In the course of this continuous activity to foster cooperation on a national and international level viadonau is regularly present at various networking activities. Together with different authorities and business stakeholders as well as research and educational institutes with particular focus on the Danube region and the EU, topics like the integrative planning of infrastructure projects and best practices in the field of waterway maintenance or innovation are being discussed.
The national and international networking with relevant stakeholders is - according to the Waterway Act - part of the development tasks of viadonau.
News
The revision of the TEN-T Regulation was a key topic in 2023 and 2024. TEN-T stands for the trans-European transport network and is the basis for an efficient, multimodal and high-quality transport infrastructure within the EU. With regard to inland waterway transport, the TEN-T Regulation obliges the European waterway authorities to ensure and maintain ‘Good Navigation Status’. viadonau was involved in a working group to revise the regulation.
At a political level, viadonau contributed expertise to the German Bundestag in the form of a presentation on the key challenges and solutions for the Danube waterway and innovations in administration. In addition, the BMIMI and viadonau were involved in strategic innovation platforms such as the WATERBORNE Technology Platform (www.waterborne.eu), which deals with the future of emission-free shipping. In addition to this, viadonau and BMIMI were involved in the Horizon Europe Community Day to further advance research and development in the field of sustainable transport systems.
Meetings were also held to exchange expertise and transfer knowledge. One highlight was the 18th Advisory Group Meeting of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) in Vienna in September 2024. viadonau invited a high-ranking international delegation on a tour of selected hotspots of modern infrastructure development. Successes from the areas of rail and waterway infrastructure were presented. Meetings were also held with representatives of the German Waterways and Shipping Administration and the California Maritime Academy. viadonau took part in the 225th annual symposium of Rijkswaterstaat (Netherlands), where current developments in waterway management were discussed. Together with the BMIMI, viadonau also took part in an expert workshop organised by the SOS Water project (IIASA), which focused on sustainable water management strategies.
Read more about the context of European cooperation on the pages European Strategies and EU Inland Navigation Policy. You can find out more about viadonau's activities to improve mobility along the entire Danube on the page Danube Region Strategy.
The activity makes a substantial contribution to the implementation of measure 14. Embed Danube navigation in European strategies of the Action Programme for the Danube 2022 and measure 07. Actively shape and implement European and national framework conditions and avigation-related regulations of the Action Programme for the Danube 2030.
