ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY AND COMMUNITY IN MACRO-REGIONAL PERSPECTIVE - THE CASE OF DANUBE REGION

The Danube region covers from upstream till downstream regions of nine EU countries, (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia) and five non-EU countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Ukraine and Moldova).These countries can be divided into highly developed economies, medium developed and less developed. The region is facing socio - economic disparities which may be consider as an obstacle for cohesion policy and for the successful development of the region. The creation of macro-regional cooperation forms requires more complex efforts and therefore, a new type of economic diplomacy, at the Danube level since its regional policy implementation instruments which may offer options to turn the peripheral countries in EU regions into better models of cohesion and further integration. This may involve a new concept of economic diplomacy. This paper is bringing some new approaches on the issue of macro-regional dimension of competitiveness and the way cooperation between different stake holders like universities and industries may be integrated in the context of EUSDR economic diplomacy and may increase the competitive identity of the region.