First Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

First Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region

«The Danube Strategy in Action: from Ideas to Results»

Esteemed Mr Hermann,

MrFriedrich,

Mr Maras,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A year after the adoption of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region,I am pleased that we are gathered here, not far from the sources of the DanubeRiver, to present each country’s progress and decide on our future joint actions.

The Strategy for the Danube Region provides new opportunities and horizons for all Danubian countries, to work together towards growth and prosperity. The year that had passed can be considered as a success in building partnerships, setting goals and implementing projects.

Bulgaria is among the active participants in the Strategy. Its successful implementation is a major political priority for the Bulgarian government. On a political level, the government maintains active dialogue with neighbouring countries in order to identify priority projects under the Strategy for the Danube Region by 2020.

To improvethe coordination of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, Bulgariahas introduced a National Coordination Mechanism for its implementation.This mechanism ensures the required level of cooperation between politicians and experts, the non-governmental sector, academia, and the business community, in order to implement common development policies, which have an impact on the development of the entire Danube Region.

Lately, the European Union has paid special attention to the importance of inland waterway transport.This is important for the development of the European economy and the quest for more environmentally friendly and optimized freight transport solutions. The DanubeRiver and its navigable tributaries,as part of Trans-European Transport Networks, are also at the core of this policy. In addition, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region focuses particularly on the goal of boosting freight transport on the Danube by 20% until 2020.

The development of the Pan-European Transport Corridor VII – the Danube will enhance economic and social cooperation and will help utilize more efficiently the available internal resources.

The recently signedMemorandum of Understanding between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Romania, to set up an interdepartmental committee for sustainable development of inland waterway transport in the section of the Danube that Bulgaria and Romania share,will be very helpful in this respect.The benefits from our joint work will be:

1. To identify joint strategic projects that will have tangible effects on the Danube Region.

2. To work towards developing Transport Corridor 4,after the commissioning of Danube Bridge 2, connecting Vidin and Calafat.This will facilitate connections between South-Eastern European countries and the rest of Europe.

3. To implement other specific projects that will have real effects on the Danube Region. These are projects related to:

- improving navigation in the section of the Danube that Bulgaria and Romania share;

- improving connectivity between the two countries by building new bridges between Silistra and Călărasi and between Oryahovo and Bechet, as well as reconstructing and expanding the existing bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu along Corridor 9;

- developing port infrastructure and building new intermodal terminals in Vidin and Ruse;

- purchasing an ice-breaker and operating it together, etc.

4. An important aspect of our joint work is to identify possible sources of funding for the implementation of these projects. In addition to the existing operational, cross-border and transnational programmes, we will search for other funding sources, such as the Connecting Europe facility, Public Private Partnerships or the JESSICA initiative.

For the next programming period, Bulgaria will continue to assign high priority to projects under the Strategy for the Danube Regionbecause these projects have the potential to improve the region’s connectivity.

In terms of energy generation and energy supply, there are several projects that will be completed by 2015, which relate to the construction of an integrated power transmission grid in the region. The gas connector between Bulgaria and Serbia will be completed as well and will help diversify supplies of natural gas.

I am pleased to note that Bulgaria was very active in its efforts to protect the quality of water, biodiversity and natural landscapes.

Bulgaria’s economic and social development requires cooperation and better relations with neighbouring countries. The Common Spatial Development Document of the V4 + 2 countries (Bulgaria and Romania)will also provide strategic guidelines for the development of Danube regions by defining development poles and axes. This is an innovative project which will serve as a model for spatial cohesion.

Bulgaria’s North-western and North Central regions are among the least developed regions in the European Union. Due to the poor economy of those regions, it is necessary to seek options to overcome disparities and retain young people there and to provide them with job opportunities. One option would be to develop the network of universities in the Danube Region and explore the possibility of setting up a school of higher learning and/or a specialized vocational school in the city of Vidin. The commissioning of the new DanubeBridge near Vidin will facilitate the mobility of young people in the region.

In the context of the Strategy Europe 2020, boosting innovations and research and development will be a condition precedent for a competitive economy. Setting up a Research Fund for the Danube will, therefore, contribute to attaining high added value of production.

Cross-border and transnational cooperation programmes contribute greatly to the successful implementation of projects under the Strategy for the Danube Region.Bulgaria’s National Strategy for Regional Development (NSRD) for the period2012-2022 also has interregional and transnational cooperation at its core. We support the new Danube Transnational Programme. It will contribute immensely to the implementation of macro-regional projects.

In view of the low development level of some regions, belonging to the Danube Macro-Region, and the lack of financial capacity to prepare project proposals, we believe that the Danube Strategy member countries should be given the chance to create a technical assistance facility which will help counties prepare their project proposals.

Bulgaria and Romania share the coordination responsibility for managing Priority Area3 Tourism and Cultural and Historical Heritage.

The goal of developing tourism on a national level corresponds to the goals of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. This is also the reason why Bulgaria is highly involved as one of the coordinators of this priority area.

In terms of tourism, our partnership withthe German organization for international cooperation (GIZ) is particularly valuable to us -the partners will work together on the development of a specialized structure, which would support tourism in the Danube Regions in Bulgaria. We support the idea of setting up an office of the Danube Competence Centre in Ruse.

We can also point outthe success in the field of security and anti-organized crime operations. This priority area is coordinated together with the Federal Republic of Germany and has several fields of activity:

- to strengthen police cooperation;

- to combat corruption;

- to strengthen cooperation through liaison centres.

Finally, I would like to note that in order to achieve real progress and implement our common projects successfully we need good cooperation and coordination among all countries participating in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region. I think that partnering with countries like Germany and Austria,which are more experienced in managing such projects will be beneficial to all participants in the Strategy.

For the time that we have left by the end of this programming period, it will be good to find out the amount of the unabsorbed funding under different operational, cross-border and transnational programmes. The remaining funds can be reallocated to finance the preparation of projects under the Strategy for the Danube Region,which will be implemented after 2014. For example, Bulgaria and Romaniahave been exploring the possibility to use funding from the technical assistance component of the 2007-2013 cross-border cooperation programme between the two countries tofinance the feasibility studies for the Danube bridge that will potentially connect Silistra and Călărasi.

Despite the fact that we have been doing practical work on this Strategy for only a year, we see progress and I believe that on our Second Annual Meeting we will be able to report on the tangible results from the successful implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.

Thank you for your attention!

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