Croatia's intention to shift the course of the river Danube for a better navigation and Serbia's similar idea has caused the concern of environmentalists, as well as that of neighbor countries crossed by the river, according to the BBC.

In Croatia, that part of the Danube that authorities want to force on a easier navigation course is a precious wetland and wildlife sanctuary in the north-east of the country, and changing its course will destroy natural river landscapes unique in Europe, according to environmentalists.

"The river in Croatia and Serbia escaped massive regulation, mainly due to the collapse of Yugoslavia in the war in the 1990s," says Arno Mohl, conservation expert of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, quoted by the BBC.

The Croatian Inland Waterway Agency wants to turn its banks into embankments, similarly to what Austria did in the 70s and 80s, which would be 'a mistake', according to Mohl. The new Croatian environment minister Mihael Zmajlovic will decide in the coming weeks whether or not to approve the river regulation.

The talks in Croatia happen while EU Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn is expected to visit the country and meet with high level officials responsible for implementing the Danube Strategy between June 27 and July 1.

The Danube is a river in Central Europe, the continent's second longest after the Volga. The river originates in the town of Donaueschingen in the Black Forest of Germany, hen flows southeast for 2,872 km, passing through four Central European capitals before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo credits: Mario Romulic for WWF)