Page 195 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

RO.M.AJ.'JIA ANO THE REGULATION SYSTEM OF NAVIGATION ON THE DANUBE. (1878·1898) 181

of the Danube between the Black Sea and the Iron Gates; i t prohibited the naviga-
tion of warships on the river (except the light ones of the fluvial police); Austria-
Hungary obtained the right to carry out the works at the Iron Gates and further
remained a member of the European Commission of the Danube, which also had
to include the representative of Romania; the members of the European Commis-
sion of the Danube, assisted by the representatives of the riparian states, were to
work out a regulation of navigation and fluvial police for the course between the
6
Iron Gates and Galati < > (Austria-Hungary succeded in getting the consent of the
other Great Powers to divide the river in two parts, the Upper Danube, including
the Iron Gates, under its direct contro!, and the Lower Danube, under the contro!
of the Great Powers represented in the European Commission of the Danube).
Therefore, as regards circulation on the Danube, the Berlin Peace Conference
confined to decisions of a generai, vanity nature, the solutions proper being meant
to be reached during the years to come. In fact, that was the most difficult part
of the proceedings, in which Romania engaged in its quality of a riparian state
and promoted the defence of the sovereignty of the riparian states. However, her
freedom of politica! and diplomatic manoeuver was very limited, if we take into
account the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Russia as regarded the regula-
tion of navigation on the Danube and the fact that it was only in 1880 that Germa-
ny, Great Britain, France and Italy acknowledged "de iure., the independence of
Romania, unanimously accepted at the Berlin Peace conference. The violent cla-
shes between the Romanian and Austrian-Hungarian members dominated for three
years, over 1880-1883, the debates in the European Commission of the Danube.
The object of the dispute was the contro! of Austria-Hungary over the Danube bet-
ween the Iron Gates and Galati, which impaired the sovereignty of the Romanian
State and greatly harmed Romanian economy. The politica! circles in Bucharest
could not accept the provisoes of the draft made up by the representatives of Austria-
Hungary, Germany and ltaly and presented in the session of May-June 1880 of
the European Commission of the Danube. This first draft essentially envisaged the
creation of a mixed commission, made up of one delegate each of the riparian sta-
tes, one delegate of Austria-Hungary, with the position of a permanent chairman
for the contro! of navigation and fluvial police on the Danube. The mixed commis-
sion was to ha ve under its authority the chief inspectors and subinspectors charged
with the contro! of navigation and the captains of all Danubian ports, who, were
no longer subjected to the territorial authority of the state. The carrying into effect
of such a document implied the subordination of Lower Danube to the interests
of Austria-Hungary. Romania's firm rejection of the document, rallied by Bulga-
ria, resulted in the rejection of the Austrian-Hungarian draft to regulate the Danu-
be navigation down stream the Iron Gates.
As regards navigation down stream the Iron Gates, Romania supported the
rights of the riparian states to put into effect, within the limits of the respective
territorial waters, the regulation of navigation and fluvial police and agreed on the