Challenges

Transports on the Danube have an average transport distance of approximately 600 km and are mostly transboundary. International cooperation is therefore essential for a harmonised waterway management. Within the framework of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region the transport ministers of all riparian states signed joint declarations on effective waterway management in 2012 and 2014. Within EU co-financed projects the waterway administrations enhance their cooperation. Next steps include the common definition and joint implementation of quality parameters for waterway maintenance, in order to improve the predictability of transports and thereby increase customer satisfaction.  This would result in a major competitive advantage for Austrian enterprises active in the Danube region.

Description of the measure

  • Foster effective waterway management along the Danube (e.g. performance indicators, harmonised maintenance standards, harmonised fairway information, implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive)
  • Intensify and expand cooperation of waterway administrations along the Danube
  • Further develop the integrative approach navigation/ecology in the Danube region
  • Utilise the EU Strategy for the Danube Region to coordinate targeted cross-border measures in the field of inland waterway (fairway and locks) and to initiate strategic international projects
  • Implement the Fairway Rehabilitation and Maintenance Master Plan
  • Foster harmonisation and exchange of experiences with other European waterways