Opportunities for Moldova within EU Strategy for Danube Region

Though Moldova does not have direct access to the Danube, it can fully benefit from the opportunities offered by the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, said Olivier Baudelet, of the European Commission's Directorate General for Regional Policy. Olivier Baudelet presented the essence and goals of the new regional strategy in Chisinau on December 14, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the European official, if Moldova gets involved in the given program, there will be established sustainable cooperation partnerships in such areas as maritime and land transport, energy, tourism and security, and within different socioeconomic projects. “For Moldova, this is an opportunity to approach the EU member states and to closer cooperate with them,” said the representative of the European Commission. According to Olivier Baudelet, the EU Strategy for the Danube Region is aimed at developing joint flood risk maps for the entire Danube and at improving navigation on the Danube, including by developing inland ports. The Strategy is open-ended, but includes a number of time-limited targets, to mobilise effort, including: increase cargo transport on the Danube by 20% by 2020, reduce nutrients to restore ecosystems of the Black Sea to 1960 levels by 2020, bring broadband fast-speed Internet access to all EU citizens in the region by 2013, secure a viable population of Danube sturgeons by 2020. Projects will start to be implemented in the region in the spring of 2011, while the first results will become noticeable in 2012. The EU Strategy for the Danube Region is a program prepared by the European Commission at the request of the 14 countries of the Danube Region, eight of which are EU member states.