Ivelina Vassileva, Deputy Minister of Environment and Water of Bulgaria and Head of the Bulgarian Delegation.

In its continuing series, Danube watch presents portraits of the leaders whose passion and commitment actively steer IPCDR processes and help determine the future of the basin.

In the work of the ICPDR, the Heads of Delegations are often seen as ‘behind-the-scenes players’ who, inconspicuous as they sometimes may seem, actively steer the ICPDR processes and represent their countries at the highest political level. Ivelina Vassileva joined the ICPDR Family as the new Head of the Bulgarian Delegation and recently met with Danube Watch.

Danube Watch: After half a year in the position as the Head of the Bulgarian Delegation to the ICPDR, what are your impressions of the strengths and weaknesses of the ICPDR?
Vassileva: The ICPDR is a good example of international cooperation as it brings all the Danube countries around one table with the common goal to protect and improve the condition of the Danube. Rivers do not respect administrative and national borders and this is why improving water quality, protecting biodiversity and returning to natural river dynamics cannot be the task of a single country. Just as Danube is a common natural good, its protection should be a common responsibility.

As an international organization, the ICPDR has great opportunities and faces great challenges at the same time. Being all “in the same boat” gives us the chance to work together and steer in one direction, having already found the balance among the different countries interests. Such problems are not always easy to solve, because each country has its own specifics and important issues. Nevertheless, efforts are worthwhile since they aim at the common interest of protecting and improving the Danube River.

Danube Watch: What are the most important tasks Bulgaria faces in implementing international plans and strategies?
Vassileva: One of the biggest challenges for Bulgaria is providing the agglomerations in the Danube Basin with the necessary collecting systems and treatment plants, since untreated wastewater from agglomerations is the main source of organic and nutrient pollution in the water bodies. Yet construction of these facilities has slowed recently. A good number of treatment plants were constructed with the financial support of EU under the Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession programme and now under the Operational Programme ‘Environment’, but many agglomerations still lack appropriate collecting systems and treatment plants. With short deadlines and the limited financial sources, this task is very challenging.

Danube Watch: How does being a Black Sea country affect Bulgaria’s water management?
Vassileva: The Black Sea and the Danube River are interrelated and the Danube River is one of the biggest rivers flowing into the Black Sea – and bringing a lot of pollution with that flow. This means to certain extent that the path to protecting the Black Sea goes through protecting the big rivers in the basin, including the Danube River. From the Danube Delta, the natural streams within the Black Sea go down to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, which is almost entirely used as a tourist destination. Since tourism is an important income for the country and matter of culture and tradition as well, the protection of the Danube becomes an even more critical problem to solve.

Another interesting look at the Danube and the Black Sea water management is that both fall under the competence of EU legislation but the two regions are completely different when it comes to legislation of the countries in the two commissions. Most of the Danube countries share the same legislation as EU Member States, which makes cooperation easier from certain point of view, while only Bulgaria and Romania are EU countries in the Black Sea Commission. The challenge is to work in the same direction and with the same criteria, while having different legislative basis. Nevertheless, all Black Sea countries recognise that improving the condition of the Black Sea is in our common interests and should be a goal to pursue together.

Danube Watch: What do you expect from EU Strategy for the Danube Region?
Vassileva: The challenge of the Danube Strategy is to find the actions and projects which will enhance the development of the Danube region in a sustainable way. Bringing all the important sectors which are subject to the Strategy in a single document allows us to look at the region from a ‘bird’s eye view’ and recognises the important tasks to be done which will make the region more competitive. Transport and energy are important sectors not only for Bulgaria but also for all Danube countries, and the environment is the important pillar of sustainability for implementing actions and projects. Bringing the key sectors together to enhance development has the potential to make the process effective and less consuming for time and resources.

For Bulgaria, the Strategy means a chance to stress the important role of certain projects in the sectors of transport, energy, tourism and environment, which will contribute to the development not only of our country but also of the whole Danube region.

Danube Watch: Thank you very much, Ms. Vassileva.

Jasmine Bachmann is the Executive Editor of Danube Watch.