News & Media

VIENNA, 23 January (Permanent Mission of Slovakia to the OSCE and other International Organizations in Vienna) -
Slovenia is taking over the Presidency of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) for 2025. Lidija Globevnik, Director General of the Slovenian Water and Marine Directorate under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning of Slovenia will serve as its new President. The annual transition in leadership reflects the ICPDR’s ongoing dedication to successful transboundary water management.

The European Commission proposes to cut the use of chemical pesticides in half by 2030, one of the flagship legislative proposals to follow the Biodiversity and Farm to Fork Strategies. The new rules on chemical pesticides will reduce the environmental footprint of the EU's food system, protect the health and well-being of citizens and agricultural workers, and help mitigate the pesticide use-related economic losses.

As the climate crisis worsens, severe droughts devastate European landscapes. According to the data published by the European Drought Observatory, more than 60% of land in the European Union and United Kingdom – an area nearly the same size as India (!) – is now affected by drought conditions. The Danube River Basin and the Danube itself have been affected by serious droughts in the past, e.g., in 2003, 2015, and now again one of the most feared natural phenomenon has gripped much of the Danube River Basin.

Vienna, 27 January 2009. Slovakia takes over the Presidency of the ICPDR for the year 2009 at a ceremony held today. Olga Srsnova, General Director of the Division of Waters and Energy Sources at the Slovak Ministry of Environment will serve as President and guide the activities of the ICPDR. “During my presidency, I am committed to promoting development that meets the needs of both the people and the environment”, said Ms. Srsnova.