European Commission reviews legislation related to market access in inland waterway transport

The European Commission has published a Fitness Check evaluation of the legislation related to market access in inland waterway transport.

The evaluation assesses whether the EU legislative framework remains fit for purpose, examining its relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and EU added value. The assessment draws on extensive stakeholder consultation, analysis of market monitoring reports and feedback on implementation. It also identifies opportunities for simplification and possible improvements.

The Commission has also published the external support study, which fed into the above mentioned evaluation.

Background

The Fitness Check review covers seven legal acts adopted between 1960 and 1999. The set of legislation established the EU common market for inland waterway transport: it gradually opened the inland waterway transport markets, introduced common rules on access to the profession, prohibited fixed and discriminatory pricing techniques and established a mechanism to address structural overcapacity in the sector.

Europe’s inland waterways extend over more than 45,000 kilometres, with traffic concentrated mainly along the Rhine and Danube corridors. Although inland waterway transport represents around 3.5% of total EU freight traffic, the sector includes nearly 10,000 companies – most of them SMEs – and employs more than 41,000 people.

For more information

Staff Working Document - Fitness check on market access in Inland Waterway Transport

Study: Fitness Check – Support study on the access to and the functioning of the inland waterway transport market

• Executive summary
• Final report
• Annexes
• Stakeholder consultation report