BRUSSELS, Aug 25 (AFP) - The European Commission protested on Wednesday about a ship canal being built by Ukraine in the UN-protected Danube delta, urging Kiev to halt construction work until an assessment had been conducted into the environmental impact of the project.
The delta contains one of the world's most important wetlands and is a breeding and feeding ground for many endangered species of bird. Environmentalists fear the canal could disrupt the area's delicate ecosystem.
"The European Commission deeply regrets the reported opening to navigation of the initial part of the Bystroye canal between the River Danube and the Black Sea," the European Union's executive arm said.
The first section of the Bystroye canal, which will give Ukraine navigable access to the Black Sea, is due to be officially opened on Thursday at a ceremony attended by Ukranian President Leonid Kuchma.
The Commission noted that the canal sliced through a part of the Danube delta that has been designated as a World Heritage site by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) and is also protected by the Ramsar international convention on the protection of wetlands.
The delta nature reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1991, is home to around 90 species of fish and 300 species of bird, including several rare and endangered species.
The Commission said it would welcome "reassurances from (Ukraine) confirming its intention not to proceed further with this project pending preparation of a proper Environmental Impact Assessment to international standards".
The canal is scheduled to go into operation by the end of this year, although construction work will continue until 2008.
Romania, the United States and several environmental groups have also protested to Kiev about the project in the delta, which straddles the Ukraine-Romania border.
On Monday Bucharest asked the United Nations to set up a commission to evaluate the environmental impact of the canal, which crosses several kilometres of the delta nature reserve, and Washington voiced "deep concern" about the possible environmental consequences.
On Tuesday hundreds of Romanians marched through Bucharest to protest at the construction project.
Ukraine reacted on Wednesday by dismissing these concerns and accusing Romania of exaggerating the potential dangers.
"We see no reason to worry about ... the presumed danger this canal poses for the ecology of the region," said Ukranian foreign ministry spokesman Markian Lubkivsky.
"If anything, it's the way Romania is presenting the situation that should cause concern," he said.
Lubkivsky, whose comments coincided with the EU's request for a proper environmental impact assessment, said Ukraine had "submitted all the necessary material on this project to its US and European partners".
"Since then we have not received any new request for information," he alleged.