News & Media

VIENNA, 29 June – A range of events and activities are taking place in the 14 Danube River Basin countries to mark the 2022 Danube Day. Due to the easing of many COVID-19 restrictions, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) is delighted that they can celebrate the day with activities to #DiscoverDanube again this year.

The new Bathing Water Report published at the beginning of June by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission (EC) reveals that the quality of Europe’s bathing waters has improved dramatically in recent decades. According to European Union standards that classify the waters as “excellent”, “good”, “sufficient” or “poor”, almost 85% of the European bathing sites now ranks as “excellent”.

On 15-16 February 2017, Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly convened a two-day preparatory meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in order to consider the themes for the partnership dialogues and elements for a "Call for Action" in preparation for the June 2017 high-level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, known as the Oceans Conference.

In the framework of the joint EU and UNDP project -“Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea – Phase II” (EMBLAS) new opportunities for public monitoring of the Black Sea coastal status using so called “ecological sentinels” are developed.

Ice control has a long history on the Danube river. The extremely low temperatures experienced in the past weeks throughout the Danube River basin which have been causing continuous ice formation on the Danube are reminding us of the importance of cross-border cooperation.