Journal of Danubian Studies and Research, Vol 6, No 2 (2016)

Abstract

The paper presents in terms of European macro-regional strategies implemented or underimplementation, the role of these strategies in the broader context of the 2020 Strategy and the EUpolicy framework. New, powerful, innovative and potential instrument for promoting Europeanintegration and territorial cooperation, the macro-regional strategies have been designed in order tomobilize new projects and initiatives and to provide a coordinated response to issues which are betterdealt with together than apart, creating a sense of shared responsibility. The research seeks to clarify,using survey and observation, the main concepts used in defining macro-regional strategies. Lessonslearned from experiments already established - the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea and Danube Region- are analyzed in the paper compared to the new macro-regional strategies in order to identify therelevant issues of strategic point of view, offering real added value, enabling an effective andcoherent governance of macro-regions and Europe in full.