Danube Region Strategy: Kick-off of Working Groups on Inland Navigation

danube.news, via donau

The Working Groups on inland navigation in the Danube region will at least be held twice a year for the future and will focus on the following five thematic clusters: Waterway infrastructure and waterway management, ports and sustainable freight transport, modernisation of the Danube fleet, River Information Services and education and jobs.

Working Groups will be open to all parties interested in a specific thematic cluster. In particular, the involvement of experts from the private sector is desired in order to purposively discuss and analyse those ongoing and planned projects and project ideas which are consistent with the targets of the Danube Region Strategy and which are geared to an integrative development of inland navigation in den Danube region.

Projects for the implementation of the Danube Region Strategy in the field of inland navigation should be reported to the coordinators of Priority Area 1a by means of a project data sheet (cf. below for download).

The targets for the implementation of the Danube Region Strategy's priority area on inland watwerways are as follows:

• Increase the cargo transport on the river by 20 % by 2020 compared to 2010
• Solve obstacles to navigability, taking into account the specific characteristics of each section of the Danube and its navigable tributaries and establish effective waterway infrastructure management by 2015
• Develop efficient multimodal terminals at river ports along the Danube and its navigable tributaries to connect inland waterways with rail and road transport by 2020
• Implement harmonised River Information Services (RIS) on the Danube and its navigable tributaries and ensure the international exchange of RIS data preferably by 2015
• Solve the shortage of qualified personnel and harmonize education standards in inland navigation in the Danube region by 2020, taking duly into account the social dimension of the respective measures

The kick-off of the Working Groups was followed the next day by the second session of the Steering Group for Priority Area 1a of the Danube Region Strategy, in which the Danube countries presented their strategies for the development of the inland waterway transport system. The Steering Group consists of all 14 Danube countries, three Directorates-General of the European Commission (Regional Policy, Mobility and Transport, Environment), the river commission (Danube Commission, Sava Commission, International Commission for the Protection of the Danube) and other international organisations.

For further information on the Danube Region Strategy click » here

Editorial: via donau