The Danube River has represented and represents the congruence of the major economic, social and security interests of its riparian states. The Lower Danube Region is of strategic importance in all its aspects, both for Romania and implicitly for the European Union and for the neighboring state, Ukraine. The approach of this theme reveals sustainable ways of economic development, with a role in increasing the regional socio - economic security through the implementation and development of cross - border cooperation, using the cluster - type associative instruments.

This topic proposes a concrete model of cross - border economic cooperation through the cluster mechanism, which is, from our perspective, a viable model of sustainable development and protection of socio - economic values in the Lower Danube Region.

As a potentiating region, the South East Development Region of Romania must become a node of economic convergence and development for the two Danube riparian states, Romania and Ukraine, as well as a filter area for the security and protection of the European Union's economic interests.

The approached topic refers to the immediate measures needed in the field of economic cooperation on the Danube, without which the national and EU strategies in the field would require a long time to achieve the objectives and costly funding.