Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ivan Ivanov will participate in the XIV Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region in Sarajevo, which starts today and will continue until November 6. A key moment of the event is expected to be the ceremony at which Minister Ivanov will receive the ship's wheel - a symbol of the Danube Strategy presidency, from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has fulfilled this role so far. This was announced by the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
For the second time in its history, Bulgaria will take over the presidency of the Strategy. This time, the presidency period will be from January 1 to December 31, 2026. The Strategy aims to promote the economic, social and territorial development of the region, while working for the cohesion of the Danube countries. Previously, in 2018, Bulgaria was also the chair of this important initiative.
The Danube Strategy, approved in 2011, covers 14 countries, uniting over 100 million people – which represents one fifth of the population of the European Union. Nine of these countries are members of the European Union – Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania. The other five – Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine – are countries located in the Danube basin. The basis of the strategy is the regional approach, which encourages cooperation between various stakeholders to address common challenges, without creating new institutions.
The Strategy for the Danube Region is structured around four main priorities, known as pillars: connectivity, environment, building prosperity and resilience of the region. These pillars, in turn, include 11 areas of cooperation. The area of connectivity includes "Mobility and Intermodality", "Sustainable Energy" and "Culture and Tourism". The environment area covers "Water Quality", "Risk Management", "Biodiversity, Landscapes" and "Air and Soil Quality". The third pillar, related to building prosperity, includes "Knowledge Society", "People and Skills" and "Competitiveness". The last pillar, focused on the sustainability of the region, covers "Institutional Capacity and Cooperation" and "Security". For each area of cooperation there are designated coordinating countries. Bulgaria cooperates with Romania in priority area 3 "Culture and Tourism" and with Germany in priority area 11 "Security".
The main goal of this Strategy is to develop the economic potential of the Danube River, which is the second longest river in Europe. The river connects the countries of Central Europe with the Black Sea region, South Caucasus and Central Asia, creating opportunities for development and cooperation.
In October 2017, Bulgaria took over the presidency of the Danube Strategy for one year. Then, at the sixth Annual Forum of the Danube Strategy, which was held on October 18 and 19, 2017 in Budapest, Hungary, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Denitsa Nikolova officially accepted the presidency. The forum, whose motto was "For a secure, connected and prosperous Danube region", was dedicated to discussions on topics such as energy security, the development of regional infrastructure and the improvement of the region's connectivity. "Bulgaria is taking on the huge challenge, but also the responsibility, to lead in parallel two Presidencies of key importance for the European Union," said then Deputy Minister Nikolova, also considering the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2018.