Zorana Vasiljevic – Danube Commission – Donaukommission – Commission du Danube

104th Session of the Danube Commission

On December 17, 2025, the Danube Commission (DC), under the presidency of H.E. Mr. Christo Polendakov, held its 104th session in Budapest. The meeting was attended by delegations from ten Danube countries of the DC (Republic of Austria, Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Slovak Republic and Ukraine), as well as by observer states (Czech Republic, France) and international organizations (Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine, Moselkommission, EC-DG MOVE).

In his opening speech, the President of the DC expressed his hope that in 2026 the organisation will continue to ”put in every effort to ensure that the Danube will be utilised only for peace, prosperity, connectivity, development, fisheries, environment, water resource […] This river is a corridor not only of economy, nature, but also of culture and solidarity, under the umbrella of peace”.

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Mr Ciprian Popa, a Romanian national and former Councillor for Legal Affairs in the Secretariat of the Danube Commission has passed away

The Secretariat of the Danube Commission is deeply saddened to learn that Mr Ciprian Popa, a Romanian national and former Councillor for Legal Affairs in the Secretariat of the Danube Commission has passed away. In the light of these sad circumstances, the Secretariat would like to express its deepest condolences to his family and to his colleagues at the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During his tenure at the Secretariat, Mr Popa placed issues relating to the Danube navigation and functioning of the Commission at the heart of his concerns. The Secretariat will keep him in honourable memory.

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STATEMENT by the President of the Danube Commission on the Russian attack on the Danube infrastructure 24 July 2023

According to the official information of Ukraine, on the night of July 24, Russia attacked the port infrastructure in one of the Danube ports of Odesa region with “Shahed-136” type UAVs causing a fire, destroying a hangar with grain and tanks for storing other types of cargo.
Russia’s attack on the Danube ports poses a security threat to the freedom of navigation on the Danube, and in the current circumstances can be assessed as a consistent effort to disrupt global food security. These actions are unacceptable.