Bulgaria and Romania clash over the construction of new Danube bridges

Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Grozdan Karadjov sharply criticized Romania for what he called “systematic obstacles” to expanding transport connectivity along the Danube. According to him, the Romanian authorities are blocking the implementation of joint projects for new bridges and ferry crossings between the two countries.

Bucharest insists that construction can only begin once Bulgaria completes long-delayed dredging works on the riverbed. Moreover, Romanian officials fear that new bridges could divert cargo flows toward the Bulgarian port of Varna, undermining the competitiveness of the port of Constanța.

In April 2025, the Bulgarian government finally approved the long-awaited river deepening program — a demand Romania had been making for over a decade. Sofia’s executive authorities endorsed an agreement between the Executive Agency for the Exploration and Maintenance of the Danube River and the Lower Danube Administration in Galați (Romania) to jointly launch public procurement procedures under the FAST Danube 2 project, aimed at improving navigation and shipping safety on the shared Bulgarian–Romanian section of the river.

Comment by the Institute of Danube Research:
The dispute between Sofia and Bucharest highlights the complexity of coordinating cross-border infrastructure initiatives along the Danube. Both countries seek to strengthen their port positions and control cargo flows, yet the lack of consistent institutional coordination continues to slow the implementation of major European projects such as the Rhine–Danube Corridor.

For Ukraine — increasingly integrated into the Danube transport system — this situation underscores the need for active participation in macro-regional cooperation and the development of alternative logistics routes through Izmail, Reni, Galați.