On 22 October 2025, the 16th Joint Statement Meeting took place at the Danube Commission in Budapest, bringing together representatives from the Danube, Rhine and Sava river commissions, the European Commission, and waterway administrations from across Europe.
The highlight of the meeting was the official launch of the Joint Statement 2.0 (JS 2.0) — a renewed framework for balancing inland navigation development with environmental protection and climate resilience. The document promotes a holistic approach to river management, encouraging innovative, adaptive, and nature-based solutions while safeguarding reliable navigation conditions.
Speakers, including Margarida Marques (EU Coordinator for the Rhine–Danube Corridor) and Anders Iversen (DG Environment), underlined the need for sustainable financing, stronger cross-border coordination, and integration of waterway maintenance with ecological goals.
During a panel discussion, representatives of Danube waterway administrations reaffirmed their support for the JS 2.0 principles, while noting the ongoing challenges posed by low-water periods, sedimentation, and limited maintenance budgets.
Geert Snoeij, Secretary of the Committee on Infrastructure, attended the meeting on behalf of the Inland Waterway Transport (IWT) Platform. The IWT Platform welcomed the attention to inland navigation and stressed that its importance for a resilient and sustainable transport system must be recognised at national, river basin and European level. In and around the meeting, IWT underlined that climate adaptation requires sustained investment in both navigable and natural rivers.
A statement such as the JS 2.0 is an important step forward — not only in defining how navigation and nature can coexist, but also in encouraging the investments needed to ensure Europe’s waterways remain safe, reliable, and environmentally sound.
Author: Geert Snoeij
