Transport, Telecommunications and Energy

Abstract

Pending the adoption by the European Parliament of its first reading, the Council agreed on a general approach on the proposal for a Directive on harmonised River Information Services (RIS) on inland waterways in the Community. The draft Directive is to provide a framework for the establishment and further development of harmonised RIS in the Community, with a view notably to enhancing the efficiency of inland waterway transport and to facilitating the interface with other transport modes. RIS comprise services such as fairway information, traffic information, traffic management, calamity abatement support, information for transport management, statistics and customs services and waterway charges and port dues. The Commission will have the task of defining technical guidelines and technical specifications for ensuring the implementation and interoperability of the River Information Services. The Council introduced three main modifications into the original Commission’s proposal. Firstly, more account is taken of work done by international organisations in the field of inland navigation. Secondly, the scope of the Directive has been made more precise, excluding small waterways and waterways that have no connection with a waterway of another Member State. Finally, the use of satellite positioning is recommended but not compulsory.