News & Media

VIENNA, 11 December (Diplomatic Academy of Vienna) – Ukraine will take over the Presidency of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) in January 2026. Mariia Shpanchyk, Head of the Department of Water Management at the State Agency of Water Resources of Ukraine, will serve as its new President for one year. The annual transition in leadership reflects the ICPDR’s ongoing dedication to successful transboundary water management.

The ICPDR is pleased to share a first glimpse into the microbiological findings emerging from the Joint Danube Survey 5 (JDS5) — the world’s largest river basin monitoring programme carried out on a single river system. While full results will only be available once all samples from the 108 sampling sites have been analysed, early data from the microbiology component show encouraging trends across the entire Danube Basin.

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”.

VIENNA, 16th December 2020 – The environmental Art competition, “Danube Art Master” is delighted to have received a surprisingly large number of artworks submitted in 2020, despite taking place under truly exceptional circumstances.

On 19-20th January 2021, the ICPDR co-hosted an online workshop on rural wastewater management with the World Bank and the Danube Water Program.

Vienna, 8th October 2020 - The Partnership of the Year Award goes to Coca-Cola for its Living Danube Partnership with WWF-CEE and the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River. The award was presented at today’s online Reuters Responsible Business Awards 2020.

VIENNA, 17 September – At yesterday's State of the Union address, Ursula von der Leyen – President of the European Commission – outlined a vision for Europe to emerge stronger than ever from 2020's pandemic crisis. NextGenerationEU is a new kind of recovery plan; a once in a lifetime opportunity for change, with a focus on becoming green, digital and more resilient.

Vienna, 29th June 2020 - Danube Day 2020 will be moving online this year, due to the uncertainty, necessary border-closures, and quarantine measures stemming from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Under normal circumstances, on 29th June we invite more than eighty million people in the14 Danube countries to celebrate Danube Day, and learn and experience the waters of the world’s most international river basin.

VIENNA, 22 March 2020 (International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River) – World Water Day 2020 is focusing on how Climate Change policy must put water first.