Loading ...‘All the reports carried by the Ukrainian media in the recent period have nothing to do with the reality. The project continues to break the international law. There wasn’t and there isn’t any confirmation of its lawfulness from a notified institution – moreover, the procedural steps made by the Ukrainian side remain just that, procedural steps’, Cosmin Dinescu said.
He said he hoped Kiev would show openness to dialogue and would understand that ‘the solution, in this case, is cooperation, the enforcement of the international law, rather than hostile media statements’.
‘There has recently emerged an issue of our colleagues in Kiev referring the joint monitoring of the environment in the Danube Delta, that was billed a victory won by them and a result of the talks held at the Geneva-based Implementation Committee of Espoo Convention.
In fact, the joint monitoring was a recommendation that the inquiry commission itself made both states and it has nothing to do with any other activities the Romanian side might carry out on its side of the Danube, nor is it directly linked to Bystroye Canal. It was made by the inquiry commission in that document so as to establish a cooperation climate between Romania and Ukraine, as goodwill measures that should help solve the Bystroye issue’, the Romanian official stressed.
Ukraine sent the international bodies a memo on this March 6, accusing Romania of ‘having utter despise of the international law’, as proved by certain works conducted in the Danube Delta.
Dinescu pointed out that such works have nothing to do with building a waterway that should allow the sailing of over 1,350 tonnes ships and he explained those are mere works meant to improve navigation on the Danube’s Sulina and Sfantul Gheorghe branches, to build canals between Sulina and Chilia branches and they are related to Romania’s national plan for territorial development.
On this issue, the Committee will make a decision in March of 2010 and it will put it forward for the approval of the Assembly of the member states, by following the same procedure as when Romania had notified the body on the Bystroye issue.
Dinescu reiterated the Romanian stand on this matter, by explaining Sulina branch has a special status in the Danube Delta, as it is the only of the three branches covered by the provisions of Belgrade Convention on the Danube River navigation and the only branch arranged for navigation as early as in the 19th century.
‘Under this Convention, the member states have the obligation to ensure the waterways are navigable within certain parameters’, he said, adding that Sulina branch and the Danube up to Braila (eastern Romania) are part of maritime Danube, which calls for ensuring a certain depth that should allow the passage of river- and sea ships.
The foreign ministry official underscored Romania is carrying out no works for the improvement of navigation on Sfantul Gheorghe branch and that there is no navigable project between Sulina and Chilia branches.
Dinescu made the remarks after the Kiev-based press reported that Ukraine and Romania plan to conduct common monitoring of the Danube Delta environment on both sides of the border. The announcement was made last weekend by Ukrainian ambassador Aleksey Shovkoplias. ‘We have managed to get Romania’s agreement to conduct common monitoring of the environment in all the Danube Delta’, he said.
Ukrainski Novini newspaper said that the Implementation Committee of Espoo Convention on the evaluation of the cross-border environmental impact as part of the United Nations ‘admitted that Romania is the one that does not meet its environmental obligations stipulated in the Convention and negatively influences the environment by the works it is conducting to deepen a canal that would allow the access of high-tonnage ships.’ In fact, Ukraine – seeking to substantiate its allegations – had put forward to the Committee’s analysis the works on Sulina branch, that were carried out in the second half of the 19th century.
The Implementation Committee of Espoo Convention found that Ukraine keeps on violating its obligation of stopping any works on Bystroye Canal and decided to recommend the member states to issue a new warning for Ukraine at the next session due in May of 2011. The Committee found that the fact that Ukraine had continued the works on the second phase of the project represents a new violation of Espoo Convention.
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joi, 05 noiembrie 2009 la 6:01 pm
Ukraine is a very third world Soviet country. Its getting worse all of the time, if Ukraine goes to default which it will do that is not the EU’s responsibility.
Ukraine will never join the EU it doesn’t know how to respect its neighbors especially an EU and NATO Neighbor like Romania and a valued State of the EU and Member of NATO that Romania is.
I hope Ukraine never joins the EU its just like Turkey backwards, horrible, extremely poor and no Democracy.
Ukraine is collapsing that is Ukraine’s fault for being part of the Soviet Union for 300 years. Ukraine cannot expect the EU too look after an extremely poor huge third world country of 50 million such as the Ukraine.
Ukraine goes deeper and deeper into economic collapse and other problems. Nobody in the EU likes Ukraine you can see it from the words of Nicholas Sarkozy.