Brussels, 17/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - A second bridge will now link Romania and Bulgaria across the Danube, a natural border between the two countries. On Friday 14 June, Commissioner Hahn opened this “New Europe Bridge”, for which the European Union has provided about a third (€106 million) of the total €282 million construction costs. He said that “this bridge is a powerful symbol of EU regional policy connecting communities and creating vital business links. Today, the New Europe Bridge is not just opening for traffic, but it is ushering in a whole range of opportunities for business and research on both sides of the water, and beyond”. The bridge is, indeed, part of the Trans-European Network for transport and its priority road and railway corridors. It will facilitate the transport of goods and people between northern Europe and Baltic countries through central Europe, Romania and Bulgaria and ultimately on to Greece. This bridge still has to be connected to the upgraded railway and road networks in the two countries. Successful completion of this project is also due to “the collaboration between Romania and Bulgaria - which we have helped foster through the Danube Strategy and which has made this project possible”. (MD/transl.fl)