The RESPONSE project was invited to participate in the third edition of the Macro-Regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days, organised by the European Commission on 8-9 July 2026 in Brussels. The project was presented at a workshop on sharing experiences between the Baltic and Black Sea regions on resilience and civil preparedness, attended by more than 60 people.
During the roundtable discussion on environmental resilience, Aleksandar Shivarov highlighted the lack of a stable institutional framework as the biggest obstacle to coordinated cross-border responses. This substantial gap was identified in the RESPONSE strategic output, the Regional Action Plan for capacity building on marine pollution emergency preparedness and response in the Black Sea Basin. Steps to overcome this situation include establishing a permanent coordinating entity, legal agreements for cooperation between coastal states, transitioning from project-based to a sustainable funding model, embedding training and coordination responsibilities in institutional mandates, and harmonising procedures and data across borders.
A major contribution of the project is the RESPONSE Digital Toolkit. It provides pre-designed training materials and core curricula, as well as a Curriculum Builder allowing authorities to generate custom training pathways tailored to specific pollution types and target groups. The project has taken war-related risks into account by designing tools that function under conditions of restricted access, high uncertainty, and compound hazards. Examples include expanding scenarios beyond oil spills, emphasising remote sensing in areas with restricted access, and coordinating between civil and military authorities across national borders.
Mihaela Mirea from the Black Sea Assistance Mechanism moderated the roundtable. The other participants were Ana Gheorghe, representing the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme, and Louise Floman, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region’s policy area coordinator on hazards.
