Tom Berendsen MEP (EPP, Dutch) defends “a pragmatic approach to the geographical scope of the proposed revision of the River Information Services Directive” in his draft report published on Thursday 19 December 2024.
Proposed in January 2024 by the European Commission, this revision aims to improve traffic management on the EU’s rivers and canals in order to transfer more freight to Europe’s inland waterways (see EUROPE 13338/4).
According to Mr Berendsen, inland waterways and inland ports in the Union that are isolated from the rest of the TEN-T inland waterways network should not be drawn into the scope of this Directive. “This will allow us to focus on those inland waterways and ports that are part of a cross-border network, thus making a European approach essential, while safeguarding the possibility for voluntary application by Member States on those inland waterways that are not connected”, he argued in the explanatory memorandum.
He also suggests stepping up active cooperation with river information services in neighbouring third countries, to ensure interoperability with the EU platform.
Mr Berendsen also proposed deleting the articles relating to electronic freight transport information (eFTI). He believes that any change in the role and place of eFTI should be the subject of a cross-sectoral review of the eFTI Regulation and should not be imposed solely on inland waterway transport through this review. “To interconnect these services prematurely, without other transport modes being ready, would risk additional problems in the development and implementation of river information services”, he added. The rapporteur shares the same view regarding the proposed interconnection with the European maritime Single Window. He “aims to be prescient for further developments and synergies between platforms and services, without being prejudicial on their development”.
Finally, with regard to the handling of complaints, he proposes to build on existing national feedback mechanisms in order to “avoid unnecessary bureaucracy”.
Read the draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/exo (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)