclusion, while the administrative capacity and governance structures within the Strategy 
have evolved to enhance coordination and decision-making, challenges remain in maintaining 
political interest and ensuring full stakeholder involvement that is linked to the issue of securing 
sufficient resources for the policy areas to implement the Strategy. 

Access to funding and embedding 

Under the 2021-2027 cohesion policy regulatory framework, where a transnational programme 
under  Interreg  supports  a  macro-regional  strategy,  at  least  80%  of  the  EU  funding  in  the 
programme must contribute to the objectives of the strategy concerned.  

As a result of this legal requirement, the Interreg Baltic Sea programme remains closely linked 
to  the  Strategy  in  terms  of  geography,  themes  and  governance  support,  being  the  primary 
funding  source  across  the  bulk  of  the  policy  areas.  The  closer  integration  and  coordination 
between  the  Strategy  and  the  programme  stemming  from  the  legislation  is  significantly 
facilitating project development and co-financing.  

10 

 
 
Furthermore, the cross-border cooperation programmes active in the region, e.g. Interreg South 
Baltic, Central Baltic, Aurora, and Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak, are funding projects in certain 
policy  areas  such  as  Innovation,  Ship,  and  Education.  The  stakeholders  see  that  these 
programmes possess untapped potential to finance projects in a variety of domains such as the 
circular economy and sustainable development.  

While cooperation programmes are often the first port of call for funding resources for strategy 
projects, because of their multi-country nature, strategies are not, and cannot be, restricted to 
looking  to  such  programmes  for  funding.  Noteworthy  other  potential  funding  mechanisms 
include national and regional cohesion policy programmes in the participating Member States 
(covering funding from the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund+, 
and  the  Just  Transition  Fund).  Investments  under  the  strategic  plans  of  the  Common 
Agricultural Policy also provide funding, notably in the fields of water management, renewable 
energy and energy efficiency. EU programmes managed directly by the European Commission, 
such as Horizon Europe, the LIFE Programme, Erasmus, and the Connecting Europe Facility 
can also fund projects in policy areas such as Innovation, Nutri, Ship, and Transport.  

During  the  reporting  period,  the  Strategy  Point  took  on  a  key  role  in  keeping  stakeholders 
informed about funding opportunities and offering tools and training to support access to these 
resources. Despite this, funding for most policy areas is not yet diversified, still relying largely 
on the Interreg Baltic Sea programme.  

Furthermore,  not  all  policy  areas  are  eligible  for  Interreg  funding,  creating  challenges  in 
identifying alternative financial resources. This leads to significant variations in the number of 
projects each policy area can implement. In general, the effectiveness of individual policy areas 
often hinges on the networks, objectives, and involvement of the policy area coordinator’s host 
organisation within the broader framework of Baltic Sea cooperation. 

Measuring impact through monitoring and evaluation  

The 2021 action plan outlines the monitoring and evaluation framework for the  Strategy. In 
essence, the National Coordinators’ Group endorses this framework and ensures its publication 
on  the  Strategy’s  website.  Policy  area  coordinators  monitor  their  policy  areas  and  actions, 
preparing annual reports for their respective steering groups, which evaluate and endorse the 
reports, then submit them to the National Coordinators’ Group for information. The National 
Coordinators’  Group  reviews  the  reports  and  shares  them  with  the  Commission.  National 
coordinators conduct monitoring through coordination structures between relevant ministries, 
and  managing  authorities  report  on  their  programmes’  contributions  to  the  Strategy’s 
implementation.  

The  main  monitoring  and  evaluation  tools  also  include  monthly  meetings  and  ongoing 
information exchange facilitated by policy area coordinators regarding completed and planned 
projects and activities. National Coordinators’ Group meetings furthermore involve discussions 
on emerging activities, progress made, targets, indicators, and plans for future actions.  

By  the  end  of  the  reporting  period,  the  monitoring  and  evaluation  framework  was  fully 
established but not yet fully operational. The ongoing work to update the action plan already 
incorporates the development of new monitoring indicators for the actions. The groundwork 
laid over the past few years provides a good foundation for this undertaking.  

11 

 
 
The Strategy Point, along with support units from other macro-regional strategies, also began 
participating in a capacity-building initiative (facilitated by the Interreg Interact programme). 
This initiative aims to enhance the monitoring and evaluation systems across all four strategies. 

Communicating the Strategy 

The  Strategy  Point  commenced  operations  in  October  2022,  representing  a  significant 
advancement in communication capabilities and the execution of the overall communication 
strategy.  

The Strategy Point focuses on enhancing both internal and external communication efforts by 
refining  messaging,  improving  stakeholders'  communication  competencies,  generating  high-
quality materials, and offering training to policy area coordinators on effectively demonstrating 
the strategy's added value, for example. It has formulated Communication guidelines with well-
defined objectives, along with a ‘Visual identity manual’ and a series of templates.  

According to Eurobarometer 2023, the Baltic Sea Strategy became the most recognised of the 
macro-regional  strategies,  with  EU-wide  citizens'  awareness  increasing  from  13%  to  14% 
between 2021 and 2023. There were also positive trends across all communication channels of 
the  strategy  in  terms  of  outreach,  number  of  followers,  and  engagement.  For  instance,  on 
LinkedIn, the average monthly impressions increased from  1600 to  3300 between 2022 and 
2023. Conversely, on X (former Twitter), average monthly impressions decreased from 11900 
to  7300.  Website  traffic  also  saw  growth,  with  the  average  number  of  monthly  sessions 
increasing  from  4500  to  6500  between  2022  and  2023.  Similarly,  the  number  of  recipients 
opening the monthly newsletters rose from 600 to 803 between 2022 and 2023, indicating the 
success of awareness-raising activities.  

During the reporting period, two annual fora were organised: the 13th Annual Forum held in 
Lappeenranta  (Finland)  in  September  2022,  gathered  490  participants,  and  the  14th  Annual 
Forum  in  Riga  (Latvia)  held  in  October  2023,  attracted  575  participants.  In  both  cases,  the 
forum  participants  represented  various  sectors,  i.e.  governments,  international  organisations, 
non-governmental organisations, universities, local  and  regional  administrations, businesses, 
and media.  

Moving forward, the emphasis will be on broadening the network of multipliers and defining 
common  communication  messages  between  the  strategy  and  the  programmes  funding  the 
projects and initiatives. 

The way forward  

Looking ahead, stakeholders generally see that the Strategy should continue to act as a driving 
force  for  advancing  green,  connected,  and  inclusive  development  throughout  the  Baltic  Sea 
region.  The  Strategy's  core  strength  lies  in  its  integrated,  cross-sectoral,  and  multi-level 
approach, which allows for comprehensive and coordinated solutions to complex challenges. 

This approach is increasingly critical as the region faces mounting impacts of climate change, 
including continuing marine ecosystem degradation, marine pollution, technological change, 
and  heightened  geopolitical  and  regional  tensions,  including  threats  to  maritime  and  energy 
security, underscoring the need for enhanced cooperation, resilience, and collective action. 

12 

 
 
Member countries stress that future efforts should prioritise initiatives that support a just and 
fair  sustainable  transition  and  the  future  EU  agenda  and  policies.  This  includes  fostering 
equitable  economic,  social,  and  environmental  progress  to  ensure  no  group  or  region  is  left 
behind. There is a consensus on the importance of strengthening ties with Ukraine, emphasising 
practical cooperation that contributes to resilience, stability and shared prosperity. Resilience 
and adaptability are widely regarded as essential for the strategy to remain effective.  

Key stakeholders also emphasise the importance of setting realistic objectives and creating the 
necessary conditions, including financial support, for the policy areas to implement the strategy 
and achieve results effectively. There are also calls for stronger efforts to ensure comprehensive 
stakeholder  engagement, 
involvement  of  civil  society  and  youth 
including  greater 
organisations, particularly in project activities. 

Access to  funding remains a persistent  challenge, especially  in  sectors like transport, which 
limits the scope of activities and projects under the Strategy. Some stakeholders advocate for 
more efficient and supportive funding mechanisms that are better aligned with the goals of the 
macro-regional strategies.  

A  major  challenge  highlighted  by  key  stakeholders,  as  in  the  past,  is  the  lack  of  sustained 
political  interest  and  ownership  beyond  the  annual  fora.  This  often  results  in  inadequate 
resources  allocated  to  the  Strategy’s  implementation  within  national  ministries  and 
organisations. To overcome this, the stakeholders see that it would be important to increase the 
Strategy’s  visibility  and  understanding,  particularly  in  inland  regions  of  member  countries, 
among other actions, in order to build broader support and ensure its effective implementation. 

Despite a reduction in financial resources for governance during the current EU cohesion policy 
programming period compared to the previous one, the Strategy has still managed to achieve 
impactful results. Nevertheless, especially given the growing interest in Baltic Sea cooperation 
and the Strategy in recent years, there is an opportunity to achieve even greater outcomes if key 
implementers are provided with additional resources. 

Regarding  cross-macro-regional  cooperation,  stakeholders  highlight  challenges,  including 
limited resources and funding at regional and local levels. Policy areas generally emphasise the 
need to strengthen collaboration across sectors, policy areas, and macro-regions, recognising 
that many challenges are interconnected and require joint solutions.  

In practical terms, the Strategy’s immediate focus is on updating the current action plan. This 
involves rethinking and redefining actions, as well as developing new monitoring indicators to 
align  with  the  actions.  The  updated  action  plan  is  anticipated  to  be  adopted  by  early  2026, 
setting  the stage for the next  phase of EU cohesion  policy programming post-2027, with  an 
emphasis on embedding the Strategy effectively into cohesion policy funding. 

13 

 
 
 
Report on the implementation of the Danube Strategy 

Introduction 

Dating from 2010, the Danube Strategy was the second macro-regional strategy to be launched. 
The  Strategy  covers  14  countries  that  differ  considerably  in  terms  of  socio-economic 
development. It includes nine EU Member States and five EU  candidate  countries. No third 
countries participate in the Strategy. 

The Strategy 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 to develop a knowledge-driven 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. 

Long-term evolution 

Over the years, the Strategy has brought added value to existing cooperation mechanisms, by 
offering a unique transnational, macro-regional dimension. It has gained significant importance 
in contributing to the resilience of the Danube region and has become a tool to offer tailor-made 
support for EU accession and enlargement.  

Ukraine’s Presidency in 2022, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Presidency in 2025 and the fact that 
all  countries  participating  in  the  Strategy  are  now  either  EU  Member  States  or  future  EU 
Member States has helped to raise the commitment to macro-regional cooperation in all parts 
of the Danube region.  

The 2024 Austrian Presidency put particular emphasis on research and development, skills and 
competencies and by enhancing competitiveness and business opportunities including tourism. 
Austria aimed to capitalise on the recently launched Commission initiatives Partnerships for 
Regional Innovation and Regional Innovation Valleys. This included assessing the progress in 
the  establishment  of  the  Danube  Tech  Valley  Initiative.  Another  priority  of  the  Austrian 
Presidency  was  to  contribute  to  stability  and  security  and  help  to  provide  a  clear  European 
perspective for the whole Danube region. This comprised facilitating EU enlargement by aiding 
Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkan countries.  

Initiatives are also taken at national level and by individual priority areas to further develop and 
strengthen the Strategy. In Germany, the 93rd Conference of Ministers for European Affairs of 
the German Federal States held in December 2023 adopted a resolution on EU macro-regional 
strategies to increase their political and policy recognition. In February 2023 Priority Area 1B 
(rail-road-air mobility) and the Interreg Interact programme organised a meeting in Brussels for 
transport coordinators in all four EU macro-regional strategies to discuss implementation and 
progress, practices and approaches including an exchange on ways to further develop practical 
cooperation between the strategies.   

In operational terms, the revised action plan from 2020 has proven to be a solid basis for work. 
Consequently,  no  proposals  for  further  revisions  were  tabled.  However,  recent  presidencies 
initiated  a  process  to  adapt  the  Strategy  institutionally  and  thematically  to  the  changing 
environment  and  emerging  future  needs.  During  its  presidency  in  2023,  Slovenia  took  an 

14 

 
 
initiative resulting in 13 recommendations for better involvement of all strategy stakeholders 
being issued, to better reflect the needs of a changing environment.  

