Although the UNECE report does not force Ukraine to stop work on the project, UN officials hope it will serve as a basis for the two countries to discuss the project and cooperate. The plan for the canal linking the Black Sea and the Danube has drawn criticism from US and European officials and has led to a dispute between Ukraine and Romania, which has repeatedly demanded a halt to the work.

The UNECE report on the project questioned the project for a number of reasons including the possible effect of dredging on the turbidity of the river and marine waters; the effect of increased suspended sediment concentration at and near the dredging site; effects on the Chilia delta resulting from the construction of the retention dam and the maintenance dredging in the Bystre Channel; the effects on the coastal morphology of the Romanian coastal section between the Chilia and the Sulina Branches; the effects on migratory fish passing the dredging area and/or shifting between different habitats across the border during dredging operations;

morphological modifications resulting from dredging activity;

and the effect of the dump site in the Black Sea on the benthic fauna at and around the dump site in relation to the increased suspended sediment concentrations and deposition, loss of habitat and burial of fish food organisms.

The Commission, realising that the project is and will be a political issue, recommended that a Bilateral Research Programme be organised, and that the work on the research programme is started as soon as possible.