The danube Region represents a vast and diverse region that encompasses several countries at different levels of economic development and with different environment policies which influences the eco-system of this region in a very diverse way. The eUSdR and in particular Priority Area 9 »investing in people and skills« (PA9) provide the necessary framework for the sustainable development of this region by acting as a promoter for green economy.In the framework of PA9 an expert group on green competences was established with the purpose to mobilise the interest of the eUSdR participating countries for the topic of green competences, to map existing initiatives and relevant activities in the region and to identify good practices on green competences and debating the possible policy responses.One of the main activities of the expert group at this moment is working on a joint project in the field of green competences that could be considered for the upcoming danube transnational Programme 2014-2020 or Erasmus+ Programme.An international conference »Green competences for ecotourism in the danube Region« followed by an expert group meeting will take place on 8-9 June 2015 in Romania for further developments of the project. Achievements: The Kick-Off Experts Group Meeting – Green Competences for Ecotourism in the Danube Region took place on 9th of June 2015 in Bucharest.The Experts Group was established at the proposal of the Romanian Ministry of National Education and the National Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development (NCTVETD), having the goal to explore the emerging needs in “green competences” and priorities for developing respective vocational education and training provisions in the Danube Region.At the meeting participated representatives of European Training Foundation (ETF) and representatives of the following Countries of the Danube Region: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Croatia, Muntenegru.The main conclusions regarding the future focus of the project that were articulated around the table were:– identifying the green competencies for tourism;– comparison of national qualification criteria;– proposing greening of the criteria and suggesting qualifications based on comparison of qualifications in partner countries.