103rd session of the Danube Commission (12 June 2025)
On 12 June 2025, the Danube Commission (DC) convened for its 103rd session in Budapest, under the presidency of the Representative of Bulgaria to the Danube Commission, H.E. Mr. Ambassador Christo Polendakov.
In the opening of the meeting, the delegation of Ukraine drew the attention of delegations to the continuous attacks by the Russian Federation against civilian targets and port infrastructure in Ukraine, in the past weeks and months, impacting navigation on the Danube [1].
The agenda of the session included the traditional legal and technical aspects of the Commission’s activity. The discussions focused on the reform process of the organization, updating the tasks for its members of the Secretariat (councillors for hydraulic engineering, technical issues, and IWT professional qualifications), transitioning to the use of English and German as working languages, and the restructuring of its internal services. The Danube States approved a new structure for the Secretariat in order to reflect these changes.
The financial activity of the Danube Commission was also analyzed, including the audit of the 2024 budget and the issue of the accumulated debt and penalties of the Russian Federation.
[1] Danube states adopted the decision at the 100th DC Session on 14 December 2023 (DC/SES 100/11) urging the Russian Federation to draw the consequences of its attacks by withdrawing from the Belgrade Convention until 29 February 2024, or, failing that, as of 1 March 2024, the Danube States will no longer consider themselves bound by the obligations under the Belgrade Convention vis-à-vis the Russian Federation. This decision came into force on 1 March 2024.