Vienna – As part of the 18th Advisory Group Meeting of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) on 11 and 12 September at the "TechGate" in Vienna, viadonau invited a high-level international delegation including the CINEA-director Paloma Aba Garrote to a tour of selected hotspots of modern infrastructural development in Central Europe. The programme included a status update on infrastructural milestones and goals as well as outstanding successes on rail and waterways in Vienna, Wildungsmauer and Gabčíkovo.
During the visit to the upgraded mooring place at Wildungsmauer the combination of environmental and transport interests were also in focus, photo: © viadonau
In close European solidarity, viadonau warmly welcomed the members of the CINEA Advisory Group to Vienna on 11/12 September, photo: © viadonau
Where sustainable future of transport is happening
The establishment of a sustainable and resilient European transport network is one of the European Union's most ambitious areas of development. CINEA manages around 8 billion euros annually to support CEF-funded infrastructure projects as well as nature conservation (LIFE+) and research (Horizon Europe). As close cooperation partners, the Austrian Ministry of Climate Action and viadonau support the agency in sustainable transport development, which is not only about technical and infrastructural modernisation, but also about a targeted shift in transport towards the more sustainable modes such as rail and inland navigation. Accordingly, the Advisory Group's programme on 11 and 12 September included a tour at Vienna’s main railway station, which was co-funded by the EU and completed in 2014, and which connects important trans-European corridors. In addition, the rail network in Central Europe is being progressively upgraded with EU support through measures, such as the construction of the Brenner Base Tunnel or the improvement of the Vienna-Bratislava connection.
Investments in Danube navigation
At the meeting venue at Vienna’s TechGate which is also viadonau‘s headquarter, the Austrian waterway company showed, that in parallel to the further development of the rail network the Danube waterway also has achieved strong infrastructural successes through viadonau and the support of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). While the success of the international FAIRway Danube project is being continued by its EUR 70 million (EUR 47 million of which from EU funds) successor FAIRway Danube II, which will further upgrade the infrastructure of the Danube, the COMEX2 project is dedicated to the further dissemination and improvement of river information services and specially developed platforms such as EuRIS and CEERIS in Europe. A site visit to the mooring place in Wildungsmauer, which was upgraded in 2023 as part of FAIRway works! in the Rhine-Danube Corridor, and to the modernised Gabčíkovo locks, for which a feasibility study initiated by viadonau provided the „blueprint“ in 2016, confirmed once again: together with Europe we achieve successes with a long-term perspective on the Danube.
‘One of the most important aspects of European cooperation is the simple insight that development unites. We are not only pleased to welcome our European partners again under the umbrella viadonau, but are also very proud to be actively involved in the sustainable transformation of the European transport network with the support of the European Union. The great commitment of our partners shows that the waterway is a central element of this change already today,’ explains viadonau Managing Director Hans-Peter Hasenbichler.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has been dedicated to the efficient implementation of specific EU programmes since April 2021, specifically supporting the implementation of the EU Green Deal. The Advisory Group is a platform to discuss ways to improve the efficient implementation of the CEF Transport funding programme and aims to maximise the expertise of both the Agency and the group members by sharing knowledge, experience and good practices.
