Place: Vienna, Austira

Date: 2010 July 9

The via donau hosted a workshop chaired by Corridor VII chairman Otto Schwetz to bring together Commissioner Hahn and international experts from the fields of research, shipbuilding, inland navigation and navigation policy. Over more than two hours of discussion were devoted to the topic of innovations in inland navigation as part of the preparation for the elaboration of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.

The discussions focused on the current state of knowledge on Danube navigation and technical opportunities for the modernisation of the existing fleet. Aspects related to the new construction of vessels were also taken into consideration during the discussions.

The experts were unanimous about the importance of the maintenance management of the Danube River in accordance with the environment which is the absolute prerequisite for the economic and technical development of Danube navigation. This not only in order to secure Austria’s position as a prosperous business location and to develop the Danube Region, but also to contribute to further improvement of the safety and the environmental performance of Danube navigation, one that is  already widely recognized as safe and environmentally friendly..