On Monday 29 January, the European Commission presented a new legislative proposal aimed at improving traffic management on the EU’s rivers and canals. This measure follows on from the action plan to transfer more cargo to Europe’s inland waterways.
It is a revision of the existing directive on river information services, including provisions on traffic information and management, information on the state of inland waterways and infrastructure, route planning for skippers and reporting to authorities (see EUROPE 13296/13). River information services cover almost 13,000 km of interconnected waterways in 12 EU Member States.
These measures “ will improve the efficiency and reliability of inland navigation and traffic management across Europe’s rivers, such as the Danube and the Rhine”, according to Adina Vălean, the Commissioner for Transport. The proposal provides a framework for the deployment and provision of river information services. It also aims to guarantee the availability of data and the harmonisation of technical specifications, while meeting a clear expectation from the inland waterway transport sector.
“Modern river information services will help barge operators and skippers to better and more easily exchange with port operators and authorities to better plan and execute their voyages”, she added in a press release.
This revision should help to integrate inland waterway transport more fully into modern logistics processes and multimodal chains. Moreover, as inland waterway transport is energy-efficient and offers fluidity that is virtually congestion-free, this proposal is in line with the Green Deal and the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy.
Read the proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/am4 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)