The 16th Meeting on the Follow-up of the ‘Joint Statement on Guiding Principles on the Development of Inland Navigation and Environmental Protection of the Danube River Basin’ (Joint Statement) took place in Budapest, organised by the Danube Commission, in a hybrid format, on October 22, 2025.

The DiVINE (Digitalisation Vision Inland Navigation Europe) is coordinated by the European IWT Platform and co-funded through the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and aims to support the European Commission DG MOVE in implementing the Digitalisation Vision for Inland Waterway Transport as part of the European Green Deal.

On September 29, 2025, the General Director of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission, Mr. Manfred Seitz, had a bilateral

As keynote speaker at the event, the General Director of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission, Mr. Manfred Seitz presented the activities of the organization aimed at ensuring a good navigation status on the Danube, monitoring the fairway maintenance measures of the member states, and supporting several waterway infrastructure projects.

The Conference provides a forum for shipping companies to discuss common challenges and coordinate efforts. The meeting addressed key issues concerning the current situation of Danube navigation, including the maintenance of the Danube fairway, the investment in fleet modernization, as well as the availability of qualified crews.

Ambassador Pavol Pavlis , the new Representative of the Slovak Republic to the Danube Commission,  presented his credentials on 22 September 2025 to Ambassador Christo Polendakov, President of the Danube Commission. Mr Pavlis is also the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Hungary.