The Danube River basin: International cooperation or sustainable development

The environmental deterioration of the Danube River basin calls for unprecedented cooperation among the ten riparian and seven non-riparian basin countries, the majority of which are undergoing major economic and political transformations after the breakup of the Soviet Union. This paper discusses the recent legal and institutional developments along with the political hurdles leading to a post-Soviet regime for managing the Danube River and promoting sustainable development in the basin. After reviewing the geography and ecology, the conflicts and political issues of the Danube, the current efforts at building cooperative institutions are discussed. The question whether the Danube will be exclusively the responsibility of the basin countries, will include the Russian Federation and other countries of the Black Sea, or will be the responsibility of pan-European institutions in close connection with the European Union is addressed.