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Romania Seeks Projects For Danube Strategy, To Be Applied As Of 2011

The Danube Strategy is due to be applied starting with the first half of next year, jointly with the other states in the region and the European Commission, but it requires solid projects, such as a network of highways, high-speed trains and flights, said Romanian Prime Minister Emil Boc on Monday.
Romania Seeks Projects For Danube Strategy, To Be Applied As Of 2011
Florin Badescu
08 nov. 2010, 13:05, English

„Sometimes it is easier to get from Bucharest to Paris, London or Brussels, than to have a direct connection with Sofia, Zagreb or Belgrade. This must change,” said Boc speaking at the Danube Summit in Bucharest.

He also called for an international institution to be created and charged with handling projects related to the Danube Delta and the Black Sea, and for better use of bodies managing illegal migration, such as the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) Regional Center for Combating Trans-border Crime. The prime minister argued that private companies, local and regional authorities must all play an important part in developing these projects.

„The main obstacle faced by the Danube Strategy on the long-term is keeping authorities and citizens interested in these actions. Meanwhile, we also have to focus on the effects of the financial and economic crisis, and on economic recovery,” Boc added.

The Danube Summit brings together 22 delegations comprising the heads of government of the 14 states on the Danube basin, European Commission officials, representatives of six riparian German and Austrian states, the city of Ulm, Germany, and Poland as observer.

The meeting is held in the Palace of Parliament, Bucharest, under the patronage of the President of Romania.

The European Union’s Strategy for the Danube Region will focus on: connectivity (durable transport and energy networks), preservation of the environment and water resources, risk management, socio-economic development and the improvement of the system of government.

More than 10,000 projects concerning the Danube Region have been drawn up in Romania, requiring funding and prioritization. Some of the most important projects Romania hopes to carry out via the Strategy are the Danube-Bucharest canal, building two new bridges to Bulgaria, rebuilding port infrastructure (Romania has 12 river ports in need of modernization) and creating an international institute for the study of the Danube Delta’s ecosystems.