At the initiative of the Bulgarian Presidency, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) has called on the European Commission to take into account the specific challenges and vulnerabilities of the Danube Region related to low water levels, droughts and other hydrological extremes when developing relevant EU policies and initiatives, the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works said.
The Bulgarian Presidency also stresses the need for current and future European programmes, investments and financial instruments to support affected countries and regions in their efforts to build greater resilience.
The statement highlights the strategic importance of the river as a vital natural resource, a major European transport and economic corridor and a connecting element for more than 110 million European citizens in 14 countries.
The statement also outlines specific measures under the Strategy. The EUSDR's Priority Areas are invited to contribute to a broader macro-regional assessment of the impact of low water levels and recurring periods of drought. The assessment is intended to identify common vulnerabilities, necessary long-term measures, investment needs and opportunities for coordinated initiatives and projects. This work will be carried out in partnership with the European Commission, the Danube Commission, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and other stakeholders.
The focus is placed on the practical role of the Danube Strategy as an instrument for a coordinated response to common cross-border challenges and for linking national needs with European policies and support instruments.
Bulgaria, through the Regional Development Ministry, is holding the rotating EUSDR Presidency in 2026. The initiative for a common response to critically low Danube water levels follows the Bulgarian Presidency's continued efforts to secure a stronger European response to common cross-border challenges in the Danube Region and to ensure that the specific needs of its countries, regions and citizens are better reflected in EU policies and instruments, the ministry said.
In this context, at the initiative of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Danube Strategy, the presidencies of the EU's four macro-regional strategies - for the Baltic Sea Region, the Danube Region, the Adriatic-Ionian Region and the Alpine Region - joined forces for the first time to set out common messages on the future of macro-regional cooperation and the next EU budget.
Fifteen years after its establishment, the Danube Strategy brings together nine EU Member States and five accession and candidate countries and continues to be an important instrument for finding common solutions to challenges that do not stop at national borders, the ministry said.