16. 11. 2017 | Danube, PR
Danube University Krems and the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe are hosting a conference “The EUSDR – Common Approach, Shared Competences” addressing the challenges for policies, economics, science, culture and education in the Danube Region.
European as well as international developments reveal numerous challenges for the EU Strategy for the Dabube Region (EUSDR) and the EU itself. Participants discussed the role of the institutions at local, regional, national and global levels implementing the EUSDR’s objectives, prerequisites for a stronger European idea in the Danube Region and throughout Europe, against growing right-wing populisms, extremisms and radicalization processes, and potentials for creations of new perspectives for the Danube Region.
CEP’s executive director Dr Gorazd Justinek spoke at the panel discussion “Necessary Concepts, Planning Horizons and Perspectives for a European Togetherness” together with Dr Mathias Czaika, Professor for Migration and Integration at the Danube University Krems, Mag Elisabeth Pacher, Consultant for European and International Culture Policy at the Federal Chancellery of Austria, Gyula Ribàr, Senior Expert Associate for EU Funds, Foundation Novi Sad 2021 – European Capital of Culture and Maria Schwarzmayr, Art Initiative „Divided Cities”. The panel was moderated by Mag Adelheid Wölfl, Correspondent South-Eastern Europe for Der Standard. Dr Justinek addressed the changing nature of the European integration project, touched upon the enlargement process and discussed the numerous crises the EU is facing today, but also the benefits the integration brings to the European population.
20. 10. 2017 | Danube, PR
The 6th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) that took place on 18-19 October 2017 in Budapest, jointly organised by Hungary (current Presidency of the EUSDR), the European Commission and the Danube Transnational Programme, concluded with intense discussions and future challenges in the post 2020 period.
Under the title ‘A secure, connected and prospering Danube Region’, the Forum emphasised different challenges related to energy security, transportation development, clean connectivity issues and financing opportunities.
On the first day, ministers in charge of the EUSDR adopted a joint statement setting out principles and priorities for the future – regional energy security, infrastructure development and clean connectivity, which can be boosted with an optimised use of EU funds. The plenary session on the second day was followed by DTP Capitalization Workshops, each dedicated to one of the 12 thematic poles. Main objective of the capitalization strategy is to connect projects with similar objectives and target audiences to have greater outreach and reach a critical mass of people interested in the topic. Thematic Pole 11 workshop, Participatory and Local Governance, that is closely connected with the targets of the Priority Area 10 of the EUSDR, discussed a problem of measuring participatory governance. A problem of collecting evidence is one of the main bottlenecks. The workshop was led by pole leader Blaž Barborič, that is managing Attractive Danube project, followed by AgriGo4Cities and RARE project representatives and a key note speaker dr. Janez Nared from Anton Melik Geographical Institute, who shared rich experiences from their various projects. Priority Area 10 coordinators together gave an input on how to build inclusive approaches as well as they briefly reported on their activities. In the scope of Funding opportunities for the pillars of the EUSDR, Priority Area 10 collaborated in presenting financial prospects for the Pillar IV, Well-Governed Danube Region.
Lastly, the Forum closed with a challenging debate on Macro-Regional Strategies in post 2020 context that was discussed by representatives of all 4 macro-regions and European Commission. Presidency wheel was handed over to Bulgaria who will preside and coordinate EUSDR activities one year.
Get an insight into the Forum in the gallery below:
25. 9. 2017 | Danube, PR
The EU macroregional strategies conference on Media and Communication »Know thy neighbor« that was held between 20 and 22 September 2017 in Portorož, Slovenia, addressed key issues that stakeholders are facing at their daily work. That is especially how to improve the visibility of macro-regional strategies in the public sphere and how to strengthen the media support to macro-regional endeavors. For the first time in the history of macro-regions, communication officers of all 4 macro-regions (Baltic, Danube, Adriatic-Ionian and Alpine) joined to discuss the synergies they could all benefit from and how to overcome the common obstacles in reaching out to general public.
Conference brought together over 160 representatives of media, practicians, academia, general public and interested stakeholders from the four EU macroregional strategies to discuss the topics, platforms, tools and process that would improve connectivity within the macro-regions and contribute to visibility of their work and projects. The emergence of macro-regional strategies (MRS) has been driven by a number of EU countries and regions as a complement to traditional national policies on territorial management. The aim of a macro-regional strategy is to mobilise new projects and initiatives thereby creating a sense of common responsibility.
Prominent and experiences professionals from the world of communication shared their views and opinions, suggested concrete steps for consolidation of the communication, improved communication channels and added an important view of journalists on the outputs and functioning of the macro-regions. During the workshops and joint efforts participants contributed their experiences as each macro-region has its own approach for coordination of the activities and involvement of media and wider public.
Participants by the end of the gathering agreed that a single horizontal pillar for all 4 EU macro-regional strategies is needed as it would be of help in creating sufficient visibility for macro-regional strategies’ joint endeavors and understanding, and support for the exchange of ways of thinking and acting within the MRS.
13. 9. 2017 | Danube, PR
The EU macroregional strategies conference on media and communication – know thy neighbour is aimed at bringing together media people, practicians, academia, general public and interested stakeholders from the four EU macroregional strategies (Baltic, Danube, AdriaticIonian and Alpine) to discuss how to improve the visibility of macro-regional strategies in the public sphere and how to strengthen the media support to macro-regional endeavors.
