On 24 June, the EU’s Strategy for the Danube Region celebrated its tenth birthday. The Strategy is the result of a bilateral initiative between Austria and Romania, and now covers fourteen countries, including nine EU member states (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) as well as five non-members (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine). The Danube Strategy represents an important platform for communication and institutional link between EU member states, candidate countries, and members of the EU’s Eastern Partnership. The Strategy is primarily focused on developing relationships between its members and facilitating cooperation on the environment and economic development. It also works to strengthen the Danube region as a whole by building reliable institutions and deepening cooperation at civil society level.
The Danube region has always been vitally important for Austria, and it occupies a special position in Austria’s foreign policy agenda. In comments marking the Strategy’s tenth birthday, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg noted that:
The Danube region is a key region for Austria. It is crucial for the future of Europe as a whole that the region between the Black Forest and Black Sea continues to develop in a positive way.
As a tool for strengthening regional and economic cooperation around the Danube, the Danube Strategy represents an important addition to other regional initiatives, such as the “Central 5” forum set up by Foreign Minister Schallenberg (which brings together Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia) and the “Danube Working Group” (ARGE Donauländer), which is coordinated by the Austrian province of Lower Austria.
The Danube Strategy also supports the process of integrating the countries of the Western Balkans into the EU, with a view to their eventual accession.
As Foreign Minister Schallenberg made clear:
European integration is not complete until the countries of the Western Balkans have joined the EU. There is no sensible alternative to a European perspective, neither for the countries in the region, nor for the EU.
The headquarters of the EU’s Strategy for the Danube Region (known as the “Danube Strategy Point”) are in Vienna, but its rotating Presidency is currently held by Slovakia. Ukraine will assume the Presidency in 2022, becoming the first non-EUmember to do so.
