Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days 2026

Due to major events taking place in Brussels on 1–2 July 2026, there is exceptionally high demand for accommodation. As a result, almost all hotels in the city are already fully booked and the remaining options are prohibitively expensive. We have received several inputs from you and other stakeholders and, after careful consideration, have decided to change the event dates to 8–9 July.

The EU Macro-regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days are coming back in July 2026! The event is co-organised by the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE).

On 8 and 9 July in Brussels, the eight strategies (Alpine, Danube, Adriatic-Ionian, Baltic Sea, Atlantic, Western Mediterranean, Black Sea and Greater North Sea) will come together during a two-day event in Brussels.
What to expect this year?

The year 2026 will be shaped by further orientations of the new European Commission and by early signals emerging from negotiations on the post-2027 programming period and the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). These initial developments point towards an increased emphasis on security, resilience, competitiveness, enlargement, and place-based delivery of EU priorities, against a backdrop of persistent geopolitical instability, climate pressures, and socio-economic transformation.

Macro-regional and Sea Basin Strategies operate at the intersection of these dynamics. Their flexible, multi-sectoral, and cooperative nature allows them to accompany evolving EU priorities and to provide frameworks for coordination across borders, governance levels, and policy domains. The 2025 edition of the Strategies Days confirmed that the eight Strategies collectively represent a mature cooperation system, increasingly positioned to move from coordination towards collective delivery. It also highlighted key areas for further evolution, notably in governance, visibility, embedding into EU and national funding frameworks, and joint action.

In 2026, the Macro-regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days will build on these reflections by offering space to take stock of ongoing developments, exchange perspectives on emerging policy directions, and explore how the Strategies can continue to position themselves in view of post-2027 programming. The event will provide a platform to reflect on challenges and opportunities ahead, and to support dialogue on how Macro-regional and Sea Basin Strategies can remain relevant and responsive to EU instruments for territories, citizens and stakeholders in the years to come.

Objectives of the event

The Macro-regional and Sea Basin Strategies Days 2026 aim to:

• provide a strategic space to reflect on the outcomes of the new Commission and their implications for the Strategies;
• strengthen positioning post-2027, clarifying how the Strategies can contribute to the future Cohesion Policy architecture and broader EU delivery frameworks;
• facilitate exchange, coordination and cooperation among the eight Strategies, EU institutions, national and regional authorities, stakeholders and civil society;
• build on the concrete outcomes and practical recommendations emerging from the 2025 edition, particularly in relation to governance, visibility, embedding, and joint action.

Have you missed the Strategies Days 2025? Please visit this webpage to know more.

You may register via the following link:

https://register.event-works.europa.eu/dgscic/Sea_Basin_Strategy_Days2026/e/lk/g/91040/k/

Please note that the registration deadline is 24 June 2026.

For the agenda and further information, please consult the webpage Inforegio - Macro-regional & Sea Basin Strategies Days 2026

Registrations for the 18th High-level Group on Macro-regional Strategies on 7 July will open shortly. Please note that participation in this meeting is by invitation only. Further information will be shared in due course.

Do you have questions about the event? Please send an email to: REGIO-EU-STRATEGIES-DAYSec [dot] europa [dot] eu (REGIO-EU-STRATEGIES-DAYS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)

Call for stands: Showcase your work at Strategies Days 2026.