Тhe Danube Strategy - a Useful Instrument for Enhancement of Liberal Solutions

Panel: Cristian David, Heike Dörrenbächer, Moderator Meglena Kuneva, Michael Theurer The Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom in Sofia hosted an International Conference on EU Strategy in the Danube Region: "How to improve prosperity, people-to-people contacts and economic freedom in a European Macro-Region". The event was a joint effort of the Foundation, the Institute for Liberal Studies (ISL), Romania, and the Liberal Institute for Political Analyses (LIPA), Bulgaria. All three institutions are members of the European Liberal Forum (ELF), which made this event possible with the support of the European Parliament.

Presentation of the The Young Citizens Danube Network The main objectives of the conference were to highlight the opportunities which the EU Strategy provides for Bulgaria and Romania and to inform about some specific activities that are currently taking place in the Danube Region, the people and institutions that run them and the ways of cooperation with them. Some examples are the Danube Competence Centre in Belgrade, the Danube Young Citizens Network in Budapest or the Bulgarian-Romanian Interuniversity Europe Center in Ruse. The conference provided the opportunity for more than 90 representatives of local authorities and civil society, mainly from Bulgaria and Romania, to get to know the specifics of projects and programs related to strategies in the field of regional development, education, tourism and private businesses, as well as to share contacts, ideas and experience.

P.A. Bochmann, S. Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, D. Chakarov, M. Theurer, R. Klaff Fair enough, the focus of the discussions was on Bulgaria and Romania. The fundamental issues addressed were related to the need of political support for the strategy, the role of institutions, local authorities and civil society. A major issue discussed was funding for the Danube strategy, which must be secured from national, regional and EU funds. In his speech, Simeon Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, former King and Prime Minister of Bulgaria, gave a comprehensive account of the potentials of the Strategy for the two countries, both from an historical perspective and regarding future options. He called the Danube River a "European common denominator that should continue to hold us together."

S. Saxe-Coburg and Gotha The Romanian perspective was given by Senator Christian David, former Minister of the Interior. Michael Theurer, German MEP from the ALDE Group, one of the most passionate defenders of the Danube Strategy in the European Parliament, highlighted possible solutions to the crucial problem of funding and strongly argued in favour of delegating responsibilities for actual projects from the central governments to the local ones, thus empowering the citizens. Along the same line, René Klaff, Regional Director of the Foundation, emphasized „that the Strategy can prove to be a useful instrument for the enhancement of liberal solutions to the regional issues at stake”.

The grander political perspectives were elaborated upon at a final podium discussion by Michael Theurer, Christian David and Meglena Kuneva, former EU-Commissioner and currently one of the candidates in the upcoming elections for the Presidency of Bulgaria. Obstacles for realizing the potentials of the EU-Strategy were clearly mentioned – low administrative capacity, limited opportunities for cofunding and pre-funding, corruption, lack of confidence and, respectively, fear of error. But, as all three discussants pointed out, there is no sensible alternative to engagement, confidence and an optimistic outlook to the future. After all, in the words of Mme. Kuneva, "It is the people who stand in the heart of any strategy".

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