Austria holds the Presidency of the EUSDR (EU Strategy for the Danube Region) from 1 November 2023 to 31 December 2024. Currently, the Danube macro-region is living through a time of transition: beyond Russia’s war against Ukraine, the region is facing fundamental transformations – geopolitical shifts, economic uncertainty, climate change, changing demographics and a growing social imbalance.
All these challenges call for intensified cooperation across borders. Under the slogan “Shaping Transformation, Creating Opportunities: A Prosperous, Resilient and Secure Danube Region”, the Austrian EUSDR Presidency will focus on the following three priorities:
1) Contributing to Stability and Security, and a clear European Perspective for the whole Danube Region;
2) Fostering Innovation, Skills and Business Opportunities in the Danube Region;
3) Enhancing the Danube Region Ecosystem, Water and Green Transition Management.
Across all these priorities, Austria will pursue the involvement of youth, civil society, as well as regional and local stakeholders. In addition, the Austrian Presidency will focus on three institutional and governance objectives:
1) Strengthening political commitment and broad ownership of EUSDR, by involving Danube Region stakeholders in a comprehensive way;
2) Continuing joint efforts to enable tangible funding opportunities;
3) Illustrating the clear added value of EUSDR at local, regional, national and European levels and ensure visibility, by highlighting Danube Strategy Flagships and Danube Region Programme (DRP) projects.
In addition, discussions to identify key messages regarding the future perspectives of the EUSDR beyond 2024 will be launched during the Austrian Presidency.