This led to a revision of the Strategy’s governance architecture paper as well as of the Strategy’s 
rules of procedures. Slovenia also promoted thematic discussions on the future development of 
Danube region, focussing on the necessary adaptations in the societies and economies triggered 
by the green and digital transformations. The topics of a future society based on knowledge, 
professions of the future and talent management in the region were comprehensively discussed 
through an inter-generational dialogue.  

During  the  reporting  period,  the  Strategy  proved  to  be  crisis-resilient,  both  in  meeting  the 
challenges  posed  by  the  pandemic  and  in  adapting  agile  to  the  new  geopolitical  framework 
conditions due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. A key success factor for ensuring 
the smooth, efficient and continuous cooperation within the framework of the Strategy during 
that period has been a solid governance architecture – including clear tasks of the presidencies, 
the Trio cooperation and a well-functioning Danube Strategy Point which has further developed 
its role as strategic secretariat of the Strategy and as a comprehensive technical support unit for 
the work done in the priority areas.    

Delivering on the green, digital and fair transitions 

Overall,  the  contribution  of  the  Strategy  to  the  green,  digital  and  fair  transitions  is  high 
especially in the case of the green transition. It is nevertheless a challenge as the Danube region 
is  very  heterogenous  from  a  socio-economic  point  of  view.  Based  on  the  2023  Regional 
Innovation Scoreboard, the region includes some of the strongest but also some of the weakest 
innovators in Europe. Similarly, according to Eurostat (2022), the region has some of the lowest 
but also some of the highest rates of population at risk of poverty or social exclusion.  

In  the  field  of  green  and  sustainable  transition,  the  REVITAL  I  project  delivered  a 
comprehensive environmental assessment of natural resources revitalisation of the abandoned 
Solotvyno  salt  mine  in  Ukraine  with  the  overall  aim  of  preventing  further  pollution  of  the 
Upper-Tisza  Basin.  (Priority  Area  4  -  Water  Quality;  Hungary-Slovakia-Romania-Ukraine 
Interreg) 

The Danube Lighthouse DALIA project is developing an integrated tool for better decision-
making and improved restoration of fresh and transitional water ecosystems in the Danube river 
basin. (Priority Area 4 - Water Quality; Horizon Europe) 

The STOPFIRES project aimed at increasing environmental resilience to climate change and 
improving  fire  and  disaster  management  in  cross-border  protected  areas  (Priority  Area  5  – 
Environmental Risk; Interreg Hungary-Serbia) while SpongeCity aims to combat flash floods 
and droughts in urban areas. This project developed a toolbox of earth observation tools and a 
3D database for decision makers and constructed rain gardens as demonstration investments. 
(Priority Area 5 – Environmental Risk; Interreg Danube Region) 

The Danubeparks LIFE WILD island project aims to strengthen ecological connectivity and 
preserve  the  natural  wilderness  in  the  heart  of  Europe  by  improving  the  coherence  of  the 
NATURA 2000 network. The project plans to improve the conservation status of 1,267 hectares 
of  softwood  riparian  forests.  (Priority  Area  6  –  Biodiversity,  Landscapes  and  Air  &  Soil 
Quality; LIFE)  

Actions  in  the  field  of  sustainable  energy,  notably  promoting  the  use  of  renewable  energy 
sources, energy efficiency and novel technologies, especially related to energy storage as well 
as sustainable transport modes also receive attention. NRGCom project supports the creation 

15 

 
 
of energy communities based on renewable energies  (Priority Area 2 – Sustainable Energy; 
Interreg Danube Region) while GeoHeCo has the objective to increase the penetration of shell 
geothermal  energy in  the region through the installation of shell geothermal heat  funds into 
existing  fossil  fuel  domestic  and  cooling  systems.  (Priority  Area  2  –  Sustainable  Energy; 
Interreg Danube Region) 

Sustainable  public  transport  solutions  and  innovative  governance  schemes  for  improving 
connectivity are supported by the SUSTANCE (Priority Area 1B – Rail-Road-Air Mobility; 
Interreg Central Europe). 

The digital transition is covered by various activities. Two recent projects (Priority Area 8 –
Competitiveness  of  Enterprises;  Interreg  Danube  Region)  address  the  issues  of  circular 
economy and digitalisation. The Plan-C project consortium consisting of 14 partners from nine 
Danube  countries  aims  to  boost  the  transformation  of  the  plastics  value  chain  in  the  region 
towards circularity through the transnational cooperation of plastics processors/producers and 
the machine industry implying a radical shift of mindsets, behaviour, and business paradigms. 
WE.Circular comes as a response to the specific needs of female-led SMEs in the region. The 
project  helps  to  identify  needs  and  challenges  these  entrepreneurs  face  in  their  digital  and 
circular economy transition.  

DECIDE empowers SMEs, start-ups and economic development organisations to embrace the 
circular economy. The project delivers practical methods and tools to foster innovative business 
models,  offering  cross-border  knowledge  exchange  and  hands-on  support  through  pilot 
projects. (Priority Area 7 - Knowledge Society; Interreg Danube Region)  

The RIS4DANU project aims to facilitate social-sustainable-technological transition in Danube 
regions through the revitalisation of disused industrial sites. At the heart of the project is the 
objective  to  apply  an  evidence-based  smart  specialisation  approach  to  support  place-based 
innovation  for  green/digital  and  inclusive  transitions  in  regions  along  the  Danube  River. 
(Priority Area 7 - Knowledge Society; Horizon Europe)  

Building  on  previous  projects  COMEX²  supports  a  harmonised  implementation  and 
optimisation of river information services in Europe. With a focus on the future-oriented further 
development of the transnational portals as well as national systems and services, the project 
also  includes  improving  the  resilience  of  the  systems  and  services.  (Priority  Area  1A  – 
Waterways Mobility; Interreg Danube Region) 

To ensure a fair transition, various initiatives were taken. Projects like Fem2forests, help to 
respond to the demands of the labour market by developing innovative career pathways for the 
efficient  involvement  of  women  at  different  levels  and  stages  in  forestry  organisations  and 
relevant labour markets. (Priority Area 9 - People & Skills; Interreg Danube Region) 

Another example is Back on Track, which promotes the (re)integration of NEETS (people Not 
in  Education,  Employment,  or  Training)  in  rural  areas  into  education,  training  and  labour 
market helps to establish the critical mass of initiatives and key-actors for promoting changes 
in  labour-related policy-frameworks envisaged by the  Strategy. (Priority Area 9  - People & 
Skills; Interreg Danube Region) 

By focusing on agro-biodiversity, food heritage and local identity, the objective of the SReST 
project is to broaden the socially responsible sustainable tourism offer by promoting slow food 
tourism  based  on  the  exploration  of  gastronomic  traditions  and  the  local  communities  that 
preserve them. (Priority Area 3 – Tourism & Culture; Interreg Danube Region) 

16 

 
 
Finally, in the area of security (Priority Area 11; Security) the 9th and 10th joint operations under 
DARIF (DAnube RIver Forum) took place in September 2022 and 2023. Operations covered 
trafficking  in  human  beings,  human  smuggling,  document  forgery,  actions  against  illegal 
immigration and detection of smuggling of drugs. In 2023, because of joint operations, a total 
of 36 illegal activities were detected.  

Supporting EU enlargement 

With five participating candidate countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, 
Serbia and Ukraine), the Strategy serves as an interface between current and future EU Member 
States promoting shared goals and objectives related to regional development, connectivity, and 
sustainability. This is why the Strategy has a significant role to play as a platform for capacity 
building and cooperation and, thanks to the consecutive presidencies of Ukraine, Slovenia and 
Austria, enlargement has been mainstreamed into almost every key activity and event.  

From the side of the candidate countries, cooperation within the Strategy is seen as a valuable 
step on the way to EU membership. A clear advantage of macro-regional cooperation is that it 
gives  the  possibility  for  candidate  countries  to  work  on  an  equal  footing  with  EU  Member 
States. Cooperation within the Danube aids in accelerating the process of adaptation of national 
legislation to EU legislation. It contributes to capacity building and developing the institutional 
capacity of candidate countries and facilitates the expansion of cooperation due to access to EU 
funding  instruments.  Efforts  have  included  knowledge  sharing,  particularly  in  areas  such  as 
transport legislation, decarbonisation and energy transition, helping candidate countries align 
with EU standards and reduce dependencies on external influences. It has helped Ukraine to 
meet its obligations under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, particularly in the spheres 
of regional development, skills, financial control, innovations, navigation and environmental 
protection. As a result, the principles of green transition and safe energy-efficient transport were 
considered during the development of national policies, notably the Ukrainian National Strategy 
for Regional Development for 2021-2027 and the revised National Transport Strategy.   

Activities  launched  by  individual  priority  areas  provides  capacity  building  and  support  the 
accession process. Priority Area 2 (sustainable energy) organised a workshop in Tuzla, Bosnia 
and Herzegovina to transfer experiences in the use of geothermal energy for district heating and 
to  present  the  available  funding  instruments  for  the  decarbonisation  of  the  district  heating 
systems.  

The  Disaster  Management  Working  Group  within  Priority  Area  5  (environmental  risks) 
initiated  several  projects  and  equipped  Serbian  and  Bosnian  volunteer  and  civil  protection 
organisations. They helped to develop a multilingual glossary of disaster management terms 
and organised large-scale exercises on flood protection and vegetation fires to share knowledge. 

Responding to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine 

For  more  than  two  years,  Russia’s  unprovoked  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine  has  been 
attacking the country's economy and infrastructure as well as the lives of its citizens. All Danube 
countries have condemned in the strongest terms the continuation of Russia's unprovoked and 
unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. Danube Ministerial meetings also encouraged 
all stakeholders to make use of the structures offered by the Strategy to support Ukraine and to 
contribute to its reconstruction. In particular, Ministers stressed that Russia's repeated military 
strikes on Danube port infrastructure, grain storage facilities and surrounding areas undermine 
global food security and are significant threats to the freedom of navigation on the Danube as 
well as environmental threats to the entire Danube and Black Sea ecosystem.   

17 

 
 
The political declarations in favour of Ukraine were followed up by several activities. The 2023 
Slovenian Presidency, together with priority area coordinators of Priority Area 10 (Institutional 
Capacity  &  Cooperation),  Danube  Civil  Society  Forum  and  the  Ukrainian  Institute  for 
International Politics organised a panel discussion at the 2023 annual forum on the theme of 
Bottom-up recovery and transformation of Ukraine – the path of Ukraine and Moldova on their 
way  to  the  EU.  The  focus  was  on  how  the  Strategy  can  build  an  environment  where  local, 
regional  and  civil  society  actors  could  help  generate  the  biggest  yields  in  terms  of  their 
contribution to the accession process of Ukraine and Moldova.  

Priority  Area  1B  (Rail-Road-Air  mobility)  provided  help  in  establishing  refugee  corridors 
between the EU and Ukraine including solidarity lanes and supported reopening of railway lines 
or freight corridors. Following the impacts of the war on energy supply and security Priority 
Area 2 (Sustainable Energy) made Russian natural gas phaseout in the Danube countries a top 
priority, notably by a study made by the Hungarian REKK foundation.  

Several events organised by the Ukrainian team of Priority Area 9 (People & Skills) such as the 
11th  Priority  Area  9  International  Stakeholder  Conference  had  a  strong  focus  on  the 
consequences of Russia’s war of aggression in education, social and labour systems. Moreover, 
results  from  the  D-CARE  Lab  project  addressing  social  innovation  in  the  context  of 
demographic  change  and  care  have  been  adapted  and  applied  in  Ukraine  to  build  up  social 
services (Priority Area 10 – Institutional Capacity & Cooperation; Interreg Danube region).  

The Danube European Social Fund Managing Authority Network was used to identify ways to 
meet the needs of Ukrainian refugees through ESF-funded projects.    

Promoting cohesion and place-based development 

The Strategy provides a political framework that allows participating countries to make better 
use of joint development potential. It has an important integrative and cohesive function and 
brings together local and regional actors to jointly promote and implement EU policy priorities. 
Through joint, synchronised actions local, regional and national actors aim at common goals 
and face common problems of the entire region. Multi-level governance is pursued by involving 
universities, local governments, regional development agencies and technology parks.  

This is for example how the Strategy helps Serbian institutions address cross-border challenges 
more  effectively  and  promote  wider  regional  cooperation.  Through  a  joint  Hungary-Serbia 
initiative developed within the framework of the International Commission of the Protection of 
the Danube River, activities were expanded to all the countries of the region with the aim of 
developing a Danube-wide water balance.  