Globalisation has made countries more interdependent, and problems must now be addressed across borders. This calls for a reflection on how macro-regions, as new functional areas, can contribute to improving the implementation of EU policies.
The emergence of macro-regional strategies (MRS) has been driven by a number of EU countries and regions as a complement to traditional national policies on territorial management. The aim of a macro-regional strategy is to mobilise new projects and initiatives thereby creating a sense of common responsibility. They provide regional building blocks for pursuing EU-wide policy, marshalling national approaches into a more coherent implementation at the EU level.
But without proactive communication, no effort is really seen from the outside, by EU citizens and stakeholders. During the Mediterranean Coast and EU Macro-Regional Strategies Week organised under the Slovenian presidency of the EU Strategy for the Alpine Region (EUSALP) in September 2016, a proposal to create a single horizontal pillar for all 4 EU macro-regional strategies was presented – “the media/communication” pillar – that would be of help in creating sufficient visibility for macro-regional strategies’ joint endeavors and understanding, and support for the exchange of ways of thinking and acting within the MRS.
Join us in Portorož, Slovenia between 20th and 22nd of September!
Registration until 18th September here. The final program with speakers is available here. More information about the Mediterranean Coast and EU Macro-Regional Strategies Week is reachable here.
5. 9. 2017 | Bled Strategic Forum, Danube, PR
A leading conference in Central and South-East Europe, the annual Bled Strategic Forum provides the needed high-level platform for discussion of pressing regional and global issues. Attracting over 1000 participants, including heads of state and government, ministers, diplomats, representatives of the business sphere, scholars and the media from the entire world, the forum also offers a unique opportunity for bilateral and multilateral meetings with the foremost regional and global stakeholders and a possibility for extensive networking between political and business leaders of today.
This years Bled Strategic Forum attracted specially interesting guests from 66 countries, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, H.E. Ms Federica Mogherini and First Vice-President of the European Commission and Mr Frans Timmermans, to name only two. Fifteen Foreign Ministers joint them in interesting debates, ten of them were representatives of the Danube region, which gave the event a fascinating regional dimension and opportunity to numerous bilateral meetings.
A high-profile panel debate on the Western Balkans wrapped up the two-day Bled Strategic Forum, with the participants agreeing that the EU accession prospect has a transformative effect on the countries in the region, but also that the accession is a two-way process that requires effort from both sides. Entitled Western Balkans: EU Enlargement – Is Pretending the Name of the Game?, the panel featured ministers or deputy ministers of foreign affairs of seven Western Balkan countries as well as representatives of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the EBRD and the US State Department.
PA10-SI Centre for European Perspective as co-organizer of the Bled Strategic Forum ensured that the voice on macro regions was well heard as well. Mr Walter Deffaa, European Commissioner Cretu’s special adviser joined the debate of prominent speakers and emphasized that “one should not underestimate the transformative power of cooperation between the Western Balkans and EU that is happening at the moment. This are kind of mini laps of an integration.” He explained that there are four macro regional strategies at that two are of importance for the Western Balkan countries, the Danube and Adriatic-Ionian strategy. Concisely he wrapped up the importance of the macro regional strategies saying that “having it for the first time in this kind of set up, that for high profile initiatives, endorsed by the European Council, the Western Balkan participating countries – they are there on an equal footing. They are shaping and deciding on development issues for the Danube and for the Adriatic Ionian region. Serbia, for instance, is very active now, when it comes to the Danube. These are concrete examples of what can happen in very concrete terms in the area of regional cooperation.”
Speakers at the panel:
H.E. Mr Ditmir Bushati, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania
H.E. Mr Igor Crnadak, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
H.E. Mr Ivica Dačić, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia H.E. Prof. Dr Srdjan Darmanović, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro
Mr Walter Deffaa, Commissioner Crețu’s special adviser, European Commission
H.E. Mr Nikola Dimitrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia
Mr Pierre Heilbronn, Vice President, Policy and Partnerships at EBRD
Mr Thomas Mayr-Harting, Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service
Mr Valon Murtezaj, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo
H.E. Ms Marija Pejčinović Burić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia
Mr Hoyt Brian Yee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, US Department of State
4. 9. 2017 | Bled Strategic Forum, Danube, PR, Youth
The Young Bled Strategic Forum that took place between 1. and 3. September was built on premise from Vladimir Bartol’s novel Alamut: Nothing is true, everything is permitted and the put in context of the industrial revolution 4.0.
The fourth industrial revolution changes the way of life and at the same time blurs the line between physical, digital and biological spheres. It is impacting all disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. The countries of the Danube region are also suffering from the digital revolution as they still do not have enough competencies to cope with challenges that are brought by digital transformation.
The group of young prominent individuals from the Danube region countries: Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova and Slovenia, presented their competitive business models on electronics, environment and economy in the fusion of virtual, digital and real.
The participants met Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar who warned them of two aspects of science: it can lead to positive achievement or it can lead to various disasters. He stressed that digitalisation should be “digitalisation with a human face and purpose.”
Three days of intensive workshops with the design thinking method ended with nine policy proposals ranging from agriculture and public services as well as green urban planning to sustainable consumption, education, technological inclusiveness and cybersecurity, forming the manifesto. The manifesto will be presented to decision makers and other stakeholders on the Bled Strategic Forum.
