EU "Corridor No. 7"

According to the European Commission, the Danube River is one of the most important transportation corridors connecting the new and increasingly integrated Europe. But current EU plans for developing this transportation corridor could destroy up to 1000 km of the Danube's most valuable areas.

Priority transport corridor

The Danube has been defined as the “Pan-European Transport Corridor VII,” and part of the priority axis No. 18 of the EU's Trans-European Network for Transportation.

The EU's Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) comprises a network of roads, rail, inland waterways and ports, seaports and airports throughout the EU and its accession countries, including missing connections and links.  Projects for developing transport infrastructure and the services necessary for the operation of these networks are proposed by the Member States.

"Bottlenecks"

A High-Level Group on the TEN-T identified several “bottlenecks” on the Danube and proposed their elimination as part of the TEN-T priority projects. The legal document - the TEN-T guidelines - does not specify how these priority projects should be implemented, whether by traditional approaches focused on damming and canalising the river, or reliance on more innovative solutions involving e.g. new technologies. It is only the report of the high-level group that suggested bottleneck removal by river regulation -- so legally, the door is open to new approaches.

In fact, according to research commissioned by WWF, the existing capacity for shipping on the Danube is not being exploited. There are other "bottlenecks" for shipping on the Danube, such as the logistical nodes where goods are transferred between ships and trains or lorries.

What is happening now?

The EU Member States have been proposing projects for river regulation on the priority sections of the Danube and applying for available EU funds. Projects are at various stages - from early planning to close to the beginning of implementation. In practice, the projects submitted by Ministries of Transportation take an old-fashioned and outdated approaches focused on concrete and canalising that promise to destroy the living river including the many other benefits and services that it provides.

Most of the targeted sections are the most valuable remaining riparian areas on the Danube.