The European Commission coordinated a tripartite meeting with representatives of Ukraine and Romania with the aim of coordinate efforts to develop the capacity to export of Ukrainian and Romanian goods across the Danube. The meeting was organized after Ukraine completed several dredging operations on the river to which the Romania had opposed fearing that any work on the course of water could threaten wildlife in the delta of Danube which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Access to the Black Sea via the Danube has become essential for Ukraine due to Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports caused by the ongoing war. The dredging works have made it possible to significantly increase the draft of boats sailing on the mouth of the Chilia and the Bystro Channel, draft which was previously only 3.9 meters and rose to 6.5-7.0 Meters.

In the last year the ports of the Danube have increased appreciably their export capacity and capacity of goods handling has tripled. The Commission of the Danube has announced that more than 30% of exports of Ukrainian cereals passes through the river and in the period June 2022-January 2023 there were 3.4 million tons of goods Ukrainians arrived by barge at the Romanian port of Constanta.