Hungary and Slovakia explore possibilities to improve navigation on the joint sector of the Danube

Representatives of the competent authorities of Hungary (the Ministry for Innovation and Technology and the General Directorate for Water Management) and Slovakia (the Ministry of Transport and Construction and Vodohospodárska výstavba) met on 13 February 2029 in the premises of the Danube Commission in Budapest to discuss plans and projects related to navigation on the Danube River. In his introductory intervention, Manfred Seitz, the Director General of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission referred to the Belgrade Convention tasks regarding the maintenance of good navigation conditions in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission, as well as to the EU projects for Danube fairway maintenance (NEWADA, NEWADA duo, FAIRway). He welcomed the willingness of the Member States to continue to invest in maintenance and hydrotechnical works in order to ensure proper navigation, and encouraged Hungary and Slovakia to implement a joint project on their sector of the Danube. During the meeting, two JASPERS representatives facilitated the discussion regarding the harmonization requirements for such a possible joint project.

Participants agreed on the need to research into the steps to align current activities, as well as into a future project implementation framework. The next meeting is foreseen to take place in March 2020.