A team of experts of the European Commission will visit Romania on 1-2 September to discuss ways to beef up the capacity of the Danube corridor, announces the EC in a release. The European Commission has set up a common coordination platform on exports from Ukraine to work closely with countries including Romania, Moldova and Ukraine to improve transit and flow of goods to and from Ukraine along the solidarity corridors, write Agerpres.

The platform works well in terms of practical solutions to remove bottlenecks and speed up traffic to allow Ukraine to export grain through the EU as an alternative to Black Sea ports. This is after Russia has left the initiative on grain exports through the Black Sea and threatens shipments from the Black Sea.

„Within the framework of the platform’s activity, a team of experts of the European Commission led by Mr. Michael Hager, Head of Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, will visit Romania (more specifically Constanta and Galati) on 1-2 September to discuss ways to increase the capacity of the Danube corridor (especially Danube ports, Constanta Port and Sulina Canal). The purpose of this visit is to demonstrate the support provided by the EU to Romania, while acknowledging the continuous efforts of the authorities and stakeholders in this complex undertaking,” the release mentions.

The programme shall include visits to port facilities and meetings with relevant stakeholders, including authorities, operators, transporters and traders. Discussions will focus, inter alia, on means to resolve bottlenecks, increase handling capacity, improve transit and simplify procedures and controls.

In Galati, the team of experts will visit the port and will meet with representatives of the Lower Danube River Administration, Galati Port Authorities and pilots. In Constanta, the team of experts will visit the port of Constanta and will meet with representatives of the Romanian Government, Constanta Port Authority and the customs authority. The delegation will also meet with representatives of operators, transporters and grain traders in Constanta port.