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The existence of the Danube Delta is endangered by NATO and the Romanian Defense Ministry, which seek to take over a stretch of land and use it for military purposes, reads a nationalist publication.
The threat of Russian aggression is a hot topic right now
NEWS: “After the Ukrainians dredged the Bystroye Canal, a new attack on the Danube Delta is currently unfolding. This time around, Romanian authorities themselves are involved in the destruction of this reserve by expanding the military port of Ulcea, claiming it is too small for NATO ships to dock here. Under a draft law, the Defense Ministry will effectively tear away a piece of the reserve and thus endanger this already fragile ecosystem”.
NARRATIVES: 1. With the complicity of Romanian authorities, NATO will destroy the Danube Delta. 2. The West encroaches upon Romanian legislation. 3. The Delta ecosystem is threatened by Ukrainian dredging works on the Bystroye Canal.
BACKGROUND: The fallout of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has reached every corner of the world, but especially countries in the nearby vicinity of the conflict, such as Romania, Poland or the Baltic States. Apart from the emotional impact and economic consequences, the war also raises a series of security and defense concerns in Romanian territories neighboring Ukraine, which are amplified by the presence in Romanian territorial waters of marine mines or Russian-made drone fragments crashing inside Romanian borders.
For these reasons, in line with its defensive policies, NATO decided to boost its presence on the Eastern Flank and dispatched battle groups to Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. At the same time, Romania, in partnership with the North-Atlantic Treaty Alliance, introduced several measures that would help strengthen its defensive capabilities and its response speed in the event of an outside armed attack. One such measure is the project to rehabilitate the military port of Tulcea, seeking to “ensure the best possible conditions for the docking and stationing of military watercraft and their operating crews”, addressing the Romanian Naval Forces and its partners from NATO Member States taking part in joint military operations.
This is not the first time national.ro is promoting false theories regarding the presence of military forces in the Danube Delta. In December 2022, the website published an article, whose author claimed to have come into possession of documents that confirm the Americans will build a new military base on Chilia branch. In fact, the document in question was an excerpt from a Ukrainian decree that adopted the list of inland waterways the Ukrainian Government deemed fit for navigation, which Kyiv issued in February. The narrative gained such visibility, that even the Romanian Defense Ministry felt it proper to respond and dismiss the news as fake.
PURPOSE: To promote anti-Western discourse, to amplify anti-Ukrainian sentiment and validate previously promoted conspiracy theories.
Biased interpretations of national legislation, common practice among conspiracy mongers
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: By simply examining a map of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, we can notice that the right bank of the Danube, is in theory a part of the reservation, although most of this territory consists of anthropic elements that don’t add any real value to the entirely of the Delta ecosystem. Therefore, the additional refitting of 20,000 square meters of unproductive area, which is flood at different periods throughout the year and is already part of built-up area controlled by the Tulcea City Hall, cannot possibly impact the wildlife and plant life of the Delta, which are virtually non-existent in the targeted area.
Furthermore, the violation of legal provisions regarding the building and functioning the Danube Delta reserve is invoked without justification and using misquotations, which proves the author’s desire to present a biased interpretation of the paragraphs brought up for discussion. Article 10 of Law 82/1993 does state, in the opening paragraph, that “land and water surfaces, including floodable areas that are part of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, represent elements of national heritage and are considered public assets of national interest”. However, the article in question doesn’t state that these areas are barred from being transferred to the remit of other institutions. According to Article 136 in the Romanian Constitutions, public property can be transferred to the administration of national agencies or public institutions. That doesn’t mean that, once they are administered by a certain institution, they cannot be conceded to another public institution if the situation so requires. In its draft law, the Defense Ministry pledges to abide by all legal provisions regarding the impact on the environment. Therefore, this false narrative is similar to others debunked by Veridica that claim Romania is governed by the West, and that its laws are aligned to the latter’s interests.
The narrative of the destruction of the Danube Delta by Ukraine by making the Bystroye Canal navigable was equally debunked by Veridica and is now brought back into the limelight, possibly due to a lack of better war propaganda topics or with the purpose of drawing public attention towards “the Ukrainian threat”, which has been somewhat overshadowed in recent weeks by the Israel-Hamas conflict.
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