Austria as an environmental pioneer in the transport sector is hosting an inland navigation congress and thereby placing the subject of inland navigation firmly on the European transport policy agenda with a view to initiating an environment-friendly alternative to road transport in future. The aim is to shift some of the international transit traffic off the roads and on to waterways - the optimum transport mode from an environmental point of view.
More than 300 captains of European industry from the shipping, logistics and forwarding sectors will be attending the business congress (on 13 and 14 February) to discuss the opportunities and industry’s requirements with regard to inland navigation in Europe. The high-level meeting on 15 February will be attended by numerous ministers and high-level delegations from 23 European countries. The fact that non-EU countries will also be attending the meeting underlines the trans-European importance of waterways for international transport. The planned outcome of the meeting is a results paper for a European action plan supported by all the countries present, which will then be on the agenda as a conclusion for the Transport Council in June.
Your attention is drawn in particular to the press conference at 9.00 on 15 February in the Hofburg, at which Hubert Gorbach, Vice-Chancellor and Transport Minister, Helmut Kukacka, State-Secretary in the Transport Ministry and Fotis Karamitsos, Director for Maritime and River Transport at the European Commission, will present the European plans for inland navigation.
Programme (in German)
Contact:
State Secretariat in the Federal Ministry for
Transport, Innovation and Technology
Walter Gröblinger
Press officer
Tel.: +43 (01) 711 62/8803
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