Brussels, 24/08/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 20 August, the European Commission announced that €222 million would be used to strengthen cooperation in the Danube region, particularly in the areas of innovation and research, as a means to boost the economy in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
The transnational programme has therefore been set up in four different areas: promoting innovation; transferring know-how and support for entrepreneurs; protecting and managing cultural and regional environmental heritage; developing more environmentally-friendly and safer transport systems, as well as promoting energy efficiency and setting up more efficient regional governance. Nine member states are involved: Germany; Austria; Bulgaria; Croatia; Hungary; Czech Republic; Romania; Slovakia and Slovenia, as well as three non-member countries: Bosnia-Herzegovina; Montenegro and Serbia. Moldova and Ukraine will also be eligible through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), which acts as the European Neighbourhood Policy's (ENP) financial instrument.
Out of the €222 million allocated, €202 million will come from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and €19.8 million from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) set up in January 2007 to help candidate countries or potential accession candidate countries to modernise.
Corina Cretu, the European commissioner for regional policy, indicated “The programme has been designed to directly contribute to the successful implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region through its thematic priorities and its support to the Strategy's governance”. Following enlargement in 2004, 2007 and December 2010, the Commission published a communication on the strategy for the Danube region, in an effort to ensure that this region became “one of the most attractive regions in Europe” by 2020. A few months later on 13 April 2011, the General Affairs Council gave its go-ahead for the strategy currently being implemented. The first call for tenders will be announced this autumn. (Pascal Hansens)