The 23rd meeting of the Thematic Steering Group (TSG2) on Transport was held on Friday, 17 October 2025, in Trieste, at the premises of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region.
The session, coordinated by the Pillar Coordinators from Italy, Serbia, and North Macedonia, saw strong in-person participation, encouraging a constructive exchange among representatives from EUSAIR member countries, EU institutions, regional authorities, and transport-sector stakeholders.
As part of the ongoing efforts to implement the new EUSAIR Action Plan and advance the updated priorities for Pillar II – Transport and Energy, discussions focused on progress in two strategic areas:
- Updating the Transport Master Plan – a key document guiding the development of connectivity and sustainable mobility systems across the Adriatic–Ionian Macro-Region. This activity is being carried out with the support of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, a partner in the EUSAIR Facility Point project.
- Preparation of two Issue Papers – the first addressing the development of the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concept, and the second exploring how Big Data and Artificial Intelligence can enhance transport-planning capacity within the region.
The meeting also placed special emphasis on youth involvement in macro-regional cooperation. This was highlighted by the participation of Francesco Moroni, a member of the EUSAIR Youth Council from San Marino and Pillar Group Leader for Pillar II – Transport. Mr. Moroni underscored the importance of strengthening youth participation and promoting initiatives that increase awareness of the opportunities offered by EUSAIR.
In this framework, participants welcomed the proposal to organise a capacity-building event for young people, in collaboration with associations and research groups from across the macro-region. The event could take the form of a hackathon, designed to generate innovative ideas for sustainable mobility in the Adriatic–Ionian area. The initiative may receive support through resources available under the EUSAIR Facility Point for capacity-building activities.
The meeting concluded with the presentation of the main events scheduled within the 2026 Work Programme of Pillar II – Transport, including:
- Conference on Transport Connectivity in the Adriatic–Ionian Region (Skopje, April 2026)
- EUSAIR Annual Forum (North Macedonia, May 2026)
- Inter-ministerial Conference on the WB/EM Corridor (Italy, June–October 2026)
- Event on European Corridors with the participation of EU Corridor Coordinators (Italy, November 2026)
- The next TSG2 meeting is set to take place in Skopje in spring 2026, to be held back-to-back with the Conference on Transport Connectivity in the Adriatic–Ionian Region, organised under the North Macedonian Presidency of EUSAIR.
