15.9.2023.

News

14th follow-up meeting on the Joint Statement

The 14th follow-up meeting on the Joint Statement on Guiding Principles for the Development of Inland Navigation and Environmental Protection in the Danube River was held on 13-14 September 2023 in Zagreb. The meeting was held in cooperation with the three river commissions, the Sava Commission, the Danube Commission and the Commission for the Protection of the Danube River that jointly initiated this process, and this year's organizer and host was the Sava Commission with the event venue in Zagreb.
This annual event aims to exchange information on the progress in implementing the Joint Statement and its principles to be followed when balancing the needs of navigation and environmental protection within the projects in the Danube River Basin, including its tributaries.
The main emphasis of this year's meeting was the announcement of the joint proposal made by three commissions for the further development of the Joint Statement and the PLATINA manual.
The meeting gathered almost 60 participants: representatives from the European Commission, international and state authorities and organizations from the navigation sector, committees for environment protection and waters, and representatives of academia and non-governmental organizations.
Current policy changes and future guidelines relevant to navigation and the environment in the Danube River Basin were presented and discussed at the meeting. Ongoing progress and key national and cross-border projects within the framework of the Joint Statement process were presented, along with the innovative development projects related to climate change adaptation, possible environmental impact reduction, and modernization, as well.
The second day of the event was dedicated to the topic of navigation on the Sava River and its navigable tributaries, where the current state and expected improvements of the waterway and infrastructure were presented along with the application of new technologies in river engineering, as well as aspects for the development of nautical tourism and the fleet in the Sava River Basin.