MEP Silvia-Adriana Ticău is Vice-Chair of the Committee on Transport and Tourism in the European Parliament, a substitute member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and a member of the Science and Technology Options Assessment.

The EU’s new approach for the Danube region aims to increase the sustainable development of the region while protecting natural resources, landscapes and cultural heritage. Here, Danube Watch speaks to Romanian MEP Silvia-Adriana Ticău about the changes the Danube Strategy will bring to the region, and how to balance the river’s needs.

Danube Watch: What is the significance of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region?
Ticău: The EU Strategy means that the development of the Danube Region is an EU priority. The Danube region is an important crossover point between the EU’s Cohesion Policy programmes, programmes for countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy and potential candidates for accession, and therefore represents an area where enhanced synergies between different EU policies can be developed: cohesion, transport, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, economic and social development, energy, environment, enlargement and neighbourhood policy. In addition, the Danube, together with the Main Canal and Rhine River, connects the North Sea with the Black Sea and has the potential to enhance the geostrategic position of the Black Sea region.

The Danube Strategy has an important role to play in improving intermodality in the whole region and increase connectivity with the Black Sea through inland navigation, as well as road and railway routes (highways, rail freight corridors and high-speed railway lines).

Considering that the EU Danube Strategy promotes regional and cross-border cooperation for further economic growth and identifies joint responses to common challenges into the region, we expect that the strategy will contribute significantly to improve coordination between regional and local authorities and organisations operating in the Danube region and will bring prosperity, sustainable development, job creation and security in the area.

t is important that all riparian countries and Member States, especially, will continue to invest in common strategic projects related to the EU Danube Strategy priority actions. In this respect, I would emphasize the important role that priority area coordinators have in implementing the EU Danube Strategy and we urge Danube riparian countries to continue to give a high priority to the common strategic projects and to the key priority actions of the EU Danube Strategy. EU citizens living in the Danube region expect the EU Danube Strategy to improve their lives and, therefore, we have the obligation to succeed.

Danube Watch: The EU Strategy for the Danube Region has the potential to push development in economy, society and nature – yet, some of these development goals create conflicting interests. Where do you see the biggest challenges in this regard?
Ticău: The biggest challenge is cooperating to develop and implement common strategic projects in order to fully exploit the potential of the Danube River and region. The successful implementation of the EU Danube Strategy depends on the ability, capacity and preparedness of municipal actors to intervene on the regional labour markets with project initiatives triggering local demand of the labour force, creating the basis for smart and environmentally friendly growth, improving cooperation between border regions of different Member States, and ensuring long-term development of the European water transport network. From this perspective, it is of paramount importance to integrate the Danube Strategy in the frame of a longterm vision of the European environmental, social and industrial development strategy, and to ensure that it enjoys a strong and determined political support of all Member States.

Green technologies and ecological modernisation, such as improved energy efficiency and better waste management, can contribute to the sustainable development of the region and to the reduction of the negative environmental impacts of economic activity.

Environmental impact assessments, including assessments of effects on the entire ecosystems of the river, should be a prerequisite for all transport and energy-related infrastructure projects, in order to guarantee that international standards of environmental protection are met, after consulting those partners which might be affected by those decisions. If there is a common wish to have successful strategic projects for the Danube Region, there is a common way to succeed.

Danube Watch: How can we balance the needs of inland waterway transport with those of the river?
Ticău: The ‘Joint Statement on the Development of Inland Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Danube River Basin’ guidelines call for an integrated planning team to assess needs and to propose as many win-win measures as possible to improve the navigation and ecological status of the Danube River. The Parliament recommended that the Commission should respect the commitments under the Joint Statement and pointed to the need to encourage the development of clean and efficient vessels under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, with a particular focus on information and communication technologies and the design, ecoefficiency and equipment of vessels.

All transport modes should be updated to EU standards and environmentally friendly transport modes should be assigned priority where appropriate while planning the transport system of the region.

Danube Watch: The cap on total phosphate contents in laundry and dishwasher detergents will lead to a major decrease in the phosphate loads of the Danube, but came only after years of lobbying for the cause. What can MEPs like you do to accelerate such processes?
Ticău: Responsibility for the pollution of the Danube lies with the Member States and the other riparian countries through which the Danube flows. Protecting the environment in the Danube Basin is an important aspect which will have a bearing on the agricultural and rural development of the region, and riparian states should give top priority to the establishment of shared hydrological and water quality testing facilities.

Preserving the quality and quantity of water reserves under control and ensuring their sustainable use, preserving biodiversity, landscapes and the quality of air and soil is extremely important. It is also important that we all push for European, national and local campaigns in order to raise awareness of the environmental impact of residues.