Europe’s rivers are congested. More than a million barriers, like dams, ramps and fords, are causing extensive loss of river connectivity. In addition, human interventions have ecologically degraded a whopping 70 to 90 % of Europe’s floodplain. Despite ambitious EU policy to turn things around, fresh and transitional water ecosystem restoration remains limited. The EU-funded DANUBE4all project will develop a comprehensive restoration action plan for the Danube River basin lighthouse. The project will engage stakeholders, integrating citizens’ interests to support the EU Mission ‘Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ in an unprecedented cocreation process. The action plan will rely on solid scientific knowledge and new findings to promote ecological status, biodiversity, and ecosystem connectivity improvement.