“To improve mobility and intermodality of inland waterways”

An interview with Mr Serban Cucu, Romanian Ministry of Transports and Infrastructure, and Mr Reinhard Vorderwinkler, Austrian Federal Ministry for Transport, Priority Area Coordinators.

How has the coordination of PA 1a been a challenge and how has it been an opportunity?

First of all we see the coordination role as an opportunity to bring together all the relevant stakeholders
(international bodies, public authorities, industry, NGOs) of the Danube Region in the field of inland navigation. The Strategy is an instrument which enables us to tackle thematic priorities in an integrated way, while also considering other topics of the Strategy, such as environmental protection, tourism and competitiveness.A specific challenge of the first year of implementation of the Strategy was to find a common approach for identifying the main problems in our Priority Area and for elaborating respective thematic roadmaps to solve them step by step. For us, a general challenge is to bring the relevant stakeholders together and to keep their interest (including the political level) in the implementation of the different actions. In the end our coordination efforts shall result in an added value for the Danube Region.

What have been the main steps taken in your PA so far?

The first year was focused on the set-up of the organisational framework of our Priority Area, to identify relevant projects (including proposals) and to elaborate specific roadmaps in order to implement the respective targets and actions in the the field of inland navigation. Within the first year we had three Steering Group meetings and two Working Group meetings dealing with the improvement of waterway infrastructure, the modernisation of ports and inland vessels, the implementation of “River Information Services” and the topic “Jobs & Skills”. The Steering Group meetings showed a high number of participants of the Danube Region countries (8 to 11 countries per SG meeting); the Working Group meetings were attended by 80 to 100 stakeholders of the Danube Region. Furthermore, over 90 relevant projects and project proposals have been identified in the first year (see www.danube-navigation.eu for details) and the Steering Group has issued nine letters of recommendation for projects.

In July 2012 we submitted the first progress report of PA1a to the EC. Additionally, the Danube Region Ministers of Transport signed a declaration on “Effective waterway infrastructure maintenance on the Danube and its navigable tributaries” (Luxemburg Declaration).Another notable success of the first year was the set-up of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria on setting up an Interministerial Committee for sustainable development of inland waterways transport on the common Romanian – Bulgarian sector of the Danube.

What is the most promising project/action(s) identified to date?
As previously stated, we identified more than 90 relevant ongoing projects and project proposals in the first
year, therefore it is difficult to highlight a single one. In general we see good progress in the implementation of the waterway infrastructure projects, especially with regards to an integrated approach including the environmental needs. Furthermore, the Declaration on effective waterway infrastructure maintenance was quite an important milestone for the Danube Region countries. The full implementation of harmonised “River
Information Services” was brought one step further with the start of the project IRIS Europe 3. In the field of fleet modernisation we commissioned a study called “Innovative Danube Vessel”. This study shall bring concrete results and proposals how to modernise the Danube fleet.

What do the next months look like for PA 1a?

The next months will focus on the continuation of ongoing works and the further strengthening of the network of stakeholders. We are already planning the next Working Group and Steering Group meetings for spring 2013 and will continue cooperation with all the relevant Danube Region country authorities and the navigation sector in order to monitor the implementation of the Declaration on effective waterway infrastructure maintenance.

Furthermore, we will continue to collect information on relevant projects, including the issuing of letters of recommendation for new project ideas in the field of inland waterway transport. In addition, the implementation of the agreed thematic roadmaps will be one important activity in 2013 – this implementation needs the continued involvement and commitment of all the relevant stakeholders.

Last but not least we aim to further deepen the cooperation with other relevant Priority Areas, such as environment (water quality and biodiversity), tourism and competitiveness.