In Bulgaria alone, for example, the projected value of illegal fuel in 2019 reached approximately €0.5 billion, resulting in significant budget losses of €250 million.4 In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Libyan electoral crisis, both of which involved major oil-producing countries,5 the UN extended measures to combat illicit petroleum exports from Libya in July 2022.6 The EU al. [...] It is important to note that the fuel crises in the Balkans, especially in the former Yugoslavia, started in the 1980s, before the wars. [...] In 2021, 1.7 million tonnes of petroleum products were transported along the Danube River between Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Serbia.79 In addition, 26.1% of cargo loaded in the Austrian port of Vienna in 2021 comprised petroleum products;80 this figure was 18.5% in Moldova,81 13.4% in Serbia82 and 6% in Romania.83 In 2022, the Danube Commission, the body in charge of maintaining and improving. [...] In 2021 and 2022, customs in Ruse, a Bulgarian city on the banks of the Danube, was responsible for the largest number of fuel seizures in the country, compared to customs offices in other cities. [...] With the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway axis of 3 505 kilometres, the Danube River connects the port of Rotterdam in the North Sea with the port of Sulina in the Black Sea.87 The Danube River is also crossed by 133 bridges,88 enabling connectivity to a massive road infrastructure network.
- Pages
- 34
- Published in
- Switzerland
