Brussels, 12/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - In the context of harmonising technical rules on inland river transport and the capacity of Community fleets, the rapporteur at the European Parliament, Corien Wortmann-Kool (EPP, Netherlands), is looking to obtain a negotiating brief at the committee vote on 20 February for negotiations with the Council, “at least” on the fleet capacity, she said on 11 February during examination of the amendments. She also said that she would like a consensus to be found on the subject before the elections because she is aware that the timeframe would be too narrow for the Greek Presidency to be able to work on technical requirements, too.
The Commission and European Parliament already appear to be clearly on the same wavelength on this dossier to introduce a clear and transparent legal framework for promoting inland river transport. The rapporteur highlighted the issue of funding for this mode of transport. She pointed out that a reserve fund of €35 million, on the basis of the sector's contribution, was on the table and that the way in which this could be used had to be determined. She raised the possibility of research in this area being financed by the Connecting Europe Facility or by Horizon 2020. Some of the amendments supported by the rapporteur recommend mutual recognition of technical certificates on the Rhine and Danube and that the new rules do not restrict competition. (MD/transl.fl)