In the next six years, it will be invested 165 million euro into The Danube region through the Danube transnational program (known as Interreg).
The aim is to integrate this region better socially, economically, and territorially. On the occasion of the final conference of the Danube Energy+ project called Innovation eco-system in the Danube macro-region, this investment was presented by Amir Kalajdzini, the representative of the Danube Transnational Program for Germany.
As he explained, the program’s priority is to make this region smarter by enhancing research, increasing innovation capacities, and embracing technologies that will impact industry transformation and entrepreneurship. The second priority is reducing carbon dioxide discharges by promoting renewable energy sources, nature conservation, and green infrastructure in cities. Also, it is vital to have ecological water and wastewater management.
Finally, as a third and fourth goal, he named better social inclusion and access to education, development of lifelong learning concept, and improvement of cooperation between the governments and other state authorities in the region.
“The participation will be allowed to universities, institutes, chamber of commerce, regional developmental agencies, clusters, non-profit organizations, small and medium enterprises. The programs should last from 30 to 36 months, with 8 to 15 partners from at least eight and the most 15 countries, and the budget for each project will range from 1.5 to 2.5 million euros. Of course, this will vary according to the project size so that some projects might get even 3 million, but this is an average”, explained Kalajdzini.
In focus:
The funds will be donated to projects for the following purposes: to help the development of institutional capacities, promote further investments, support the development of the standard framework for implementation of politics in different fields as well as their harmonization, and finding innovative solutions for common issues.
Therefore, projects must include partners from various sectors, aside from regional networking. The European Commission is expected to adopt this project by the end of this year, whereas the launching is planned for spring 2022. The Danube region comprises Germany, Czechia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosna and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, and Bulgaria.
Through the earlier project Danube Energy+, which has been running for three years, Serbian Startit was working on transforming the regional eco-system with their partners from 9 countries. They have organized 3,732 visits and have given birth to 25 young innovators. Apart from that, they founded hubs in Serbia and other countries for young leaders in these fields.
Within Startit, the hub was established to enable support to the development of young innovators. The Danube transnational program DTP is a financial instrument of a specific frame and with an independent decision-making body. It supports the consolidation of policies in the Danube region in selected sectors under the standard EU provisions and regulations of the European Bank for reconstruction and development (EBRD) concerning the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR). Transnational projects should make an impact on national, regional, and local policy. To achieve a higher level of territorial integration in the heterogeneous Danube region, DTP acts as a policy engine room, tackling common challenges and needs in specific policy areas.
Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine WATER RESOURCES.