Local action is also targeted by funding support from EU centrally managed programmes. The 
cross macro-regional SMART ERA project kicked off in 2024. It aims to combat depopulation 
in rural areas by making them more attractive and fit for the twin transition. This will be done 
through  a  community-led  process  that  addresses  demographic  changes,  digitalisation, 
participation,  green/fair  transition  and  social  transition  (Priority  Area  10  –  Institutional 
Capacity & Cooperation; Horizon Europe).  

Moreover, the initiative to promote local low-carbon energy actions puts special emphasis on 
renewable electricity generation as a cornerstone of energy communities enables the spread of 
comprehensive  systems,  such  as  e.g.  the  European  Energy  Award  that  facilitate  the  daily 
operation work of local authorities in their municipal energy planning, but also methods from 
other initiatives and related projects that support the setup of new and the expansion of existing 
energy communities in a broader sense, to assist municipalities to elaborate their Sustainable 
Energy and Climate Action Plans (Priority Area 2 – Sustainable Energy).  

18 

 
 
The partnership – involving civil society, local communities and young people 

Enhancing democracy, sound administration and strong involvement of civil society and youth 
is  one  of  the  five  strategic  objectives  of  the  Strategy  and  on  which  a  range  of  activities  are 
carried  out.  The  Danube  Participation  Days  organised  by  Priority  Area  10  (Institutional 
Capacity  &  Cooperation)  cooperation  with  the  Danube  Civil  Society  Forum,  their  Danube 
Local Actors Platform and further civil society organisations from the region, explicitly address 
the  role  of  civil  society  and  local  actors  in  achieving  strategic  goals  of  the  Strategy. 
Additionally,  after  a  break  during  the  pandemic,  national  participation  days  are  again  being 
organised in individual Danube countries.  

Civil society non-governmental organisations active in the region include the Budapest-based 
European House, the Foster Europe Foundation and the Agapedia Foundation. European House 
organised Macro-Regional Citizen Agoras in 2023 and 2024. Organisations like the Budapest 
Firefighter Association and various other civil organisations contribute to disaster response and 
preparedness efforts.  

The  involvement  of  local  stakeholders  varies  between  participating  countries.  Some  local 
authorities are very active, and also smaller municipalities play a vital role in Danube wide-
projects, networks and activities, as well as twin towns and local partnerships. Other levels of 
government,  for  example  regional  councils,  have  been  involved  in  partnerships  with  other 
Danube  Strategy  countries.  The  DANUBE4all  five-year  EU  Lighthouse  Initiative  project 
funded  by  Horizon  Europe  uses  a  model  based  on  the  inclusion  of  stakeholders  and 
communities in river restoration efforts.  

The Friends of the  Danube Camps provide an opportunity  for young people to  meet  their 
peers from across the Danube region and to get in touch with local environmental organisations. 
Activities  include  guided  workshops  for  youngsters,  where  they  can  talk  with  experts  from 
various  fields,  such  as  rangers  from  national  parks,  researchers  from  biological  institutions, 
local  tourist  organisations,  water  conservation  experts,  non-governmental  organisations,  etc. 
The  objective  is  to  connect,  empower  and  activate  youth  in  protection  and  enhancement  of 
biodiversity and to experience the river in adventurous way, through fun and engaging activities 
(Priority Area 3 - Culture & Tourism). 

Cooperation with the business sector is diverse and varies across priority areas. Engagement 
typically occurs through collaborative projects and participation in conferences and workshops. 
As an example, Priority Area 2 (Sustainable Energy) organised workshops in 2023 to showcase 
Hungarian  geothermal  energy  practices,  attracting  local  district  heating  companies  for 
discussions and business-to-business (B2B) meetings. 

The Danube Youth Council was set up in 2022. It ensures the involvement of young people 
in all Strategy bodies with the aim to make ideas and viewpoints of young people heard and 
considered. The Youth Council is made up of 28 members (18-29 years of age), two members 
from each of the 14 Strategy countries. Members are selected in their personal capacity and do 
not represent any organisation. During the reporting period, two capacity building sessions were 
organised and Youth Council members participated at all governance meetings.  

Additionally,  the  Danube  Youth  Organisation  Network  is  now  in  the  process  of  being 
established.  This  body  will  bring  together  national  or  regional  youth  organisations  or  other 
entities working on youth issues with a non-profit profile in the region.  

19 

 
 
 
 
Improving governance and administrative capacity 

As macro-regional cooperation spans a considerable number of policy fields, it is important that 
the coordination at national and regional level has the right competence to deal with the wide 
variety  of  topics.  This  is  achieved  when  ministries  with  a  coordinating  role  work  closely 
together with key line ministries. During the reporting period such arrangements were further 
developed  in  several  countries.  Some  (e.g.  Moldova)  have  set  out  the  principles  for  their 
participation in the Strategy in national law.  

Most Danube countries have set up inter-ministerial coordination bodies at national level. These 
bodies  include  other  key  stakeholders  such  as  national  authorities  responsible  for  Interreg 
programmes and social partners. Cooperation with the other macro-regional strategies has been 
continued through meetings of the chairpersons of the other three Trio  Presidencies  and the 
European  Commission,  as  a  platform  for  structured  and  continued  exchanges,  strengthened 
coordination and streamlining of approaches on processes and horizontal topics. It also takes 
place at the level of individual priority areas. The ministerial meetings regularly organised in 
connection  with  annual  fora  are  considered  very  useful  for  securing  commitment  from  the 
political level. Strategy stakeholders at all levels are satisfied with the work carried out by the 
Danube Strategy Point. Priority Area 1A (Waterways Mobility) and Priority Area 11 (Security) 
have been involved in or organised their own ministerial meetings.   

The Trio Presidency format showed its strengths during the Ukrainian Presidency in 2022. The 
other  two  Trio  members,  Slovakia  and  Slovenia  together  with  the  Strategy  Point  helped  to 
ensure that planned events and core meetings could be held. Due to the war, the 2022 annual 
forum was arranged in Košice, Slovakia close to the Ukrainian border. Ukraine provided the 
content of the conference while Slovakia was responsible for the venue. Slovenia and Austria 
have been supporting Bosnia and Herzegovina in its preparations for the 2025 Presidency. 

Nevertheless, a challenge identified by many stakeholders is the need for more stability at the 
level of priority areas. Several steering groups struggle with low attendance and members often 
change and do not always have the right competence. Such fluctuation and lack of continuity 
lowers the efficiency as new members require additional support and capacity building to be 
able to contribute efficiently to the achievements of the priority area. In addition, the mandates 
of  steering  group  members  vary.  While  some  have  the  necessary  means  to  make  decisions 
others have limited capacity to engage.  

These  are  challenges  that  need  to  be  addressed  as  individual  steering  group  members  have 
particularly important roles to play in connecting the work of the priority area with the planning 
and  definition  of  national  policies  in  their  countries.  Organised  capacity  building  activities, 
including  on-boarding  sessions  for  new  members  and  participation  at  events  and  thematic 
discussions are means to improve the situation. It also helps if themes brought up by priority 
areas are selected in such a way that they motivate steering group members to engage actively.  

Access to funding and embedding 

The transnational Interreg Danube Region Programme continues to be the most utilised source 
of funding for implementing projects under the Strategy action plan. Over the years, a process 
of ongoing integration and alignment between the Strategy and the programme has helped in 
developing and co-financing projects. Moreover, the Danube Region Programme also funds the 
Strategy Point and the work of the 12 Danube priority area coordinators.  

Compared to previous periods, the process of embedding was much improved in this period. 
Experience shows that close ties with managing authorities are essential to allow for an effective 
embedding  process  and  these  authorities  must  be  engaged  from  the  very  start  of  the 

20 

 
 
programming  period.  Including  national  coordinators  as  members  or  observers  in  national 
cohesion  policy  programme  monitoring  committees  improves  the  coordination  as  does 
representatives  of  those  programmes  participating  in  the  national/regional  macro-regional 
strategy coordination structures.  

Managing  authority  networks  exist  for  programmes  funded  by  the  European  Regional 
Development  Fund-Cohesion  Fund,  European  Social  Fund+  and  the  Instrument  for  Pre-
Accession  Assistance  and  the  Neighbourhood,  Development  and  International  Cooperation 
Instrument.  The  Danube  Embedding  Week,  organised  annually  by  the  Strategy  Point,  is 
positively  assessed  by  stakeholders.  With  thematic  workshops,  it  brings  together  Strategy 
stakeholders  and  programming  and  managing  authorities  in  a  joint  dialogue  on  embedding 
issues, moving from programming to the implementation phase.  

Additional funding sources include other Interreg programmes in the region (both cross-border 
and transnational) as well as the pre-accession assistance and the neighbourhood, development 
and international cooperation instruments. Funding has also been allocated from regional and 
national  cohesion  policy  programmes.  Programmes  with  focus  on  environment,  transport, 
business development and employment are most frequently used. Mainstream cohesion policy 
programmes  are  also  used  for  macro-regional  strategy  capacity  building.  In  Hungary,  the 
National Implementation Operational Programme Plus funds a project to support the national 
coordination of the Strategy.  

But the embedding approach goes beyond cohesion policy and for some priority areas the most 
significant  contribution  comes  from  EU  funded  programmes  managed  directly  by  the 
Commission, including the LIFE programme, Horizon Europe, Erasmus and  the Connecting 
Europe Facility.   

Nevertheless,  access  to  national  and  regional  funding  is  still  a  challenge,  in  particular  in 
candidate countries.   

Measuring impact through monitoring and evaluation 

Monitoring  and  evaluation  of  the  Strategy  is  coordinated  by  the  Strategy  Point.  A 
comprehensive monitoring  approach  for  the  Strategy was introduced in  February 2022. The 
monitoring concept brings together different reporting strands in one overall online reporting 
tool. 

In  addition,  all  Strategy  key  implementers  and  stakeholders  are  invited  to  provide  relevant 
studies, reports, etc. (e.g. carried out by priority areas) to the Strategy Point and to participate 
in evaluation activities carried out by external experts, such as interviews and online surveys. 

The  Strategy  evaluation  plan  was  updated  in  2023.  It  outlines  the  evaluation  strategy  and 
ensures  the  quality  of  evaluations  carried  out.  A  dedicated  steering  group  with  all  key 
stakeholders represented was set up to oversee the evaluation of the Strategy. In January 2024, 
a call for proposals for conducting a process and implementation evaluation was opened. The 
aim  is  to  assess  the  strategic  dimension,  governance  and  technical  implementation  of  the 
Strategy.  

Communicating the Strategy  

21 

 
 
 
 
 
Communicating the Strategy is one of the core tasks of the Strategy Point, while priority areas, 
together with national and regional administrations, also have roles to play in this regard.  

In line with the Danube Communication Strategy and the Communication Guide, activities over 
the  last  two  years  prioritised  the  production  of  high-quality  communication  material  for 
dissemination,  strengthening  brand  awareness  and  increasing  digital  presence  through  the 
Strategy  website  and  social  media  platforms.  The  Danube  Strategy  Brand  Book  created  in 
August 2023 serves as a guide to ensure consistent use of the visual identity of the Strategy. 

The  Strategy  website  and  intranet  served  as  indispensable  communication  tools,  facilitating 
engagement  with  stakeholders  and  the  wider  public  to  disseminate  information  regarding 
cooperation  and  funding  opportunities  while  also  serving  as  repositories  for  institutional 
memory.  

Under the 2023 Slovenian Presidency, a series of narratives to highlight the influence of the 
Strategy  within  the  Danube  region  was  developed.  Employing  a  narrative  framework,  two 
distinct social media campaigns were conducted in 2022 and 2023 to raise the visibility of the 
so-called Danube Strategy Flagship projects. Subsequently, a subset of these flagship narratives 
was adapted into 12 promotional videos and e-banners within an online campaign for 2024. 
These were posted online on YouTube and have resulted in a notable organic increase in both 
website traffic and social media engagement.  

Particular  emphasis  was  placed  on  the  organisation  of  the  annual  fora.  All  three  –  Košice, 
Slovakia in 2022, Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia in 2023 and Vienna, Austria in 2024 – highlighted 
key priorities identified by  the Presidencies of Ukraine (2022), Slovenia  (2023) and Austria 
(2024). And all annual fora included a ministerial meeting with high level political participants.  

