Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas is participating in the Launch Conference of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), in Brussels, on Tuesday. The Conference is being organized by the Italian Presidency and the European Commission.

The creation of the Adriatic-Ionian Macroregion was among the priorities of the Hellenic Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2014, and the aim of the Strategy is to promote economic and social prosperity through cooperation among the coastal EU member states and non-member states in the Adriatic-Ionian region, based on a small number of projects in the sectors of innovative maritime and coastal growth, connectivity – with emphasis on sea transport and energy networks – protection of the marine environment, and sustainable tourism.

In addition to Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro are participating in the Adriatic-Ionian Macroregion.

Coordination of the first pillar (Blue Growth) of the Strategy has been assigned to Greece and Montenegro, while all of Greece’s 13 regions are eligible for the projects.