Brussels, 08/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - On an official visit, this Monday 8 November, to Bucharest (Romania) for the Danube summit, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso told representatives of the 14 countries of the Danube basin affected by the European strategy for this region that the EU supports the adoption of a strategy of this kind, “to reduce the prosperity gaps between the countries on the banks of Europe's second-largest river”. Barroso added that this strategy would “speed up progress to overcome these disparities and to maximise the benefits of cooperation”. The Commission president laid emphasis on the fact that “if this strategy does not have a dedicated budget, it can and must use the €95 billion in cohesion funds available to the countries in question between now and 2013”.
The strategy for the Danube region will be adopted under the Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers in 2011. The Danube basin (115 million inhabitants, 20% of the territory of the EU) suffers from major gaps between its areas, some of which are among the poorest in the EU (in Bulgaria and Romania) and some among the richest (in Germany and Austria). The objectives aim mainly to improve the navigability of the river, which is strangled by at least 80 blockage points, and to modernise its port, road and rail infrastructure. According to experts, scarcely 3% to 6% of its transport potential is currently being used. For more details (state of play, next steps, priority areas, countries affected, etc), see EUROPE 10244). (G.B./transl.fl)