At the beginning of the project, the policy framework conditions in the areas of circular economy, rural development and demographic change in the project participating regions[1] were analysed in order to later determine the strengths and weaknesses within the Danube macro-region. Important key messages were identified, which is key for the identification of missing links in regional circular bioeconomies and for following up where necessary at the later phases of the project.

The work was of an analytical nature. Using a list of completed or ongoing EU projects or macro-regional documents, the partners presented in their reports the extent to which results have already been capitalised in current policies and strategies. Frequently mentioned here were the projects DanuBioValNet (2017-2019), FORESDA (2017-2019) and MOVECO (2016-2019) from the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme and the macro-regional documents "Bioeconomy development in EU regions" (European Commission, 2017), "European Commission Report on the Impact of Demographic Change" (2020) and "How to use RDPs to support rural bioeconomy?" (European Network for Rural Development, 2019). The existing strategies containing the project topics in the regions were summarised and presented in a synthesis report. In general, 35 strategies were identified within the regions, of which about a quarter dealt specifically with one of the project topics and the majority had a broader scope.

Main challenges in the areas of bioeconomy, rural areas and demographic change

While some regions already have a bioeconomy strategy (Baden-Württemberg and Slovakia), the topic is mostly only touched upon in strategies of a more generic nature in the other regions. As a result, there is a different understanding of the term bioeconomy, especially where there is no strategy. Another problem that was frequently mentioned by the partners is a difficult or lacking communication between relevant actors.

Regarding rural areas and demographic change, the reports were more consistent. In most regions, rural areas are characterised by poor income opportunities and the quality of life is often in need of improvement. One of the reasons given for this was that rural areas are usually not high on the list of priorities of political decision-makers and that the focus of companies is too much on production and less on raw (or regional) materials. Among other things, this results in rural depopulation, especially of highly specialised workers, and an ageing population. Reasons for this are, for example, the lack of digitalisation, but also a lack of a political framework. None of the regions has a specific strategy regarding demographic change.

Consequences for GoDanuBio

Based on the reports and the capitalisation of existing projects and macro-regional documents, it was found that it is important to demonstrate that the bioeconomy can be a key to solving the problems mentioned above. On this path, it is important to involve different actors. Above all, clusters need to be bioeconomised more in the future and their role needs to be strengthened. The way for long-term cluster policies must be paved. In rural areas, new jobs must be created through the digital transformation, but also through bioeconomisation[2]. Participatory governance should also serve this purpose. For this, policy decision-makers must be specifically influenced and stakeholders from various sectors must be involved. Improving synergies and communication between the actors is indispensable. Ultimately, the main task is to create a link between the topics of bioeconomy, rural development and demographic change to overcome the current territorial unbalances in the Danube macro-region.

[1] Austria (AT, Upper Austria), Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (HR), Czech Republic (CZ), Germany (DE, Baden-Württemberg), Hungary (HU), Romania (RO), Serbia (RS), Slovakia (SL), Slovenia (SI)

[2] The full deployment of the bioeconomy potential lies in the engagement and participation of all related-industries and stakeholders through the bio-based value chains. Missing gaps should be identified and integrated.u