Tulcea County Council - “ Strategy and Synergy, as it is seen from the ”

Umeå - 26th of September 2014 County is situated in South-East of Romania, having on its territory the fascinating Danube Delta Total area of the county is 8499 km2 representing 3,56% of Romania Statistics:

• Total population - 250.524 inhabitants; • 5 cities, Tulcea is the municipality of the county; Due to the extended surface occupied by wetlands and Danube Delta, Tulcea County has the lowest population density in Romania - 29,44 inhabitants per square kilometre. • Due to our advantageous geographical position, Tulcea County has a dynamic role to play, as an exporter of expertise and a spokesperson of the CPMR actions in this sector, in the wider Black Sea area. Vision for the Danube Delta (the Biosphere Reserve area): • A “living delta” (an area where people live and work) with balanced support for the environment and the community; • a healthy, sustainable local economy - mainly based on nature and cultural tourism; • an inclusive planning process(residents,administrative structures, businesses). • Vision for the Neighbouring Area: • A vibrant, modern agricultural and small enterprise area, with a network of urban service centers and a tourism sector that is integrated with the attractions of the area and the Delta. Together they form the Vision for the Danube Delta Region (2030):

• An attractive area – with precious biodiversity and vibrant, small/medium scale (artisanal and modern) businesses - where people live in harmony with nature; • Integrating economic activities of tourism, farming and fishery; • This area would be supported by urban service centres. ITI-Integrated Territorial Investment Instrument 2014-2020

• Tulcea county is the only county in Romania having an ITI instrument, which will manage a budget of over one billion euro. • Funds will be used first for creating an European standard infrastructure on land, water and air. • In a few years, a 4 lane road will link Constanţa and Tulcea to the ninth European corridor through the bridge from Brăila, 9 touristic ports in the Danube Delta will be upgraded and „Danube Delta” International Airport ‘ s runway will be extended. • We will develop an European standard infrastructure that would allow access to the Danube Delta for a large number of tourists and the main activity will be the ecotourism. Objectives:

Raising living standards of the population by ITI projects will aim: • to develop infrastructure; • to improve access to quality health services and education; • to achieve sustainable development, trying to protect the uniqueness of the Danube Delta and to preserve its biodiversity. European Union Strategy for the Danube Region (SUERD) will play an important role in implementing this vision. We hope to finance some projects we mentioned above through EUSRD. Black Sea Synergy

Regarding the Black Sea, we all are aware of the difficulties we are currently facing in the Black Sea area, therefore an “EU Strategy for the Black Sea” seems unfeasible for the near future and Black Sea Synergy has not evolved as anticipated. Further colaboration is the key

• Tulcea County Council wants to collaborate further with Balkan and Black Sea neighbours, and Croatian regions (members of the EUSDR and EUSAIR) in particular, in order to use best practices and lessons learnt from a new macro- regional strategy, in an area with similar challenges. Regions, the key for development

From our experience in the CPMR BBSRC, we understand that Regions remain a source of proposal and they drive things forward, so we have to search for different channels to make things happen. The negotiations for the Black Sea Basin ENI CBC programme are under way, and we could use the opportunities generated by this programme to pave the way for a macro- region whenever is deemed realisable. Thank you for your attention!