Bulgaria and Austria will work towards achieving the objectives of the Danube Strategy

Bulgaria and Austria will cooperate to achieve the objectives of the Danube Strategy. This became clear during the meeting of the Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Desislava Georgieva with HE Andrea Ikic-Bohm, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria to Bulgaria.

Her Excellency was interested in Bulgaria’s ideas for the development of the region in connection with the upcoming Austrian presidency of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) from 1 November 2023. She pointed out that the preliminary discussions with the other member states of the Strategy to shape the final agenda of the Presidency are important for the Austrian side.

Deputy Minister Georgieva said that it is very important for Bulgaria to implement significant projects with results for the whole region, because at the moment on the one hand we have insufficient financial resources and on the other hand - they are dispersed to many small projects.

Ambassador Ikic-Bohm expressed interest in the construction of a new bridge across the Danube. In response, Deputy Minister Georgieva noted that Bulgaria and Romania continue to work on preparations for a new facility near Ruse.

 ”An important issue for the whole region is to improve connectivity - both in terms of road and rail infrastructure and energy,” Deputy Minister Georgieva added. She cited the construction of the gas interconnector with Greece as an example of success in this direction. And the north-south connectivity with Romania and the implementation of the Three Seas Initiative projects are also closely linked to improving security in the region.

Her Excellency pointed out that Austria is also interested in the security of the Danube region and its development as a centre of attraction for business, tourism and investment.

According to Deputy Minister Georgieva, another opportunity is cooperation and exchange of experience in the field of integrated territorial development.

The Danube Strategy has been implemented since 2011 at the initiative of the countries of the Danube Region, which comprises 14 countries with 115 million inhabitants, 9 of which are members of the European Union. Bulgaria took over the rotating presidency of the Strategy in 2018 and focuses on cultural heritage and tourism as generators of economic growth.