The  priority  areas  of  the  Strategy  actively  participate  in  panel  discussions  and  as  workshop 
organisers  during  the  annual  Macro-Regional  Strategy  Week  in  Brussels  organised  by  the 
Commission. In addition, many organise events that contribute to raising the visibility of the 
Strategy. Some events have become well-established fora for debate and discussion, such as the 
Danube Region Transport Days organised by Priority Area 1B (rail-road-air mobility) and the 
Priority Area 9 (People & Skills) Annual Stakeholder Conference. Additionally, during 2023 
Priority Area 8 (Competitiveness of Enterprises) successfully organised two major events.  

The Danube Strategy uses social media channels as prime tools for reaching and engaging larger 
online  communities  and  the  Danube  Strategy  Point  manages  the  main  channels  (Facebook, 
LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube). A new page dedicated to young people from the Danube 
region – Danube for Youth – was created within the Strategy web-based application providing 
information about the Danube Youth Council, internships, and scholarships for students and 
graduates. 

The way forward 

Looking ahead, stakeholders agree that the Strategy should continue to support the green, digital 
and fair transitions in the Danube region. In this respect, the added value of the Strategy lies in 
its multi-level, cross-sectoral, multi-dimensional approach enabling it to deliver effectively on 
these core challenges. This is imperative for the future given the increasing effects of climate 
change  and  given  that  the  eco  system  of  the  Danube  River  and  its  tributaries  is  faced  with 
increasing stressors like droughts and low water.  

Moreover,  the  energy  transition  needs  increased  attention.  Other  key  challenges  are 
demographic challenges including brain drain, ageing and the management of human mobility 
as well as emerging topics such as resilience, risks and security.  

22 

 
 
In  addition,  the  Strategy  should  continue  efforts  to  play  a  key  role  in  facilitating  the  EU 
enlargement process. For candidate countries, the Strategy provides opportunities to understand 
in more detail the inner functioning of the EU and how funds available can be used in the best 
possible way. Ukraine held the presidency in 2022 and Bosnia and Herzegovina holds it during 
2025. This makes EU enlargement a priority but also calls for capacity-building at all levels 
and  in  all  policy  fields  to  stimulate  positive  dynamics  between  local  authorities,  the  private 
sector and other relevant stakeholders. It should be paired with an inclusive approach which 
empowers stakeholders as active participants in the macro-region and a regional dimension that 
connects Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans to the EU, fostering a regional sense of 
identity.  

In  terms  of  strategy  governance,  it  is  important  to  ensure  the  continuity  of  implemented 
activities.  This  requires  stable  structures  able  to  implement  cross-sectoral  and  multi-faceted 
policy areas. It also includes reinforcing the coordination between policies thematically relevant 
for the Strategy.  

As  to  the  actual  results,  many  innovative  and  successful  projects  and  processes  have  been 
launched  with  the  help  of  the  Strategy.  However,  to  maximise the  impact,  cross-border  and 
national and regional cohesion policy programmes as well as programmes directly managed by 
the Commission  would need to  be better in  taking up  these  results  with  the aim  of  creating 
project chains.  

Funding is still an issue, particularly in some countries. This is why certain stakeholders keep 
arguing in favour of funding to be allocated to the macro-regional strategies, mainly to fund 
small pilot projects. For the next funding period, there is also a call to align funding criteria as 
well as funding mechanisms and intervention logics of programmes with the macro-regional 
strategies.  This  also  requires  a  more  strategic  orientation  of  the  work  in  the  priority  areas 
themselves,  so  that  objectives  are  pursued  that  are  in  line  with  the  overarching  policy 
frameworks of the EU and its Member States.  

Cooperation with the other macro-regional strategies already takes place at the level of national 
coordinators and priority area coordinators and has increased over time. The work carried out 
within the four Trio Presidencies framework is considered fruitful and there are strong calls for 
it  to  be  further  developed.  However,  there  is  still  an  untapped  potential  for  cooperation,  in 
particular with the Adriatic and Ionian Strategy with a view to a closer EU integration of the 
Western Balkans countries, as well as with the Alpine Strategy on sectoral policies specific for 
mountainous regions. Additionally, more strategic cooperation across macro-regional strategies 
and with  sea basin  strategies, such  as the Common Maritime Agenda  for the Black Sea,  on 
specific political priorities and topics should be considered. 

23 

 
 
  
 
Report on the implementation of the Adriatic-Ionian Strategy 

Introduction  

The  Adriatic-Ionian  Strategy  was  adopted  in  2014.  The  region  was  initially  thought  of  as 
primarily  a  maritime  functional  area  defined  by  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  Sea  basin  but  has 
meanwhile been reconsidered, to cover a significant terrestrial surface area as well. Home to 
more than 70 million people, the macro-region faces several challenges which can be tackled 
more successfully together than on a purely national or local level, including socio-economic 
disparities, limited research-business cooperation, gaps in transport links and electricity grids, 
, challenges in sustainable fisheries management, environmental threats. Notably the countries 
from the Western Balkans are faced with insufficient institutional and administrative capacity.  

Since its creation, the Strategy 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 Strategy covers 10 countries: four EU Member States Croatia, Greece, Italy 
and Slovenia, five candidate countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North 
Macedonia and Serbia, as well as San Marino.  

Until now, the Strategy has been focused on four thematic pillars: Blue Growth, Connecting 
the Region, Environmental Quality, and Sustainable Tourism. During this reporting period, the 
work of the participating countries has been mostly  concentrated on revising the Strategy to 
bring it in line with new geopolitical conditions and challenges. Through this revision, a fifth 
pillar has been added, focusing on Improving Social Cohesion and several new horizontal and 
cross-cutting topics.  

Long-term evolution  

In the 10 years of its existence, the Strategy has been able to establish and reinforce networks 
of cooperation and the social capital of trust among stakeholders; it has incentivised the creation 
of new partnerships in different sectors that have engaged in many initiatives, actions, processes 
and  project,  and  it  has  strengthened  regional  cooperation.  Due  to  its  geography  on  the  EU 
external border and the participation of candidate countries, the Strategy has focused more and 
more on supporting the EU enlargement process.  

Since  the  Strategy  was  adopted,  the  region  has  witnessed  a  decade  filled  with  crises.  The 
region’s  economy  was  only  just  beginning  to  bounce  back  from  the  COVID-19-induced 
recession,  but  now  also  needs  to  grapple  with  the  fallout  of  the  Russian  aggression  against 
Ukraine,  continuously  high  inflation,  alongside  a  pressing  energy  transition  and  the 
vulnerabilities associated with the region’s still heavy reliance on fossil fuels. Moreover, the 
Adriatic-Ionian region has been identified as a global climate crisis hotspot, characterised by 
the  impact  of  climate  change,  biodiversity  loss,  desertification,  droughts  and  episodes  of 
extreme weather. These threats negatively impact food security, as well as the opportunities for 
development  and  population  well-being.  Countries  of  South-East  Europe  are  facing  serious 
population  decline.  Five  of  the  six  European  countries  with  the  largest  population  decline 
between  2012  and  2022  are  in  the  region.  The  biggest  drop  in  population  was  in  North 
Macedonia, which in 2022 had 11 per cent fewer inhabitants than in 2012, while Croatia lost 
10 per cent of its inhabitants. Current forecasts in the EU indicate that the decline is not expected 
to  be  offset  by  changes  in  birth  rates  or  net  migration  rates.  This  demographic  shift  poses 
significant economic and social challenges that cannot be left unaddressed, as they will trigger 
new and growing territorial disparities as regions age and fall behind in number and skills of 
their workforce.  

24 

 
 
Therefore, the participating countries decided to revise the Strategy to stay up to date with the 
political realities and provide better solutions to the demanding challenges in the region. This 
revision process has resulted in a significantly revised action plan. 

New to the revised action plan is the introduction of a fifth, social pillar, focusing on enhancing 
youth engagement and employment, and improving cooperation and coordination on working 
conditions,  gender  equality  and  social  innovation.  The  revised  action  plan  also  reflects  a 
stronger commitment to  digitalisation and climate neutrality,  while enhancing  the long-term 
vision for rural areas, human and green capital development, and the farm to fork strategy. The 
horizontal principles of non-discrimination, gender equality and youth empowerment, as well 
as a commitment to respect and promote fundamental rights will be mainstreamed across all 
pillars and actions. In addition, enlargement of the EU will be included as a horizontal theme 
integrated in all pillars of the revised action plan.  

During  the  reporting  period,  the  Strategy  has  significantly  improved  its  governance  and 
implementation support structure, now consisting of three separate projects funded through the 
Interreg  Adrion  Programme.  This  new  three-branched  support  structure  should  significantly 
improve  the  overall  performance  of  the  Strategy.  Effective  multilevel  governance  will  be 
ensured  by  enhancing  the  active  participation  of  regions,  local  authorities,  academia,  youth, 
business, and civil society organisations.  

Delivering on the green, digital and fair transitions  

Overall,  the  Strategy  contributes  to  the  green  transition  and  environmental  sustainability 
through a range of initiatives and projects. Pillar 3 is specifically dedicated to ensuring a good 
environmental and ecological status of the marine and coastal environment, to contributing to 
the goals of the EU Biodiversity Strategy and to improving waste management. All other pillars 
feature sustainability as a horizontal aspect of their actions and have increased efforts through 
a number of flagships in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal. 

The project “Protection and enhancement of natural terrestrial habitats and ecosystems” (PET 
HAB ECO) aims to  improve  the resilience of large  carnivores’ populations  at  transnational 
level.  The  project  activities  are  related  to  conservation  and  restoration  of  large  carnivore 
populations, public awareness activities to bring these unique species to the public’s attention 
and restoration of ecosystems in which they play a key role. This Pillar 3 flagship project has 
been approved for funding under the Interreg Adrion Programme.  

The Pillar 4 project “Promotion of natural and cultural heritage to develop sustainable tourism 
in protected areas” (PRONACUL), funded from the Interreg Adrion Programme, focuses on 
promotion and preservation of natural and cultural heritage and supports the development of 
transnational strategies for jointly promoting the Adriatic-Ionian region as a tourist destination. 
Partners and/or associated partners have heritage sights, protected by UNESCO or Natura 2000 
or will become protected sights within PRONACUL's pilot areas.  

Another example is the flagship project of Pillar 3 “North Adriatic Maritime Incident Response 
System” (NAMIRS), which consists of cooperation mechanisms and measures ensuring a high 
level  of preparedness  and response to  emergency marine pollution in  Slovenia, Croatia, and 
Italy. This flagship project is also a good example for embedding: after its development into a 
bankable  project  under  work  package  two  of  the  Facility  Point  Project,  it  has  received  co-
financing under a call of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.  

The  digital  transition  is  essential  for  the  competitiveness  of  enterprises  in  the  region  and  is 
relevant for all priority areas. Activities have included the facilitation of knowledge transfer in 
the naval industry, and reducing barriers to innovation between universities, centres of research 

25 

 
 
and enterprises. Digitalisation will be one of the horizontal objectives of the revised action plan, 
notably through the establishment of a network of digital innovation hubs in the region.  

The  project  EUREKA,  funded  from  the  Interreg  Adrion  Programme,  focuses  on  the 
development and harmonisation of procedures and regulations in maritime safety. Through the 
establishment of the Maritime Safety Permanent Transnational Network, harmonising  vessel 
traffic  services,  and  introducing  sea  traffic  management  services,  EUREKA  contributes 
significantly  to  optimising  logistical  processes  in  maritime  transport  and  ports  via  digital 
innovation.  

Through  the  development  of  a  Macro-Regional  Smart  Specialisation  Strategy  (S3)  on  Blue 
Growth and the setting up of a dedicated Innovation Community, BLUEAIR aims at enhancing 
the institutional capacities of Adriatic-Ionian territories in the definition of a common S3 policy 
on  blue  growth  and  guaranteeing  the  alignment  of  local  initiatives  with  the  Adriatic-Ionian 
Strategy.  Adopting  a  coordinated  approach  will 
improve  administrative  capacities, 
innovativeness, and economic development for participating territories as well as for the whole 
Adriatic-Ionian  region.  This  Pillar  1  project  has  been  funded  under  the  Interreg  Adrion 
Programme.  

