The European Union's Danube Strategy, adopted during Hungary's EU Presidency in the first half of 2011, has turned out to be a success story, government commissioner Balázs Medgyesy told a press conference in Dunaujvaros, central Hungary, on Wednesday.

Speaking ahead of a regional Danube conference, the commissioner talked about cooperation projects built on the Danube Strategy, with special regard to ones aimed at improving the security of gas supplies and making flood protection cheaper.

Medgyesy also spoke about programmes seeking to integrate the Roma minority, under which countries with similar conditions work together to handle migration and employment problems of the Roma.

The Hungarian government and the European Investment Bank have jointly set up a Danube Contact Point in Budapest to coordinate regional investment projects and ensure financing, Medgyesy added.

The two-day conference will be attended by 120 experts to discuss development plans under the Danube Strategy.

An adviser at the Development Ministry said at the press conference that Hungary's national transport strategy will put a stronger accent on river transport. A development plan of the port in Dunaujvaros has been included in an international project, the executive of the Danube Strategy added.

(Prime Minister’s Office)