The European Council adopts the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region
In the European Council Conclusions of Friday 24 October the Head of State and Government of the 28 Member States of the European Union adopted the "EU Strategy for the Adriatic Ionian Region" (EUSAIR) asking to "all relevant actors to implement it without delay, as outlined in the Council conclusions of 29 September 2014".
After more than four years of work and commitment by AII Governments and regional stakeholders, the Adriatic Ionian Macro Region is a reality and the implementation phase is going to begin by the end of this year.
As stressed by the Council Conclusions of 29 September, the new Strategy benefits from:
- The long experience of the intergovernmental Adriatic Ionian Initiative which fostered cooperation at the level of civil society (Chambers of Commerce, Cities, Universities);
- The Maritime Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Seas adopted in November 2012;
- The coincidence with the programming period 2014-2020;
- The lessons learned from the already existing macroregional strategies.
The EUSAIR will address major challenges of the region through its four pillar's architecture focusing on Blue Growth, Connecting the Region, Environmental Quality and Sustainable Tourism.
The European Council invited the Commission to regularly report about the progress made "towards the achievement of target and relevant milestones, and possible development of the Strategy and its Action Plan, by the end of 2016 in the first instance".
The European Council Conclusions of October 24 and the Council Conclusions of September 29 are enclosed.