Events

Macro Regional Strategies and Mountain Dimension - from the Carpathian Convention to other European Mountain ranges, prospects, challenges and opportunities for regional cooperation

Brussels, Belgium

From: 25.11.2015 to: 25.11.2015

The European Commission, Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (Competence Centre Macro Regions and European Territorial Cooperation) and the Presidency of the Carpathian Convention (2014 – 2017), represented by the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, are organizing this one-day expert workshop on macro regional strategies that will explore the mountain dimension of the Danube region, the case of the Carpathians and the challenges and opportunities for regional cooperation in mountain areas.

Due to the cross-cutting interest in sustainable development of mountain regions, this meeting provides a chance to discuss sustainable mountain development in Europe in general. Therefore, representatives of other territorial cooperation schemes and organizations from other European regions (Alps, Dinaric arc, Balkans) are also invited to this meeting. A distinct session of the meeting, involving stakeholders from regionsand regional associations and civil society will be dedicated to this topic.

The workshop will discuss how to best ensure close cooperation, in particular through a Danube - Carpathian collaboration mechanism, as well as a possible memorandum of understandingwhich could be signed between the Carpathian Convention and the relevant priority areas of the Danube Strategy and its implementation overviewed by the Danube – Carpathian collaboration mechanism, with the support of the Danube Strategy Point. This would also facilitate the preparation of high quality project ideasto be submitted to the Danube Transnational Programme (DTP) and other relevant EU co-funded programmes (e.g. H2020, LIFE, Cosme), bearing in mind that there is currently no territorial funding programme covering the entire Carpathian region.

The Carpathians, Europe's largest range of mountains, extending over 450 000 sq km, are an important biodiversity reservoir and a recreational and living ecosystem in the heart of Europe. In 2003 an international multilateral agreement – the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Carpathian Convention) was signed by seven countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Ukraine) and entered into force in 2006.

Please confirm your participation by email to the following address: [email protected] by 10 November 2015.