site.btaGreece Asks Bulgaria for Regular Water Supplies from Arda River Following Expiry of WWII Reparations Deal

Meeting with Bulgarian Environment and Water Minister Manol Genov on Friday, Greek Ambassador in Sofia Alexios Marios Lyberopoulos asked for regular supplies of water from the Arda River to Greece as a 60-year-old deal between the two countries has expired, Genov's ministry said in a press release. Genov replied that, for this coming summer, the issue can be addressed by signing a temporary trade agreement, with the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry playing a lead role in the process.

On January 31, Reuters reported that Greek farmers feared that water supplies from neighbouring Bulgaria that had kept their families' crops alive for decades would dry up come summer. Since 1964, water from Bulgaria's mountains has flowed freely along the Arda River into 50,000 acres (20,000 hectares) of the Evros plain in Greece, under a World War Two reparations agreement between the two countries. But the deal expired last July and it is not clear if it will be renewed as Bulgaria assesses its own water needs, Reuters said.

Genov and Lyberopoulos discussed matters of bilateral and regional cooperation with a focus on environmental security and projects of shared interest. The minister said that Bulgaria's relations with Greece, as member states of the EU and allies in NATO, represent an axis of stability and shared values in a challenging regional context.

Genov briefed the diplomat on the Bulgarian government's future priorities in the field of the environment, particularly policies related to improving the quality of life and the well-being of the people on a national, regional and European level.