Deputy Minister Desislava Georgieva: The Danube Is One River, but the Opportunities It Offers Us Are Many

During the final session on the second day of the 15th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (3 – 4 November 2026), entitled “Shaping the Future: Cohesion Policy and the Role of Macro-Regional Strategies”, participants addressed the question of how cooperation can make a more tangible contribution to reducing disparities between regions and individual countries. Discussions focused on the expanding role of macro-regional strategies in the EU’s future policy framework and their contribution to cohesion policy through better coordination of future EU policies and financial instruments beyond 2027.

Addressing the participants, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Desislava Georgieva emphasised that “over these two days, we have seen how many issues bring us together. We have heard different perspectives, shared experience and discussed new opportunities for cooperation. And this is the greatest strength of the Danube Strategy – it brings together people who have things to share and things they can achieve together. Because the Danube is one river, but the opportunities it offers us are many.”

Deputy Minister Georgieva highlighted that, over the fifteen years since the Strategy became operational, partnerships have been established and experience and trust have been built among the countries and institutions in the region. In her view, the most valuable outcome of this long-term cooperation is trust, which “cannot be built in a single day and does not come to an end when a Presidency concludes.”

Desislava Georgieva expressed her gratitude for the support and partnership of the European Commission, the National Coordinators, the Priority Area Coordinators and their teams, the Danube Strategy Point, and all institutions and organisations, representatives of cities and regions, experts, civil society organisations and young people who actively participated in the Forum. Summing up the event, she stated: “The Danube connects us geographically. It is up to us to turn this connection into a shared future.”

Yordanka Chobanova, Head of the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, emphasised that the EU Strategy for the Danube Region plays a key role in helping countries coordinate their investment plans.

During the closing ceremony, Deputy Minister Desislava Georgieva handed over the symbol of the Danube Strategy – a ship’s helm – to Kristina Bilić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia, symbolically passing the Presidency baton to Croatia for 2027. She stated that “Presidencies may change, but our shared direction remains the same.”

This year, Bulgaria’s Presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region is being held under the motto “Connected Regions, Greater Cohesion: A Stronger Danube for All”.

Over the two working days of the Forum, representatives of European and national institutions, the countries of the Danube Region, regional and local authorities, academia, civil society and young people discussed cooperation within the framework of the Strategy and opportunities for more effective cohesion and development across the region.