§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from the Bulgarian and Romanian Governments on(a) removal of obstacles on the Danube and (b) the rehabilitation of ports on the Danube. [121757]
§ Mr. VazThe Bulgarian and Romanian Prime Ministers wrote to their EU and NATO counterparts on 5 April setting out their concerns at the slow progress of the Danube Commission's proposal to the European Commission for clearance of the River Danube. The Danube Commission's proposal does, however, have a number of technical issues on which the EU requires detailed clarification.
113WNeither government have raised the question of rehabilitation of ports on the Danube, though both have expressed concern at mounting unemployment along the Danube as a result of the halt in river traffic through Serbia.
§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of(a) clearance of the Danube and (b) building a new bridge on the Danube in Novi Sad. [121771]
§ Mr. VazThe estimated cost of clearing the Danube, as set out in the Danube Commission's proposal to the European Commission of 25 January 2000, is 24.1 million euro.
We have made no estimate of the cost of rebuilding a new bridge over the Danube at Novi Sad. We understand that both the Serbian government and the Novi Sad local municipal authorities have announced separate plans to build a replacement bridge at Novi Sad.