The  Adrinetbook  project,  also  funded  through  the  Interreg  Adrion  Programme,  aims  at 
promoting, valorising and protecting cultural heritage in the Adriatic-Ionian region. Through 
conservation of specific cultural heritage and its digitalisation, this type of cultural heritage will 
become available to the wider public by building a Cultural Heritage network and digitisation 
of specific cultural heritage that will become a tool for the sustainable development of the whole 
region.  

The  Adriatic-Ionian  region  faces  significant  social  and  economic  challenges,  including  an 
ageing population, labour market imbalances, social exclusion, the inflow of refugees, poverty 
pockets and brain drain. On top of this, it was widely affected by the pandemic, especially due 
to its dependency on tourism, with a major impact on the labour market. The Recovery and 
Resilience Plans of the EU Member States together with the Economic and Investment Plan for 
the  Western  Balkans  have  been  key  instruments  for  mitigating  the  negative  impact  of  the 
pandemic, as well as the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Supporting 
high-quality employment opportunities, continued education, apprenticeships and traineeships, 
they  have  complemented  EU  cohesion  policy  and  Instrument  for  Pre-accession  Assistance 
funding, in combination with EU sectorial programmes.  

To ensure a fair transition, the revised action plan will align the Strategy with the EU strategies 
and policies for improving social cohesion. It will aim to create a demand and supply for new 
and  relevant  skills,  promote  social  cohesion,  contribute  from  the  macroregional  context  to 
achieve equal opportunities, youth engagement and access to the labour market.  

The  project  SI4CARE,  funded  from  the  Interreg  Adrion  Programme,  is  focused  on  social 
innovation for integrated healthcare services for the ageing population in the Adriatic-Ionian 
region. This project has facilitated the creation of a transnational effective ecosystem through a 
collaboration network and a shared strategy translated into regional and national action plans, 
with pilots in telemedicine and healthcare accessibility to healthcare facilities.  

TESI aims at establishing a partnership for the formulation of a Joint Master Programme on 
Social Innovation. The project, funded by the Interreg Adrion Programme, focuses on raising 
competences  and  skills  on  social  innovation  through  capacity  building  approaches,  while 
establishing a network of universities and research centres to define and implement the master 
programme.  

26 

 
 
Supporting EU enlargement  

The Strategy is the only EU macro-regional strategy with more candidate countries than EU 
Member States. Cooperation within the Strategy is seen as a valuable step on the way to the EU 
membership, as it provides an opportunity for accession countries to work on an equal footing 
with  EU  Member  States.  During  the  reporting  period  and  as  part  of  the  EU’s  response  to 
Russia’s  war  of  aggression  against  Ukraine,  the  enlargement  agenda  has  gained  new 
momentum. The first Intergovernmental Conference with Albania and with North Macedonia 
on accession negotiations took place in July 2022, and the analytical examination of the EU 
acquis  (screening)  process  has  been  ongoing  since  then.  In  December  2022,  the  European 
Council granted Bosnia  and Herzegovina EU candidate status  on the understanding  that the 
country implements the steps specified in the Commission’s October 2022 communication on 
enlargement  policy. In  March  2024,  the  European  Council  decided  to  open  accession 
negotiations  with  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  and  invited  the  Commission  to  prepare  the 
negotiating framework.  

The integration of the Western Balkan candidate countries has become a top priority of the EU 
and the candidate countries participating in the Strategy and has contributed to the decision of 
the  participating  countries  to  revise  the  Strategy  and  its  action  plan,  to  ensure  a  stronger 
integration of its support for enlargement. Through the revised action plan, all pillars and topics 
will contribute to the EU enlargement processes in the Adriatic-Ionian region and will help the 
candidate countries to prepare their accession and align with key EU policies and frameworks.  

The  accession  process  presents  a  unique  opportunity  to  accelerate  the  region's  transition  to 
greener economies. Simultaneously, the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans and substantial 
investment  through  the  Economic  and  Investment  Plan  emphasise  the  importance  of  good 
environmental governance. The accession negotiation chapters related to regional policy and 
coordination of structural instruments as well as the environment have pivotal roles in guiding 
the Western Balkans' efforts towards sustainable growth. The implementation of these chapters 
will require significant administrative capacities and strategic planning that the Strategy will 
help to develop. Since the largest part of the acquis is implemented by local authorities, their 
participation will be strongly encouraged.  

Responding to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine  

The territory of the Strategy is not directly affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 
However,  its  side  effects,  including  refugee  movements,  inflation,  rising  food  and  energy 
prices, have had a significant impact requiring joint actions of the participating countries, in 
close coordination with EU institutions.  

Since 2022, the participating countries have continually expressed their solidarity with Ukraine. 
In their declarations adopted at Ministerial meetings held in Tirana (May 2022), Sarajevo (May 
2023) and Šibenik (May 2024), representatives of the participating governments, condemned 
the  illegal,  unprovoked  and  unjustified  aggression  of  Russia  against  Ukraine.  Moreover, 
Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has highlighted the issue of energy security, which 
of particular importance in the Adriatic-Ionian region. 

Promoting cohesion and place-based development  

The Strategy is a political and strategic framework that aims to coordinate and harmonise EU 
policy implementation, at national as well as sub-national level. The governance model involves 
multiple  levels,  including  local,  regional  and  national  actors.  Furthermore,  local  and 
community-based stakeholders are directly involved in the implementation of the Strategy, as 
beneficiaries  or  stakeholders  to  Strategy-related  projects.  Cohesion  policy  represents  an 

27 

 
 
invaluable instrument for place-based development also through its territorial and partnership 
approach.  

The  involvement  of  local  and  community  based  stakeholders  has  been  promoted  through 
relevant events, which involved stakeholders across the Adriatic-Ionian region: For example, 
the event “Green and Smart Ports in the Adriatic-Ionian Region”, held in Trieste in June 2022 
as  part  of  the  Work  Plan  of  Pillar  2  “Connecting  the  Region”,  subgroup  Transport,  brought 
together representatives from territorial cooperation in Italy, Croatia and Slovenia, to discuss 
best practices among the partners of the three countries in the environmental field and to foster 
an integrated and sustainable approach to solving shared problems. 

A successful project example is the flagship of Pillar 2 “ADRiatic IONian CYCLE route for 
sustainable TOURism” (ADRIONCYCLETOUR). The project aims to make the area more 
attractive and accessible through the promotion of sustainable tourism linked to cycling. The 
main  objective  is  to  enhance  the  cycling  route  along  the  coast  of  the  Adriatic  in  Italy  and 
Slovenia,  including  its  main  cycle  connections  to  the  hinterland  areas,  thus  developing  an 
innovative and attractive cross-border and transnational tourism product. The project is funded 
from the Interreg Italy–Slovenia programme, with support also from the Friuli Venezia Giulia 
ERDF  21-27  Programme  and  from  the  Interreg  Italy–Croatia  programme,  which  financed 
different cycle routes.  

The partnership – involving civil society, local stakeholders and young people  

Civil society has been involved in implementing and communicating the Strategy, particularly 
through the Adriatic and Ionian Initiative and its networks. Three fora are particularly active: 
the forum of the Adriatic Ionian Chambers of  Commerce, the Forum of Adriatic and Ionian 
Cities  and  the  Association  of  the  Universities  of  the  Adriatic  and  Ionian  region.  These  fora 
represent a network of more than 120 bodies and institutions and have organised key events 
involving Strategy stakeholders, including in the framework of the Annual Fora held in Tirana 
and Sarajevo. 

The Budapest-based European House organised Citizen Agoras in 2023 and 2024, building on 
preparatory  events  held  in  all  macro-regions,  including  in  the  Adriatic-Ionian  region,  and 
promoting a more systematic involvement of civil society in the strategies.  

Moreover, the projects AI-NURECC plus and Raising awareness on the Youth Manifesto 
in the Western Balkans, funded by the Commission, have played an important role in engaging 
key civil society stakeholders, promoting an efficient participatory and bottom-up approach, 
raising awareness of the Strategy and promoting local stakeholders’ involvement in relevant 
events and actions. The overall extent of systematic involvement of civil society in policy and 
decision-making in the Strategy should be increased.  

The  involvement  of  local  stakeholders  varies  between  participating  countries.  Some  local 
authorities  are  very  active.  Stakeholders  have  identified  as  a  challenge  that  not  all  local 
stakeholder  groups  are  equally  represented  in  the  Strategy  structures.  Some  countries  and 
sectors  might  have  better  channels  for  participation  than  others,  and  the  extent  of  local 
stakeholder involvement may often depend on specific projects.  

Strategy  stakeholders  have  recognised  the  importance  of  bringing  young  people  into  the 
governance and giving them a platform for their ideas to improve their region. Initiatives, such 
as EUSAIR4Youth, funded by the Commission, have already shown the benefits of equipping 
young people with practical skills and giving them real challenges to address. Popri EUSAIR 
Youth has been encouraging students from all countries of the Adriatic-Ionian macro-region to 
compete to win with their innovative ideas in the form of business models. Young people have 

28 

 
 
been invited to attend the Annual Fora of the Strategy, to actively take part in the discussions 
with decision-makers.  

In 2022, the participating countries agreed to establish a Youth Council for the Strategy. Over 
a two-year period, the process of launching the Youth Council was taken forward, including a 
comprehensive  youth  consultation  which  allowed  over  556  participants  to  contribute  their 
views on the mandate, format and selection of this Youth Council. 

20  Youth  Council  members  were  identified  and  nominated  in  autumn  2024,  two  per 
participating country, all aged between 18 and 29. The Youth Council will ensure active youth 
participation  and  representation  of  the  perspectives  of  young  people  in  all  structures  of  the 
Strategy,  aiming  at  more  inclusive  policies  that  better  address  the  needs  and  aspirations  of 
young  people  from  all  kinds  of  backgrounds,  and  fostering  intergenerational  dialogue  and 
understanding.  

Youth will also continue to play a more important role through the revised action plan, which 
includes enhanced youth engagement and employment in its newly introduced thematic pillar 
on Improved Social Cohesion. In this respect, the Strategy should aim at creating a stronger 
link  with  relevant  EU  policies,  enhancing  the  involvement  of  young  people  in  public 
policymaking, including youth representatives in the development and implementation of the 
Strategy, and promoting activities aiming at increased youth employability.  

Improving governance and administrative capacity  

The participating countries and key stakeholders have made great efforts to build and ensure an 
effective and efficient governance for the Strategy at all levels. The annual reports of the four 
pillars  show  that  most  countries  have  strengthened  their  internal  mechanisms  and  structures 
supporting  the  governance  and  the  implementation  of  the  Strategy  by  enlarging  their  multi-
level, multi-sectoral teams engaging more relevant ministries and regional administrations.  

At  the  political  level,  the  yearly  rotating  system  of  the  presidency  allows  the  participating 
countries to provide guidelines on the actions and priorities of the Strategy. Together with the 
establishment  of  the  Trio  presidency  system,  this  ensures  continuity  and  exchange  of  best 
practices.  During  the  Annual  Forum,  a  Ministerial  meeting  including  Ministers  of  Foreign 
Affairs and Ministers responsible for EU funds, is organised and concludes with the adoption 
of a political declaration.  

The Governing Board meets biannually and constitutes the interface between the political level 
of national coordinators and the operational level of pillar coordinators. It provides strategic 
guidance to Thematic Steering Groups for the implementation and management of the Strategy 
and its action plan, coordinates their work and ensures linkages between them. During 2024, 
the  work  of  the  Governing  Board,  supported  by  the  national  coordinators  and  pillar 
coordinators, was mostly focused on the revision of the Strategy.  

The Thematic Steering Groups under each priority sector represent the implementation level. 
They identify key processes, priorities and projects in line with the objectives of the Strategy 
and  “match-make”  between  project  proposals  and  available  funds.  Each  Thematic  Steering 
Group is led by at least two Pillar Coordinators, one from an EU Member State and one from a 
non-EU country. Meetings of the Thematic Steering Groups are held at least twice a year, with 
varying participation of their members depending on the priority area. Certain countries record 
high participation levels while others are more uneven in terms of their participation.  In the 
post-pandemic context, meetings of the Thematic Steering Groups have been held partly in-
person, partly online or in hybrid format. When organised in-person, travel and accommodation 
costs are provided by the Facility Point. Nonetheless, regular attendance, in some cases, has 

29 

 
 
been hampered by limited human resources. Online and hybrid meetings have often shown a 
more passive involvement of the members and therefore less fruitful discussions.  

Thematic  Steering  Groups  are  an  important  platform  for  the  exchange  of  best  practice,  to 
discuss  actions  and  develop  project  ideas  into  bankable  projects.  In  the  preparation  of  the 
Annual  Fora,  Pillar  Coordinators  select  the  topics  of  discussion  and  the  speakers  for  their 
sessions, often with limited input from their colleagues within the Thematic Steering Groups.  

A number of challenges  remain, notably as regards political  ownership and commitment, as 
well as  empowering  members in  the governance bodies. Limited institutional  capacity, high 
staff  fluctuation,  modest  funding  and  shortcomings  in  implementation  and  follow-up  of  the 
agreed decisions and actions have affected the implementation of the Strategy.  

An evaluation carried out in 2023 brought key findings and recommendations in this respect. 
The  report  suggested  stronger  incentives  to  tie  in  with  national  planning  documents, 
standardisation of working methodologies of the thematic working groups, to support them in 
delivering  results,  ensuring  smoother  implementation  and  stronger  political  backing  of  the 
Thematic Steering Groups and their members from their home institutions.  

Many  stakeholders  have  identified  the  need  to  support  key  implementers  (National 
Coordinators,  Pillar  Coordinators,  Thematic  Steering  Group  members,  and  the  future  Youth 
Council) and relevant stakeholders, and to increase the ownership in relevant line ministries on 
the  national  level.  Such  recognition  could  also  improve  the  mobilisation  of  regions,  cities, 
agencies  and  institutions  like  universities,  private  businesses  and  civil  society,  encouraging 
them  to  network,  cooperate  and  participate  in  the  implementation  and  development  of  the 
Strategy. 

Another challenge brought forward is the uneven contribution of national experts to the work 
of  the  Strategy  across  different  policy  areas.  For  some  sectors,  it  is  difficult  to  explain  the 
purpose and added value of the Strategy, and to find interested and informed experts.  

With  the  2021-27  funding  period,  the  Strategy  adjusted  its  governance  and  implementation 
support  structure.  This  now  consists  of  three  separate  strategic  projects  funded  through  the 
Interreg  Adrion  Programme:  The  Facility  Point  (Supporting  the  governance  for  improved 
cooperation), the Stakeholders  Engagement Point, and the  Strategic Implementation Project. 
This  new  three-branched  support  structure  should  improve  the  overall  performance  of  the 
Strategy, even though it contrasts with the integrated, single project approach of the other three 
strategies.  

The  revision  of  the  Strategy  has  also  provided  the  opportunity  to  incorporate  governance 
improvements, with a view to  

• 

improving coordination and cooperation to further enhance the commitment to the Strategy 
and its effective implementation;   

•  supporting the development of the necessary administrative capacity to ensure that political 
commitment  translates  into  effective  implementation  and  real  actions  which  affect  and 
benefit territories of each participating country.  

•  ensuring  institutional  and  effective  multilevel  governance  by  enhancing  the  active 
participation  of  regions,  local  authorities,  academia,  youth,  business,  and  civil  society 
organisations.   

Access to funding and embedding  

The  Interreg  Adrion  programme  continues  to  be  the  most  used  source  of  funding  for 
implementing projects under the Strategy. Over the years, integration and alignment between 

30 

 
 
the Strategy and the programme has greatly helped in developing and co-financing projects. 
Moreover, through its strategic projects, the programme contributes to the governance structure 
of the Strategy.  

Funding sources also include other Interreg programmes, both cross-border and transnational, 
in the region). Additional funding sources include the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance 
for candidate countries. Funding for EU Member States has also been allocated from regional 
and  national  cohesion  policy  programmes,  and  the  European  Maritime,  Fisheries  and 
Aquaculture Fund. Programmes with a focus on sustainable blue economy, the green and digital 
transitions  in  tourism,  renewable  energy  resources,  environment,  transport,  business 
development  and  employment  are  particularly  relevant  for  embedding  Strategy  projects. 
Contributions are also provided by programmes directly managed by the Commission such as 
the LIFE programme, Horizon Europe, Erasmus and the Connecting Europe Facility. Moreover, 
sectoral  and  regional  cohesion  policy  programmes  can  also  be  relevant  for  macro-regional 
strategy capacity building.  

Compared to previous periods, steps have been undertaken to accelerate the embedding process. 
However, integrating the priorities and objectives of the Strategy into EU programmes remains 
a challenge.  

The establishment of networks of managing authorities of cohesion policy funds and National 
Instrument for Pre-Accession Coordinators responsible for  pre-accession funding has been a 
major step forward in enhancing cooperation during the programming cycle and will need to be 
further  strengthened.  Close  cooperation  with  managing  authorities  and  Pre-Accession 
Coordinators  is  crucial  to  allow  for  an  effective  embedding  process.  The  matching  between 
available  funding  under  Interreg  and  other  cohesion  policy  programmes  with  flagship  and 
labelled projects under the Strategy is key. These authorities must be engaged from the start of 
programming exercises, through collaboration in the preparation of calls, increased exchange 
of information at programme level and the implementation of coordinated and complementary 
projects in the region.  

The number of successfully developed bankable projects  varies among  pillars.  Key strategy 
implementers  must  continue  to  make  efforts  to  keep  up  momentum  and  to  improve  their 
capacity to match-make between funds and project ideas.  

Measuring impact through monitoring and evaluation 

Monitoring and evaluation of the Strategy is coordinated by the Facility Point. The monitoring 
concept is based on three components: the questionnaire of the Commission used for gathering 
information for this report, annual activity reports for each of the Thematic Steering Groups, 
coordinated by the respective pillar coordinator, and evaluation activities carried out by external 
experts.  Strategy  stakeholders  used  the  opportunity  of  the  revision  of  the  Strategy  to 
substantially rethink its monitoring system, notably by determining indicators and targets for 
the priorities included in the new action plan.  

The  last  evaluation  of  the  Strategy  was  carried  out  in  2022.  It  assessed  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 fed 
into the revision process, notably as regards efforts to expand the flagship concept and defining 
a  more  coherent  system  of  indicators  with  a  common  methodology.  Moreover,  strategy 
stakeholders  decided  to  establish  a  stronger  link  with  relevant  EU  policy  frameworks  and 
funding  programmes,  and  to  adjust  the  governance  structure,  with  a  view  to  developing 

31 

 
 
monitoring  systems  and  enhancing the  active participation  of  a wider group of stakeholders 
(such as regions, local authorities, academia, youth, business, and civil society organisations). 

Communicating the Strategy  

Communicating the Strategy is one of the core tasks of the Facility Point and its project partners 
in the participating countries, in cooperation with the other two strategic projects. It is based on 
a Communication Strategy which was first developed in 2019 and revised and updated in 2023 
and 2024. Those updates brought the Communication Strategy in line with the revised action 
plan,  and  the  addition  of  project  partners  from  North  Macedonia  and  San  Marino.  Strategic 
communication priorities have focused on raising awareness and visibility about the Strategy 
among key stakeholders, a common narrative promoting trust, cooperation and transparency, 
and supporting public diplomacy efforts by conveying a positive image of the macro-region 
and its contributions. 

A Stakeholder Platform  has been established which fosters the  engagement  of stakeholders, 
offering  them  the  opportunity  to  interact  and  collaborate  with  key  implementers  on  issues 
concerning  matters  related  to  the  Adriatic-Ionian  region,  as  well  as  interactive  e-learning 
modules.  

During  the  reporting  period,  activities  in  the  field  of  communication  focused  on  enhancing 
communication  skills  of  stakeholders  and  engaging  youth.  The  Communication  Academies, 
held online in 2022 and in Thessaloniki in 2023, were central to equipping a diverse group of 
stakeholders with enhanced communication skills, ensuring the effective dissemination of the 
Strategy’s  main  messages.  The  Academies  provided  communication  training  to  government 
communicators,  key  implementers,  journalists  and  youth  participants.  This  initiative  proved 
crucial in expanding the pool of communicators proficient in disseminating the objectives of 
the Strategy and significantly improved the clarity and reach of the Strategy’s narrative to the 
broader  public.  A  specific  Youth  Communication  Academy  targeted  young  individuals 
interested  in  macro-regional  cooperation  and  aimed  at  enhancing  their  communication 
capabilities.  

In  2023,  the  Strategy  launched  the  Press  Contest,  inviting  journalists  to  report  on  the 
cooperative framework and its regional benefits. The contest's evaluation criteria focused on 
the ability to effectively communicate the story of the Strategy, underline its achievements, and 
emphasise the value of macro-regional cooperation.  
The 8th EUSAIR Forum was organised in May 2023 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The 
9th EUSAIR Forum was organised in Šibenik, Croatia in May 2024. Both fora represented a 
significant opportunity to communicate about the Strategy, its objectives and achievements.  

Over the last two years, 21 thematic events were organised in order to exchange key problems 
encountered  in  each  Strategy  pillar  with  relevant  stakeholders.  The  Swimming  forward! 
conference on Blue Growth organised in October 2023 in Greece provided an opportunity to 
discuss the importance of a sustainable blue economy for achieving results in the areas of the 
Blue  Growth  Pillar.  More  effort  was  dedicated  to  social  media  and  updating  the  Strategy 
website, which registered more than 28,000 clicks since the last report. Nine newsletters were 
prepared and shared with over 4,000 subscribers.  

The way forward  

32 

 
 
 
 
Looking ahead, the Strategy and its revised action plan will provide an invaluable framework 
for participating countries to intensify cooperation on their strategic priorities and their vision 
for the macro-region, to mobilise resources, develop, and overcome challenges together. Due 
to  its geography on the  EU external  border and  the participation  of candidate countries, the 
Strategy  will  shift  its  focus  towards  supporting  the  EU  enlargement  process.  The  candidate 
countries need support in the transformation of their economies and adjusting and harmonising 
their legislations. The Strategy can provide an important framework and be a catalyst for peer-
exchange and partnerships that promote reform.  

The  green,  digital  and  social  transitions  in  the  Adriatic-Ionian  region  will  feature  more 
prominently  in  the  Strategy  in  future.  Particular  attention  will  have  to  be  paid  to  the  EU 
commitment to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and the countries of the Western Balkans will 
have to increase their efforts in this regard. Certain topics, such as water management, litter and 
waste  management,  climate  adaptation,  demography  or  governance  will  become  even  more 
pressing and can only be solved together with the support of a regional approach. Social and 
economic disparities need to be reduced and the gender balance in the region enhanced. The 
newly  established  Youth  Council  should  become  a  genuine  channel  to  give  young  people  a 
place to have a say and to influence policies which are relevant for their regions and their future.  

Access  to  funding  and  integrating  the  priorities  and  objectives  of  the  Strategy  into  EU 
programmes remains a challenge. Some stakeholders argue that key strategy implementers need 
to  strengthen  their  understanding  of  cohesion  programmes,  while  cohesion  programme 
authorities need support and guidelines on how to support macro-regional strategies. 

For the Strategy to be operational and effective, it will be important to strengthen management 
capacities at the strategic level, enhance effective decision-making and reinforce performance 
and  results  orientation.  There  is  a  need  to  empower  relevant  stakeholders,  increase  their 
ownership and encourage them to network, cooperate and participate in the implementation and 
development of the Strategy. Stronger partnerships with sub-national stakeholders, local and 
regional authorities, and civil society in the Adriatic-Ionian region are not only invaluable for 
facilitating  enlargement  objectives;  they  are  also  essential  for  effective  and  inclusive 
development strategies and for improving the quality of social and civic dialogue in candidate 
countries. 

Communication efforts should also expand their outreach to additional multipliers, including 
engagement with media partners and with the Youth Council, to enhance visibility and increase 
outreach to young people. 

The  Strategy  should  also  align  its  objectives  and  actions  to  the  United  Nations’  sustainable 
development goals.  

Cooperation  with  the  other  macro-regional  strategies  should  be  further  strengthened  and  is 
notably relevant with the Danube Strategy, with a view to a closer EU integration of the Western 
Balkans countries. More strategic cooperation  across macro-regional  strategies  and with  sea 
basin  strategies,  such as the Western Mediterranean initiative,  on specific political  priorities 
and topics should be considered. 

33 

 
 
 
Report on the implementation of the Alpine Strategy 

Introduction 

The  Alpine  Strategy  was  established  in  2015  and  brings  together  five  EU  Member  States 
(Germany, Italy, France, Austria and Slovenia) and two non-EU Member States (Switzerland 
and Liechtenstein) across the Alpine region. 

