The European Union’s macro-regional strategies (MRS) and sea basin strategies (SBS) bring together countries and stakeholders to address common challenges that go beyond national borders. By fostering cooperation, they provide platforms for aligning policies, pooling resources, and delivering concrete results for citizens across Europe.
Against this backdrop, the Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days 2025 were held on 24–25 September in Brussels (Area 42). The event gathered representatives of EU institutions, national and regional authorities, civil society and youth to exchange on resilience, governance, security, enlargement and future priorities of the European Commission.
As part of the programme, and upon invitation from DG REGIO, a dedicated workshop on “Joining Forces for Water Resilience – Macro-regional Contributions to the EU Resilience Agenda” was organised by the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), led by its Hungarian Priority Area Coordinator for Environmental Risks, Dr. László Balatonyi.
“Joining Forces for Water Resilience – Macro-regional Contributions to the EU Resilience Agenda”
The workshop brought together more than 60 registered participants and focused on the contribution of macro-regional strategies to the EU Water Resilience Initiative, adopted in 2024. The session showcased how the Danube Region Strategy (EUSDR), the Baltic Sea Region Strategy (EUSBSR) and the Alpine Region Strategy (EUSALP) are tackling water challenges, from improving quality and reducing pollution to disaster preparedness and ecosystem resilience.
Agenda Highlights
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European Commission (DG ENV, Anders Iversen): Presentation of the EU Water Resilience Strategy, including water cycle restoration, tackling pollutants such as PFAS, and €15 billion in EIB investments for 2025–27.
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Block I – Healthy Waters & Biodiversity: Contributions from Márton Pesel (EUSDR PA4), Elsi Kauppinen & Jan Pryzowicz (EUSBSR PA Nutri), and Louise Floman (EUSBSR PA Hazards).
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Block II – Risk & Resilience: Interventions by László Balatonyi (EUSDR PA5) on disaster risk management, and Hanna Billmayer (Municipality of Halmstad, Sweden) with a local case study on flood prevention and climate adaptation.
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Block III – Dialogue & Youth Reflections: Moderated by Zsuzsanna Kocsis-Kupper (EUSDR PA4), with youth perspectives by Otmane El Rhaffouli (EUSALP Youth Council).
Key Messages
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Macro-regional strategies serve as bridges between EU policy and local action.
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Cross-PA cooperation and resilient communication are vital to address floods, droughts, hazardous substances and biodiversity loss.
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Youth involvement ensures intergenerational perspectives and long-term engagement.
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The workshop demonstrated how macro-regional strategies can deliver tangible contributions to the implementation of the EU Water Resilience Strategy.
