We have received the following (to my mind very positive) reply from the German Foreign Ministry

(translation)

Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your query regarding the building of a canal in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta.

Immediately after it became known that work was about to begin, the German Embassy in Kiev, on the instructions of the Foreign and Environment ministries, expressed the German governments concerns about the project to the Ukraine Foreign Ministry; and demanded an stop to construction and the initiation of a trans-national environmental impact assessment (EIA) to international standards. In 2003 the German delegation to the International Commission for Protection of the Danube had already supported a resolution calling on the Ukraine to make public their plans for the canal construction urging them to carry out an EIA. The German firms involved in the canal construction were also informed of the Federal Governments stance on the project.

Regrettably, in spite of the concerns expressed by many governments and NGOs, the Ukrainian Government has to date shown no willingness to comply with the demands for a stop to construction or the implementation of a trans-national EIA.

The Federal Government will continue to use its bilateral contacts, as well as the committees of the relevant multilateral environmental treaties, to persuade the Ukrainian to find a solution which will take account of the international importance of the Danube Delta as a biosphere reserve and protected area for a large number of endangered animal and plant species.

Yours faithfully,

for Bernd Bulir

Working staff for environmental and bio political questions (Arbeitsstab für umwelt- und biopolitische Fragen)

Auswärtiges Amt, Werderscher Markt 1, 10117 Berlin