Unprecedentedly low water levels on the Danube are highlighting the need for long-term measures to manage the river’s Bulgarian-Romanian section and develop strategic projects eligible for European funding.
This was said during a joint press conference here Thursday by Valeri Ivanov, chair of the board of directors of Danube Dredging Fleet in Ruse, and ABV Chair Rumen Petkov.
Ivanov said the Danube has reached unprecedentedly low levels this year and noted that, unlike the Iron Gates I and II complexes between Serbia and Romania, which allow water levels to be regulated, no such infrastructure exists along the Bulgarian-Romanian section. He called for renewed work on two long-discussed projects: the Turnu Magurele–Nikopol and Silistra–Calara?i hydrotechnical complexes.
Ivanov also pointed out that the river carries around 15 million tonnes of sediment annually in this section, while current dredging is about ten times lower than before 1990, disrupting the previous balance. Both countries, he said, should seek EU support to address low water levels.
Petkov added that ABV has urged the government to assess the impact on energy, tourism, irrigation agriculture and river trade, as well as propose solutions. Bulgaria and Romania have an opportunity to make long-term management of the Danube a European strategic priority and secure funding for concrete projects, with Bulgaria currently chairing the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the EU preparing its post-2027 funding framework, he emphasized.
(BTA, August 27, 2026)
