The Forum was attended by Winfried Kretschmann, Minister President of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Bogdan Aurescu, Romanian Foreign Minister, Corina Crețu, European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Andrea Nahles, German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Jadranka Joksimovic, Minister without portfolio responsible for European integration, Peter Friedrich, Minister for Federal, European and International Affairs of the German State of Baden-Württemberg, Ivo Gönner, Mayor of Ulm and President of the Council of the Danube Cities and Regions, Istvan Pasztor, President of the Assembly of AP Vojvodina, Michael Theurer Member of the European Parliament, Lena Andersson Pench, Director in the European Commission's Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy, and many others.

Deputy Speaker Becic spoke at the first thematic session “Reaching Out – Intertwining the strategy with civil society, parliaments and local communities.

Igor Becic presented the results of the 3^rd Conference of Danube Parliamentarians, held in Belgrade in June and conveyed its chief recommendations. He stressed that taking part in the Danube Strategy is very important for Serbia because it is the first EU strategy where Serbia takes equal part as the other 13 states, 9 of which are EU members. The participation of the Republic of Serbia in the drafting and preparation of the Strategy leads to stronger economy, integration of Serbia’s sector policies into the EU development plans and better bilateral and multilateral cooperation with the rest of the countries of the Danube region. Besides, by taking active part in the process the Republic of Serbia confirms its strategic commitment to full-fledged EU membership. He also said that, as a candidate country, Serbia is strategically oriented toward the European Union and is ready for all the challenges EU membership brings. This is yet another indicator of Serbia’s firm dedication to the reforms that will speed up European integration and ensure economic development and better standard of living for its citizens, said Becic.