New arrangement to enhance inland navigation in the European Union

22.05.2013

The Director-General for mobility and transport of the European Commission (DG MOVE) and the Secretary General of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR) have signed, today in Brussels, an administrative arrangement which fosters the cooperation between the two institutions. Their common objectives are to ensure the optimal functioning of the market for inland navigation and to remove obstacles that prevent a broader use of this mode of transport.

This administrative arrangement concerns the following three main areas of cooperation:

• adaptation of the technical requirements for inland navigation vessels,
• modernisation of professional qualifications for crew members and
• the development of market observation for inland navigation in Europe.

This new form of cooperation should improve the efficiency of the respective policies of the two institutions in these areas notably through a better alignment of priorities and the adoption of new common standards of reference for their legislative frameworks. Such cooperation will be of benefit to the inland navigation sector which needs a coherent and efficient governance framework to realise its full potential.

In its staff working document “Towards NAIADES II” of May 2012, the Commission services have recognised the need to strengthen the international cooperation in the field of inland navigation. The increased use of the CCNR expertise in a number of areas and the streamlining of regulatory frameworks supported by common structures, envisaged in the framework of the present administrative arrangement are a step in this direction.

Access to the complete text of the administrative arrangement: