Meeting of the Working group on technical matters (9-10 October 2024)

The Meeting of the Working Group on technical matters, convened from 9 to 10 October 2024 under the Chairmanship of the Representative of Romania, Ms Monica Patrichi.

The meeting was attended by the DC Member States delegations, representatives of international organisations, counsellors, and experts of the DC Secretariat.

The delegation of Ukraine made an urgent statement, informing about a series of new facts regarding Russian war crimes, namely the massive shelling of the Danube and Black Sea port infrastructure by Russia, as a result of which civilians and port staff were killed. The current state of the Ukrainian Danube ports and the main problems in the work of the Ukrainian Danube cluster in these very difficult conditions were outlined. The importance of the Danube Commission’s Decision on the incompatibility of the continued membership of the Russian Federation in the Danube Commission was also emphasized, and gratitude was expressed to the European Commission and the DC member states for their significant support provided to Ukraine during the full-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine.

The working group and the Director-General of the Secretariat expressed their support for the Ukrainian people and strongly condemned the ongoing shelling of the Danube region by Russia.

In accordance with the approved agenda, the working group dealt with several topics under its main sections.

The section “Navigation” reviewed the implementation of the DFND-2023 in Danube navigation, and also discussed updating of the “Local Rules for Danube Navigation”, and strategic development of RIS systems in Danube navigation. Professional requirements for crew and vessel personnel were dealt with separately, in light of the implementation of the Directive (EC) 2017/2397 in Danube navigation, with a focus on the measures taken by the non-EU countries, and members of the Danube Commission.

The “DC Recommendations for ensuring the security of navigation on the Danube” were discussed by the participants given the upcoming meeting of the Expert Group on Security in spring 2025.

The modernisation of the Danube fleet was a topic of special attention for the delegates, especially in light of the Joint Workshop on ‘Roadmap and actions towards zero-emission Danube fleet’, organized by the Danube Commission and EUSDR PA1a on October 8. The event proved to be a good opportunity for over 100 participants to discuss the prospects of a joint strategy and roadmap for decarbonizing the Danube inland navigation fleet. It brought together Danube fleet operators and representatives of all Danube States on the level of navigation authorities and other organizational units tasked with the decarbonization of the Danube fleet. The working group supported the draft version of the roadmap submitted by the Secretariat and suggested that it be further updated.

The section “Hydrotechnics and hydrometeorology” debated the results of the Expert Meeting on Hydraulic Engineering, the updating of the Plan for major works on the achievement of recommended fairway parameters, hydro-technical and other facilities on the Danube, the issues of the revision of the TEN Regulation concerning the development of inland waterways, the use and development of the Danube Commission’s databank, as well as the issuance of special DC publications on the hydrology of the Danube waterway.

The section “Operation and Ecology” focused on the implementation of the new version of the “DC Recommendations for organizing the collection of ship-generated waste in Danube navigation ” and the planning of the next expert meeting on this topic in 2025. Information was given on the launch of the Joint Statement 2.0 process by the Sava Commission, Danube Commission, and ICPDR, marking a significant step forward in harmonizing navigation and environmental protection in the Danube River Basin, as well as the participation in various projects on environmental protection in the Danube River basin. Delegations also discussed the results of the Workshop “Promoting Port of Brčko as logistics gateway and its better integration into Rhine-Danube TEN-T core corridor”, organized by the DC on 19 September 2024 in Brčko (BiH), in cooperation with the Technical Committee for Waterborne Transport and Multimodality.

The section “Statistics and Economics” focused on the issues and challenges of the preparation of the DC working documents on economic analysis and statistics for 2022-2023. The Secretariat presented the report on the Market Observation for Danube Navigation – the results of the first quarter and first half of 2024, as well as information on the cooperation with the CCNR on the preparation of joint publications on observation of the European inland navigation market.

The section “Grants. Projects” focused on reports on projects where the DC acts as a participant – GRANT III, HORIZON Europe PLATINA4 Action. In the context of the activities financed by GRANT III, the DC Secretariat emphasized the importance of the ongoing Danube Solidarity Lanes EU-Ukraine and outlined several new tasks for their development, including preparations for the reconstruction of the infrastructure and logistics of the Ukrainian Danube cluster, which was destroyed as a result of Russian military aggression.

The Working group approved the draft work plan of the DC for 2025, as well as the draft schedule of meetings and working groups regarding technical matters for next year.