The strategy focuses on three main objectives: Economic growth and innovation, Mobility and 
connectivity and Environment and energy. 

Long-term evolution 

Over the years, the Strategy has brought an added value to existing cooperation mechanisms by 
offering a unique transnational, macro-regional dimension. Moreover, it has gained significant 
importance in contributing to the resilience in and of the Alpine region. 

Strategy cooperation helped bring non-EU countries closer to the EU. Switzerland took over 
the annual rotating Strategy presidency in 2023. It was the first time that a non-EU country had 
held the presidency of this Strategy. Liechtenstein is co-presiding together with Austria in 2025. 

The added value of the Strategy is demonstrated through  various policy impacts such as the 
development  of  transnational  solutions  for  common  challenges  through  cooperation, 
knowledge  building  and  exchange,  awareness  building  and  common  knowledge  which 
translates into visible positive impacts on everyday life for the citizens of the region. 

Opportunities for exchange with  other macro-regional  strategies offered by the Commission 
and the Interreg Interact programme, such as the Macro-Regional Strategies Week are much 
appreciated and are used by Strategy stakeholders. 

During the reporting period, the Strategy has proven to be crisis resilient. A key success factor 
for  ensuring  the  smooth,  efficient  and  continuous  cooperation  within  the  framework  of  the 
Strategy during that period has been a solid governance architecture – including clear tasks for 
the  Presidencies,  the  Trio  cooperation  and  the  continuation  of  the  implementation  of  the 
technical secretariat. 

In 2022 and 2023, the Strategy continued a process of strengthening its operations with a view 
to achieving a more focused and operational set of priorities, improved governance and stronger 
political ownership and visibility towards stakeholders. 

The  milestones  of  this  process  include  the  agreement  on  five  top  priorities  by  the  General 
Assembly in 2022 under the Italian presidency; confirmation of these indications through cross-
cutting  priorities  approved  by  the  General  Assembly  of  October  2023  under  the  Swiss 
presidency; the establishment in 2022 of a support structure called the Technical Secretariat of 
the Alpine Strategy as a secretariat for the Strategy; the full operation of the Youth Council as 
an official body of the Strategy; the start of the action plan revision process through the General 
Assembly’s Joint Declaration in Bad Ragaz in October 2023; and the setting up of a dedicated 
Task Force for the revision process.  

In order to reflect the development of the governance structures, the changing priorities of the 
Strategy and to adapt to current challenges and crises, the Strategy is currently undergoing its 
first revision, after 10 years of existence. 

The revision process is expected to be finished towards the end of 2025 under the Austrian-
Liechtenstein co-presidency. It includes plans for a new phase of the Green Infrastructure goes 

34 

 
 
 
 
Business Award, discussions with the Commission on the planned EU Nature restoration law 
and the fostering of exchange with the Alpine Convention’s Alpine Biodiversity Board. 

At a policy coordination level, the nine thematic Action Groups drafted a set of Strategy policy 
recommendations  in  the  framework  of  the  AlpGov  2  strategic  project  funded  through  the 
Interreg Alpine Space programme. All triennial work plans of the Action Groups were revised 
and approved.  

Four  cross-cutting  priorities  were  selected  as  an  innovative  way  to  stimulate  cooperation 
between the Action Groups: Promoting Digitalisation for the Alps,  Accelerating the  Energy 
Transition  for  a  Carbon-Neutral  Alpine  Region,  Promoting  a  Joint  Water  Management 
Transition and Boosting Circular Economy. These four priorities can be seen as a good practice 
as  they  foster  cooperation  among  Action  Groups  for  the  achievement  of  strategy-wide 
objectives  and  thus  value  the  different  competences  and  perspectives  of  the  Action  Groups 
contributing to it. 

Moreover,  the  Strategy  serves  as  a  tool  to  deliver  territorial  cohesion  and  translate  core 
European political initiatives to the specific features and characteristics of the Alpine region, 
such as the green and digital transitions, activities designed to address social change as well as 
the inclusion of civil society and youth. 

The Strategy has been a valuable tool to draw the attention of politicians, public administrations, 
private organisations, small- and medium-sized enterprises, cluster organisations, educational 
and cultural institutions and civil society organisations to the Alpine region. A key added value 
of the Strategy is its continuous efforts to bring governance closer to the citizens of the region.  

In addition, the Strategy is strongly focused on youth illustrated by the setting up of a Youth 
Council  already  in  2021  under  the  French  presidency.  This  council  gives  a  voice  to  Alpine 
youth in all Strategy governing bodies, from the thematic Actions Groups that implement the 
Strategy to the General Assembly (consisting of Ministries), through to the Executive Board 
(National Coordinators). This process was further strengthened during 2022 and 2023 and now 
the Youth Council has been granted the status of an official body of the Strategy. 

During the reporting period, the impact of the pandemic on the activities of the Strategy was 
less than in previous years. In contrast, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is having an 
impact on the Alpine region. Especially in the current situation, the Strategy offers added value 
and the possibility to involve new actors in cooperation and to address strategic challenges such 
as energy security, the Green Deal, the digital transition and transport issues. 

Delivering on the green, digital and fair transitions 

The Strategy promotes the green transition and environmental sustainability through various 
initiatives  and  projects  aimed  at  reducing  pollution,  promoting  sustainable  development, 
enhancing biodiversity conservation, and promoting the circular economy.  

For example, Amethyst (Action Group on economic development) tested hydrogen solutions 
in French mountainous valleys and paved the way for an Alpine master plan of deployment of 
hydrogen in the Alpine region with successful application to Clean Hydrogen partnership. It 
is financed by the Interreg Alpine Space programme.  

Another hydrogen project which highlights the importance of hydrogen in the Alpine region – 
and  which  also  is  a  good  example  of  the  embedding  concept  –  is  the  IMAGHyNE  project 
(Action  Group  on  economic  development).  It  brings  together  more  than  40  partners  in  six 
different countries (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Switzerland). With a duration 

35 

 
 
of six years (2024-2029), it mobilises a budget of EUR 200 million and has obtained a total 
grant of EUR 20 million from the European Clean Hydrogen Partnership. 

Projects reflecting adaptation to the changing  environment and new emerging needs include 
TranStat  and  BeyondSnow  (Action  Group  on  economic  development).  Both  projects  have 
helped  French  ski  resorts  in  their  green  and  economic  transition  in  elaborating  transition 
scenarios for low mountain ski destinations through a participatory process.  

CERVINO is an energy data management platform to make energy in the Alpine region fit for 
the future with comprehensive and reliable data for the macro-region (Action Group on Energy-
co-financed by the Alpine Space Programme).  

The  NICH  project,  funded  by  the  European  Research  Council  under  Horizon  2020  aims  to 
unravel the impact of novel competitors on species’ responses to climate change in alpine plant 
communities. 

MICROCLIM aims at researching the effect of small areas maintaining populations of species 
outside  their  range  margins  of  Alpine  flora  biodiversity.  It  is  funded  by  Excellent  Science-
European Research Council. 

AlpBioEco is financed by the Interreg Alpine Space programme and targets he valorisation of 
innovative bio-economical potentials via bio-based food and botanical extract value chains in 
the Alpine Space. 

The Strategy also promotes digitalisation for stimulating economic growth and innovation. It 
supports  the  advancement  of  digital  infrastructure,  digital  skills,  and  services  to  improve 
connectivity, competitiveness, and efficiency, advocating for digitalisation across sectors such 
as education and transport. 

Results of previous actions, such as the EU action for Smart Villages, Open data and Smart 
SMEs  have  been  integrated  into  the  Strategy  policy  cycle  and,  thanks  to  the  new 
SupportEUSALP project, have helped to initiate new actions. 

These  new  actions  include  SmartCommUnity,  co-financed  by  the  Interreg  Alpine  Space 
programme, which aims at creating smart, sustainable and resilient communities in the Alps 
through  the  use  of  digital  technologies.  The  Strategy  had  an  impact  on  the  topic  of  Smart 
Villages, which gained high visibility at the European level and which is also included in the 
EU’s Long-Term Vision for Rural Areas. Several regions in the Alpine area have since declared 
the Smart Villages approach as one of their main priorities and this approach has been included 
in some programmes (eg Interreg Alcotra, the cross-border France-Italy programme).  

CIRCULAR4.0 : digital technologies as enabler to foster the transition to the circular economy 
by small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Alpine region (Action Group on digitalisation), 
co-financed by the Interreg Alpine Space programme. 

Activities  of  communication  and  connection  with  the  territory  continued  thanks  to  the  third 
Digital Alps Conference (organised by the Action Group on digitalisation) which took place 
in Courmayeur, Italy in October 2023. With the participation of regional councillors from the 
Alps and members of the European Parliament and an audience of more than 100 people, the 
conference discussed the themes of digital transformation of the territory and the importance of 
artificial intelligence. This conference takes place every year (the 2024 edition held in Izola, 
Slovenia) and brings together all actors and initiatives dealing with the topic on digitalisation 
in the Alpine area. 

36 

 
 
To bring about a fair transition, which includes activities related to education and training, the 
Strategy is focusing on identifying soft skills required in key sectors of the Alpine economy to 
favour the inclusion of new workers in the Alpine job market, and also on raising awareness of 
mountain  professions  and employment opportunities in  the Alps  in  order  to  make mountain 
areas  attractive  for  young  people  and  new  residents,  and  thus,  contribute  to  counteracting 
migration trends towards cities.  

The 2022 study Tools and guidelines for identification and assessment of a set of soft skills 
related to work-based learning and to the development of alpine economy” identifies, develops 
and validates tools for observing and assessing soft skills relevant for the Alpine economy. The 
development of tools for the recognition of soft skills by a company tutor is relevant for mobility 
projects and linked to the European topic of micro-credentials in connection to both dual-based 
training and life-long learning experiences. This is managed by the Action Group on labour 
market, education and training. 

In the field of mobility, the Alpine Strategy benefits from Connecting Europe Facility funding. 
For  example,  the  Cuneo-Ventimiglia  and  Nice-Breil-sur-Roya  routes  have  been  newly 
incorporated into the Trans-European Transport Network, granting them access to Connecting 
Europe Facility funding. This is another good example for embedding with different funding 
sources. 

Cooperation with non-Member States  

The Strategy has established close cooperation with Switzerland and Liechtenstein, countries 
which have participated in the Strategy from the beginning.  

The  cooperation  between  the  Alpine  Member  States  and  the  two  non-EU  countries  fosters 
international  cooperation  and  solidarity  through  initiatives  which  strengthen  ties  between 
Alpine  EU  and  non-EU  cities,  regions,  and  stakeholders.  This  enhances  the  resilience  and 
cohesion of the Alpine region as a whole. 

Switzerland  has  played  an  increasing  active  role  in  the Strategy,  culminating  in  the  country 
taking  on  the  annual  rotating  Presidency  in  2023  and  several  cantons  had  been  involved  in 
events and initiatives. Liechtenstein is co-presiding with Austria in 2025. 

Responding to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine 

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has an impact on the Alpine region, as national and 
regional  authorities  are  faced  with  the  need  to  support  refugees  and  a  growing  demand  for 
diversification and energy transition. However, considering its geography, scope and ongoing 
refocusing, the Strategy has not adopted a coordinated vision to address these challenges with 
explicit reference to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  

However,  in  order  to  find  solutions  to  the  current  energy  crisis,  the  Strategy  identified  the 
flagship initiative “Energy transition in the transport system in the Alpine Region” on energy 
transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources. Transport plays an important role in tackling 
the energy crisis. This sector needs to catch up both in respect of a more efficient use of energy 
but  also  in  the transition  to  renewable  energy.  Today, the transport sector is  responsible for 
roughly one-third of the total energy consumption in the EU and is highly dependent on fossil 
fuels.  

37 

 
 
 
Promoting cohesion and place-based development 

The Strategy provides a framework that allows participating countries to  make better use of 
joint development potential. It has an important integrative and cohesive function and brings 
together local and regional actors to jointly promote and implement EU policy priorities.  

Through multi-level governance and joint, synchronised actions, local, regional and national 
actors achieve common goals and face common problems of the entire region.  

The  Strategy  plays  an  important  role  in  implementing  and  upgrading  national  policies  and 
actions. The strategy is the political and strategic link between general EU policies. It offers a 
unique and specific territorial  translation  of EU  policies into the Alpine context, defined by 
political authorities through an inclusive, multilevel and multi-actor governance.  

