site.btaDanube Strategy Priorities Must Be Updated to Address New Challenges - Regional Development Ministry

The Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works announced on Thursday that on January 1, Bulgaria took over Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR ) for the second time. Until the year's end, the countries participating in the European initiative will be united under the motto "Bridging Regions, Better Cohesion: A Stronger Danube for All".

Since its endorsement by the EU Council in 2011, the Strategy has actively worked to tap the potential of the Danube Region and support efforts to overcome the economic crisis in a sustainable manner, enhance socio-economic development, competitiveness and environmental management, and promote growth based on resource utilization, modernization of transport corridors and increased security, outgoing Bulgaria's Regional Development Minister Ivan Ivanov told ambassadors from the riparian countries of the Danube.

He emphasized that "the coordination mechanism established by Bulgaria to ensure its effective participation and representation in the Strategy is an instrument of long-term value, as well as an opportunity for strategic planning, aligning of visions and strengthening of inter-institutional cooperation".

Ivanov also said that, for Bulgaria, the added value of the EUSDR lies in the partnership and interaction involved in implementing joint strategic projects. Specific support for projects from the Danube Region is provided within the framework of Bulgaria's Operational Programmes and Territorial Cooperation Programmes, through the possibility to prioritize projects which contribute to achieving the objectives of the Danube Strategy.

Ivanov said that Bulgaria's EUSDR Presidency allows it to highlight the potential of the Danube Region, noting that "the Danube is more than a river - it connects different peoples and their cultures, and serves as a pathway to our shared future. It reminds us that progress comes when we move forward together".

During the meeting, Bulgaria's EUSDR National Coordinator, Vyara Mincheva, presented the main priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency.

As a key political focus, Mincheva highlighted reducing disparities through enhanced cohesion and integration, with particular emphasis on regional disparities as a challenge to competitiveness and stability; recognizing the role of cities as a driving force in reducing disparities and promoting progress in social cohesion, skills and cultural connectivity.

Mincheva noted that other priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency include strengthening demographic and territorial resilience, as well as enhancing cooperation with EU candidate countries. Among the objectives is using the EUSDR as a platform for dialogue between EU institutions, national and regional authorities, and regional stakeholders, so that the Danube Strategy can further strengthen its role as a catalyst for integrated, inclusive and impactful development across the Danube Region.

The EUSDR is a cooperation instrument encompassing 14 countries: Bulgaria, Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine, home to 115 million people, or one-fifth of the EU population. Bulgaria is engaged in two priority areas related to security, culture and tourism.

In early November 2025, at a ceremony in Sarajevo, Ivan Ivanov assumed the rotating EUSDR Presidency, stating that reducing inequalities and increasing opportunities for the regions would be the main goal during Bulgaria's leadership. Bulgaria first assumed the EUSDR Presidency for one year in October 2017.