99th session of the Danube Commission
The 99th session of the Danube Commission (DC) was held on 15 June 2023 at the Danube Commission headquarters in Budapest in hybrid format.
Press release of the Danube Commission: 99th session of the Danube Commission (15 June 2023)
On 15 June 2023, the Danube Commission (DC) organized its 99th session, under the presidency of the Representative of Ukraine to the Danube Commission, H.E. Mrs. Ambassador Liubov Nepop, at the premises of the Danube Commission in Budapest.
The delegations of the ten Member States of the Danube Commission (Republic of Austria, Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia, Hungary, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Slovak Republic and Ukraine), as well as international organizations (European Commission, Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine, Moselle Commission , UNECE) participated in the meeting.
The President of the DC outlined the main tasks of the DC in 2023 and Mrs. Rita Silek (HU) informed on the progress of the Committee for the preparation of the Diplomatic Conference which has the mandate to make proposals for the reform of the Danube Commission.
During the debate, the Secretariat informed the delegations about activities of the Secretariat in the past semester, its cooperation with international organizations and the report on the execution of the budget of the past year. Based on the recommendations of its working groups on technical, legal and financial issues, the Commission adopted a number of decisions on the reports of its working groups, including the adoption of the updated version of the “General Rules for Navigation on the Danube” (DFND), to be applied by the Member States from 1 January 2024.
At the end of the 99th session, delegates took into consideration how to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Belgrade Convention as well as the jubilar 100th Session of the Danube Commission scheduled for 14 December 2023. In this context, Member States decided to hold a special event in December 2023 all Member and Observer States, international organizations as well as former Commission Presidents and General Directors of the Secretariat being invited, to celebrate the achievements of the Commission and reflect on the further reform of the organization.
