PA 2 - Energy

The project reflects the path PA2 aims to follow to reach the expected changes by 2028 in 4 main areas: 1) It plans to strenghten its Steering Group and its activities in order to support the implementation of the EUSDR AP, and to back PA2 that it has an increased influence on shaping Europe's energy policy by representing interests of the region. A main aim is to revitalize the SG after the pandemic situation of weakened cooperation. 2) The field of energy is one of the most important areas shaping our future. The eager needs for a green energy transition result in rapidly evolving new areas and technologies and increasing decarbonisation targets. Furthermore, unexpected geopolitical situations may fundamentally change energy systems and security of supply. PA2 continues the in-depth analysis of actual key energy topics and consecutive policy recommendations, strategies addressed by actions under SO 2. In the 2023-28 period it will focus on 3 crucial areas: (a) increase energy security of the EUSDR by gas supply diversification, (b) enhance the development of hydrogen economies in EUSDR, (c) boost green energy transition at local levels by advocating the development of citizen driven low-carbon energy actions. All these 3 topics are Flagships of the PA 2. In addition PA2 continues addressing key topics by expanding previous results, such as renewables, energy efficieny and comparative analyses of the NECP-s of the EUSDR countries, as a comprehensive framework for energy policies. 3) In order to strenghten policy shaping activities, an enhanced coopertion with respective stakeholders at all levels (EU/international, EUSDR, national, regional, thematiclly scoped) will be addressed in the form of workshops, conferences, study tours, networking platforms, etc. A special attention will be paid on the involvement of non-EU countries. 4) Finally a stong emphasis is put on assisting project generation, as these are real motors of changes.

During the first year of the project the Hungarian coordination published a one-page summary of the extensive study titled ‘How to make the Danube Region independent of Russian Gas?’. The coordination put special emphasis on cooperation with stakeholders, in this respect they organized a workshop at the EU Macro-regional Strategies week on how to accelerate natural gas phase-out in Europe where 3 macro-regional strategies presented their survival strategies, the Danube Region, Ionian-Adriatic and Alpine Strategy. The Hungarian PAC was also part of a panel titled ‘Energy security and clean energy transition: What is the role of EU macro-regional strategies?’. During the second half of the year the coordination continued the topic of decarbonization of the district heating system that they started in the previous year. HU coordination together with the Association of the Hungarian District Heating Enterprises organized two workshops, one in Zagreb, Croatia and one in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The aim was to present the Hungarian experiences in green district heating and the available financial resources, thus, to contribute to the decarbonization of the district heating systems in these countries, where there is significant available but still untapped geothermal potential. At the same time, the CZ coordination devoted itself to the topic of energy efficiency in industry. The coordination focused on extending the stakeholders list in this field and pursued in depth communication with SG members on the focal points of the study. In the second half of the year the CZ coordination continued these informal consultations with SG members about the study, in particular at the SG meeting in Budapest with the support of a representative speaker from DG ENER, Unit of energy efficiency in industry. End of the year 2023 the CZ coordination has announced a tender for the study. The HU coordination cooperated with the Slovenian Presidency of the EUSDR in organizing a hydrogen workshop at the Annual Forum in October in Brdo pri Kranju. The PA2 HU team put together the concept, invited the speakers and moderated the panel with the support of the Presidency. Both coordinations participated at the PAC, NC-PAC meetings and workshops organized by the Presidency and/or DSP. The HU coordination participated at several expert workshops too in the field of energy in order to follow closely the developments in sustainable energy. A day before the Annual Forum, the Czech Coordination attended the Danube Participation Day organized by the Danube Civil Society, to reach out to public and NGOs, and together discuss the future of the Danube region and EUSDR’s capabilities to help in the reconstruction of Ukraine. A great opportunity to network with academia, public and private sector was the Central European Energy Conference which took place in Bratislava. The Czech coordination visited the conference and made valuable connections, while discussing the future of the European Green Deal and the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe. In 2023 PA2 team organized two Steering Group meetings (one online and one on-site in Budapest) and three strategic meetings between the Hungarian and Czech coordinations. During the period 4 projects supported by PA2 got funded under the first call of the Danube Region Programme. The HU coordination is Associated Strategic Partner in these projects, they will participate actively in the implementation. In the meantime, the Czech coordination became Associated Strategic Partner in the project SMEnergy focusing on initiative dedicated to empowering energy-intensive SMEs on their journey towards renewable energy. PA2 followed and promoted continuously the new calls in the topic of energy. PA2 HU team together with PA4 and PA5 and the Hungarian national coordination of EUSDR organized a project financing conference in Budapest to promote the available funding instruments in the field of energy, sustainable development, water quality and climate change. The coordination was also active in the embedding process. They participated at two inter-ministerial meetings organized by the Hungarian national coordination of the strategy where all the Hungarian SG members and coordinators presented the activities of their PAs. Both coordinations were active in involving the Danube Youth Council into its activities. They invited the DYC members to their expert workshops and SG meetings. The HU coordination involved a DYC member into the organization of its green district heating workshops, and the DYC member not only helped during the preparations, but he participated in person and also moderated the workshops. The DYC members helped a lot to the CZ coordination to extend the stakeholder list with stakeholders from their countries. At the end of the year the CZ coordination published a newsletter summarizing the news and information of the PA.