Presse Release. 19 September 2024, Brussels, Sofia, Bucharest

The European Commission has added a destructive, decades-old hydropower project on the Danube to its priority list for infrastructure investment, even though it will harm communities, economies and critical ecosystems – and breach EU Directives. The Turnu Măgurele – Nikopol Hydraulic Structures Assembly (TMNHSA) would also waste enormous sums of EU tax payers´ money and undermine EU-funded conservation gains as well as threaten the survival of iconic species, including critically endangered sturgeon. WWF, CEE Bankwatch Network and 36 other environmental organizations across Europe call on the EU decision-makers to use their mandate to remove this devastating and economically unjustifiable project off the priority list.

The project planned for the Lower Danube in Romania and Bulgaria threatens to submerge vast areas of land, displacing over 100 towns and villages along a 280 km stretch of the Lower Danube. The dam’s reservoir is expected to cause extensive flooding of farmland, homes, and fishponds, affecting communities in Romania and Bulgaria. The project is likely to entail  relocation of port infrastructure and of thousands of citizens, disrupt agricultural production, fisheries, inland waterway transport, and tourism, and pose risks to the nuclear power plant in Kosloduy.

“This project designed over forty years ago has not found investors since then because of its huge costs compared to relatively low energy gains as well due to its enormous environmental impact. It will undo conservation efforts worth millions of euros aimed at protecting biodiversity and restoring the Danube” says, Andrey Ralev, CEE Bankwatch Network.

“The majestic Danube sturgeons are a symbol for the Danube River and a natural heritage of European importance,” says Beate Striebel-Greiter, WWF´s Global Sturgeon Initiative Lead. “Building this dam will block their migration route and destroy their last spawning grounds. This might be the death knell of these iconic species. Decades of conservation efforts will be thrown overboard and the EU will have species extinctions on its hands.”

Contradiction with EU Policies and Laws

WWF and Bankwatch argue that the project violates key environmental commitments and EU legislation, such as the Habitats Directive and the Water Framework Directive, which aims at bringing freshwater ecosystems into good conditions and preventing deterioration. This project would significantly alter the Danube’s hydrology, causing irreversible damage to the river’s natural processes.

While the EU has rightly prioritized renewable energy production as part of its transition to a low-carbon economy, the rising frequency of low water levels of the Danube will lower energy output of this hydropower plant. NGOs believe that there are much better options than the TMNHSA project, in particular wind and solar power installations, for which the region provides sufficient space outside of high biodiversity areas.

“The energy produced by this hydropower plant is not worth the cost to biodiversity, community livelihoods, or noncompliance with EU regulations,” adds Andrey Ralev, CEE Bankwatch Network. “Renewable energy must be pursued without causing destruction of natural habitats.”

Time to act

WWF, Bankwatch, and 36 other NGOs have urged the European Parliament to ask for a two-months extension of the scrutiny period of the delegated act from the European Commission, which adds the Turnu Măgurele – Nikopol Hydraulic Structures Assembly project in the List of Renewable Energy Cross-border Projects (CB RES) eligible for EU funding under the Connecting Europe Facility programme. This extension would allow the European Parliament to properly assess the impacts of this project. If not, the delegated act will be formally adopted on 24 September. Project approval would undermine the EU’s commitment to biodiversity protection and climate resilience, setting a dangerous precedent for future infrastructure developments.

“As we face a biodiversity and climate crisis, projects like this one are a step backward,” concludes Irene Lucius, Regional Conservation Director of WWF Central and Eastern Europe. “We must prioritize sustainable energy solutions that protect both nature and people.”

WWF and Bankwatch remain committed to engaging with EU policymakers to ensure that the TMNHSA project does not move forward and is removed from the EU list of priority renewable energy projects.

Read also: Briefing on EU priority project Turnu Măgurele – Nikopol Hydraulic Structures Assembly (TMNHSA) threatening Lower Danube communities and ecosystem

Contact details: Emma Cordier, [email protected]

Note to Editors
● The Lower Danube is among the biodiversity hotspots of Europe, hosting rare and protected species. The construction of the TMNHSA hydropower dam poses a critical threat to a string of protected areas lining the river as well as to migratory fish such as the iconic Danube sturgeons, teetering on the brink of extinction.
● The TMNHSA project contradicts not only EU environmental Directives, but also the EU Nature Restoration Law’s goals, which aims at the restoration of at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers by 2030. Instead of contributing to this target, the project would create a permanent barrier to fish migration and disrupt essential ecosystem services, such as flood control and nutrient cycling, that local communities depend on.
● The proposed TMNHSA project poses a significant conflict with the obligations and objectives set forth by the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)., ratified by both Romania and Bulgaria. It is a key international treaty aimed at conserving biological diversity, ensuring the sustainable use of its components, and promoting the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.