15th Meeting on the Follow-up of the Joint Statement and 1st Stakeholder Workshop Process/JS 2.0 Process
The fifteenth meeting of the three Commissions on the ‘Joint Statement of Guiding Principles for the Development of Inland Navigation and Environmental Protection of the Danube Basin’ (Joint Statement) was organised by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube and held in Vienna in a hybrid format on 26-27 September 2024.
The meeting was attended by more than 50 participants, including experts from the Danube Commission Member States, representatives of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and the International Commission for the Sava River Basin (ISBRS), the European Commission and several other interested organisations, including non-governmental organisations, as well as national transport and water sector experts.
Representatives of DG MOVE, DG ENV, the Technical Secretariat of EUSDR PA1a and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) also actively participated in the meeting.
Experts from Austria, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia and Austria informed on the progress of implementation of important national and joint projects resulting from the Joint Statement.
The three Commissions have launched the Joint Statement 2.0 process, marking a significant step forward in harmonizing navigation and environmental protection in the Danube River Basin. With the first Stakeholder Workshop, this updated framework aims to address new challenges, including climate change impacts, sustainable transport, and innovative river management solutions. The new document, which reaffirms the commitment of all stakeholders to work closely together to achieve good navigation and ecological status simultaneously, is expected to be adopted by the three Commissions at the end of June 2025. The PLATINA Manual will be developed into an interactive knowledge management system to support the work of the waterways managers and all professionals involved in sustainable dynamic river management and related infrastructure projects.
DC Secretariat representatives were actively involved in the consultation process on the preparation of the background documents, as well as in organizing the workshop. The next stakeholder workshop is planned to take place at the DC in Budapest on 30 January 2025. The first phase of activities is scheduled to be completed on 17 March (Joint Statement 2.0 document) and the final phase on 17 August 2025 (Joint Statement 2.0 Manual and Online System).
The Sixteenth Joint Statement Meeting will be organised by the Danube Commission in Budapest on 17 and 18 September 2025.
