Europa Nostra contributes to East Med & Southeast Europe Conference in Brussels

On 25 October, the Secretary General of Europa Nostra, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, and the Europa Nostra Brussels Head of Office, Jimmy Jamar, took part in the first East Med & Southeast Europe Conference in Brussels, organised by the Delphi Economic Forum.The conference addressed some of the key political, economic and foreign policy challenges that East Med & Southeast Europe are facing today. The  main topics discussed were  the war in Ukraine, the energy security dilemmas, the geopolitical shifts in Western Balkans, the major infrastructural projects in the area, as well as issues relating to competition and shipping.

Ahead of #COP27, our SG @SneskaEN with EU Commissioner @VSinkevicius & @GKremlis talked in Brussels on the vital bridge between #EUGreenDeal, #BlueEconomy, #SDGs & #CulturalHeritage.
Heritage is threatened by climate change but is also an asset for effective #ClimateAction! pic.twitter.com/Ld1ob9siLD

— Europa Nostra (@europanostra) October 25, 2022

This high-level event was introduced by Symeon G. Tsomokos, Founder and President of Delphi Economic Forum, an independent and impartial non-profit organisation committed to deliver and promote innovative ideas for sustainable and competitive growth for Southeast Europe, Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Promoting our European Way of Life, and Ioannis Vraias, Permanent Representative of Greece to the European Union.

Together with Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Ocean and Fisheries, the Secretary General of Europa Nostra took part in the panel discussion “Blue Economy as an economic driver and protector of bio-diversity and cultural heritage,” chaired by George Kremlis, Principal Advisor for Energy, Climate, Environment & Circular Economy to the Greek Prime Minister.

Large parts of Europe are defined by their relationship with the sea, Europe’s great rivers and other water elements. Europe’s Blue Economy Strategy is set to not only generate sustainable economic output but also act as a windshield for the continent’s unparalleled maritime and riparian cultural and natural heritage. How is Europe faring in managing this challenge?

Ahead of the COP27, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Virginijus Sinkevičius and George Kremilis spoke about the vital bridge between the European Green Deal, the Blue Economy, the Sustainable Development Goals and Cultural Heritage. The Secretary General of Europa Nostra stressed that heritage is threatened by climate change but is also an asset for effective climate action as demonstrated by the pioneering European Cultural Heritage Green Paper “Putting Europe’s shared heritage at the heart of the European Green Deal”, produced by Europa Nostra in cooperation with ICOMOS and the Climate Heritage Network, with the input of members of the European Heritage Alliance and with the support of the European Investment Bank Institute.