3RD EUSDR ANNUAL FORUM IN VIENNA & DANUBE INDUSTRY DECLARATION

 

The 3rd EUSDR Annual Forum in Vienna on 26th and 27th June 2014 brought around 1000 participants from the whole Danube region together for dedicated discussions.

Pa1a particularly contributed to the “Industry meets Policy” sessions and  to the workshop “Crossing Borders, Crossing Sectors: Sustainable Navigation on a Healthy River”.

An “Industry meets Policy” round table, organised by Pro Danube International, brought high level policy makers and industry representatives together. The Captains of Industry discussed the shortcomings of Danube waterway transport and the actions needed from policy with EU Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, and EU Coordinator for the Rhine Danube Corridor, Karla Peijs. During a following public session, a “Danube Industry Declaration”, stating the requirements of the industry, was formally handed over to the policy representatives. The Declaration requests the following actions:

Establish and ensure effective waterway infrastructure management
Execute the pre-defined TEN T bottleneck infrastructure projects
Develop the Danube Ports into effective centers of intermodal logistics and industrial growth
Facilitate the modernisation of the Danube Fleet
Abolish all unnecessary administrative barriers for waterway transportation
Optimise financial support schemes of the European Union to stimulate investment in the sector

It is available for download here.

Part two of the Inland Waterway Navigation Event was dedicated to specific EU support programs and state aid and provided an overview of possible funding schemes for inland waterway projects.

Documentation of the conference is expected soon on http://www.danubeforumvienna.eu/