Strategy actions are implemented at territorial level through the work of the  Action Groups. 
Projects managed or inspired by Action Groups directly involve local stakeholders, crucial for 
implementation and rollout.  

Activities related to landscapes and climate change support the implementation of the European 
Green Deal, the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030. Activities 
related to territorial brands support the European Green Deal, the Common Agricultural Policy 
and the Farm to Fork Strategy as well as the sustainable development of less favoured areas in 
the Alpine Region.  

Moreover, a Climate Adaptation Platform has been set up, which allows adaptation and risk 
management  actors in  all  Alpine countries to  benefit  from transnational  knowledge sharing, 
bridging  the  gap  between  the  generation  and  the  actual  use  of  relevant  knowledge  and 
experience. 

The Alpine Strategy labelling (Action Group mobility) identifies additional missing links in the 
Alpine  rail  network  and  projects  for  the  upgrading  of  local  railways  that  contribute  to 
sustainable  mobility  in  the  Alpine  Region.  For  example,  in  Marseille,  Tende  and  different 
locations in Tyrol, exchanges were organised between members from the action group and local 
stakeholders. 

Stakeholders  from  local  communities  are  mostly  addressed  and  consulted  through  their 
experience with implemented pilot projects that have been tested in local environments (such 
as local energy agencies or local regional development agencies). It is important to continue 
and to develop this multi-level governance. 

The partnership – involving civil society, local stakeholders and young people 

The Strategy makes considerable efforts to involve civil society at all levels and in many ways, 
such as through participation in events and conferences organised by Action Groups and the 
annual presidencies.  

The  Interreg  Alpine  Space  programme  involves  civil  society  organisations,  including  non-
governmental organisations, local communities, and social enterprises by financing projects, 
organising  conferences  and  various  bottom-up  initiatives.  The  projects  may  focus  on 
sustainability, cultural heritage, and social innovation. Civil society groups are involved in the 
project implementation and dissemination of results. 

The Strategy was the first strategy to set up a Youth Council (in July 2021) and puts significant 
efforts in place to ensure effective youth participation to involve young people in its activities, 
to raise awareness of the Strategy and to encourage young people to think about their connection 

38 

 
 
to the Alpine region. In particular, the Pitch your project competition and summer camps result 
in a strong and persistent commitment of a valuable engagement of youth within the strategy. 

Youth  Council  representatives  are  present  as  observers  at  all  levels  of  Strategy  governance. 
Young people are also involved through local youth organisations and networks. By integrating 
the  youth  section  into  the  website,  the  Strategy  could  better  engage  young  people  from  the 
Alpine  region  through  various  events  and  initiatives.  A  positive  change  noted  was  the 
introduction  of  an  Interreg  Volunteer  Youth  reporter  into  the  communication  unit  to  better 
accommodate the perspective of younger generation. 

Civil society is also involved via concrete bottom-up projects to empower local communities, 
making the people of the region co-creators of their own future, such as energy communities, 
smart  cities,  multi-modal  transport,  revitalisation  of  abandoned  spaces  for  sustainable  and 
inclusive use. Civil society can moreover be consulted on initiatives that impact their local areas 
which involves collaborative efforts for example to preserve local heritage, improve sustainable 
tourism, or enhance community resilience to climate change. 

These  examples  show  that  civil  society  plays  a  vital  role  in  shaping  and  implementing  the 
strategy. 

Improving governance and administrative capacity 

In the reporting period, the establishment and activation of the Technical Support Structure in 
January 2023, was an important step towards improving both governance and the administrative 
capacity  of  the  Strategy.  It  facilitates  the  work  of  all  key  stakeholders  by  providing 
administrative and technical support for the Strategy’s management and development.  
During the period covered by this report, the Support Structure was established with a role of a 
secretariat serving the annual presidencies and the Action Groups, via a strategic project funded 
(SupportEUSALP)  under  the  Interreg  Alpine  Space  programme.  The  Support  Structure  has 
reached a good level of operational capability and is still being further improved. 

The  revision  of  the  action  plan  is  an  opportunity  to  update  certain  governance-related 
challenges.  These  concern  the  collaboration  between  the  Executive  Board  and  the  Board  of 
Action  Group  Leaders,  the  performance  of  the  Support  Structure  and  the  integration  of  the 
Youth Council into Strategy organs and activities.  

Nevertheless, while the administrative capacity and governance structures within the Strategy 
have  evolved  to  facilitate  coordination,  decision-making,  and  stakeholder  engagement, 
challenges  remain in sustaining political  interest, ensuring full  stakeholder engagement,  and 
allocating  adequate  resources  for  implementation.  The  introduction  of  a  rotating  system  of 
presidencies has contributed to a better planning of presidency programmes and added to their 
quality and continuity.  

Looking  ahead,  a  more  effective  Strategy  governance  requires  further  improvements. 
Continuing to make the action plan more streamlined and targeted could potentially increase 
political and stakeholder awareness of the Strategy's role. 

Access to funding and embedding 

The  Interreg  Alpine  Space  Programme  continues  to  be  the  most  used  source  of  funding  for 
implementing projects under the Strategy. Over the years, integration and alignment between 
the Strategy and the programme has greatly helped in developing and co-financing projects. A 
clear  contribution  to  the  Strategy  is  considered  as  an  advantage  during  the  project  selection 

39 

 
 
 
 
process. Moreover, the programme also funds the Support Structure and the work of the nine 
Action Groups. 

Additional funding sources include other Interreg programmes in the region, and national and 
regional cohesion policy programmes. 

Thematic  Financial  Dialogue  Networks  were  established  to  facilitate  the  identification  of 
funding  sources  for  the  implementation  of  macro-regional  priorities  beyond  Interreg.  In 
particular, these networks were fruitful for the promotion of mobility actions, offering insights 
into  new  funding  opportunities  and  allowing  to  better  assess  various  funding  schemes, 
especially Connecting Europe Facility Digital. 

Funding  has  also  been  allocated  from  regional  and  national  cohesion  policy  programmes. 
Programmes with a focus on environment, transport, business development and employment 
are often of particular interest. Cohesion policy programmes are also used for macro-regional 
strategy capacity building.  

The concept of embedding goes beyond cohesion policy and, for some Action Groups, the most 
significant contribution comes from programmes managed directly by the Commission. Such 
programmes contribute notably through the LIFE programme, Horizon Europe, Erasmus, the 
Connecting Europe Facility and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. 

Compared to previous periods, the process of embedding has been improved in this period. The 
Strategy organises specific meetings to improve embedding, connecting those responsible for 
funding with those looking for support.  

Experience shows that close ties with managing authorities are essential to allow for an effective 
embedding  process  and  these  authorities  have  to  be  engaged  as  early  as  possible.  Including 
national coordinators as members or observers in the cohesion policy monitoring committees 
improves coordination.  

However, access to national and regional funding is still a challenge and is more difficult to 
monitor. 

Measuring impact through monitoring and evaluation 

Monitoring involves tracking the progress of the Strategy’s actions and initiatives. Monitoring 
helps to assess whether specific targets, indicators, and objectives are being met. The Alpine 
Strategy  Monitoring  Matrix  is  the  main  monitoring  tool  agreed  by  the  Executive  Board  to 
monitor the progress of the Strategy by monitoring the evolution of the projects with indicators. 
This  allows  close  follow-up  of  the  implementation  of  the  projects.  The  Monitoring  Matrix 
combines the list of action plan-level projects with a monitoring of the state of implementation 
and several categories of outputs. 

The  Monitoring  Matrix  is  currently  under  review,  so  activities  with  related  indicators  to  be 
achieved by the end of 2025 have been identified within the Action Group work plans and the 
Monitoring Matrix is going to be updated to the new goals. 

Evaluation involves a deeper assessment of the effectiveness and impact of actions taken under 
the Strategy. This process evaluates whether the strategy's goals are being achieved, such as 
fostering sustainable economic growth, improving mobility, and protecting the environment. 
Evaluation can help inform adjustments to the strategy or refine its implementation. 

The Strategy  uses specific indicators to measure  progress.  These can include environmental 
indicators (such as air and water quality), economic performance (e.g., employment rates or 

40 

 
 
innovation  metrics), and social indicators (quality  of life, social inclusion). These indicators 
allow stakeholders to assess the performance of projects quantitatively. 

Stakeholder engagement is key in both monitoring and evaluation. Regular consultation with 
local authorities, businesses, research institutions, and civil society organisations ensures that 
the monitoring and evaluation process is participatory and grounded in local realities. 

Communicating the Strategy  

The creation of a support structure - the Technical Secretariat for the Alpine Strategy in March 
2022 and the launch of the Support Alpine Strategy project in January 2023 were important 
steps for a more coordinated communications approach for the Strategy. 

Over the course of two years covered by this report, the Strategy’s communication activities 
focused  on  enhancing  digital  presence,  greening  the  communication  activities,  and  youth 
involvement. 

Subsequently,  technical  audits  of  the  Strategy’s  website  led  to  a  redesign  to  ensure  higher 
security  of  data  gathered  in  line  with  data  protection  regulations  and  a  more  user-friendly 
interface with multilingual versions. 

The deployment of web analytics tools allowed better targeting of communication to various 
Strategy  communities  such  as  Presidencies,  the  General  Assembly,  the  Executive  Board, 
national coordinators, Action Group Leaders, Action Group members, the Youth Council, and 
the Technical Secretariat for the Alpine Strategy.  

Three main conferences were organised under the Swiss presidency during 2023, on Circular 
economy in Fribourg, on Water as a resource in Scuol and on Transport and mobility in Lugano, 
all contributed to the Strategy’s communication dissemination messages. 

The aim for the  coming  years is  to  expand the network of  all different  types of multipliers, 
notably engagement with media partners to expand the visibility of the Strategy and to define 
common communication messages between the Strategy and its funding programmes. 

The way forward 

The member countries and stakeholders stress the importance of the contribution of the Strategy 
to the green, digital, and fair transitions. Therefore, future efforts should focus on initiatives 
that particularly support these transitions and future EU priorities.  

The political level has emphasised a commitment to cooperation as a means of fostering trust 
amongst all stakeholders. While acknowledging the challenges of the action plan revision, they 
reaffirm  the  imperative  for  diligently  advancing  this  effort,  as  it  is  an  opportunity  for  the 
implementation of the Alpine region’s shared objectives. They also insist on the shared need 
for a stronger and more tangible Europe of Regions for the future of its citizens through stronger 
stakeholder involvement at all levels and political awareness raising. 

The Strategy creates synergies with cross-border, transnational and interregional activities in 
the region and it is important to develop them further in the future.  

41 

 
 
The long-standing experience of active cooperation with the Alpine Convention, the Interreg 
Alpine  Space  programme  as  well  as  with  other  institutions  contribute  to  the  sustainability, 
prosperity and competitiveness of the area and to a joint vision for the Alpine region.  

In  terms  of  Strategy  governance,  it  is  necessary  to  ensure  the  continuity  of  implemented 
activities which requires stable structures able to implement cross-sectoral and multi-faceted 
policy  areas.  Strengthened  policy  development  is  necessary,  but  also  to  reinforce  the 
coordination between policies thematically relevant for the Strategy. As to the actual results, 
many innovative and successful projects and processes have been implemented because of the 
Strategy.  However,  to  maximise  the  impact,  results  of  projects  would  need  to  be  better 
channelled  into  and  adapted  by  cross-border,  national  and  regional  programmes  as  well  as 
programmes managed directly by the Commission with the aim of creating project chains.  

Cooperation with the other macro-regional strategies already takes place, both at the level of 
national coordinators and thematic action groups and has increased over time. The work carried 
out within the four Trio Presidencies framework  is considered fruitful and should be further 
developed. However, there is potential for greater cooperation, in particular with the Danube 
Strategy on sectoral policies specific for the mountainous regions. Additionally, more strategic 
cooperation  across  macro-regional  strategies  on  specific  political  priorities  should  be 
considered. 

Furthermore,  more  involvement  of  non-governmental  organisations  and  private  businesses 
could be encouraged as they bring a different perspective into the discussion, a broader view 
and can bring active participation in Strategy actions. 

42 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Annexes: Maps of the macro-regional strategies 

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

43 

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

44 

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

45 

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

46