National and international inland waterway transport: systems of chartering and pricing

The ESC supported the general approach of the Commission’s proposals, which were aimed not only at reducing overcapacity, but also at improving the infrastructure of inland waterway transport and ensuring liberalisation of the market. This would make for more open market conditions, improved competitiveness - not only between inland waterway transport operators themselves but also between inland waterways and other modes of transport - and improved intermodal transport. This objective was a key feature of the transport policy financed by the EU and applied to the whole of the Community. As carriers were not in a position to finance this policy fully on their own, the ESC approved cofinancing by the EU, providing it remained within the budget set for the period up to 1999. In order to ensure that any imbalances in inland waterway transport after 2000 could be promptly and effectively tackled, the ESC felt that the following rules should remain in force: - further development of the Commission’s intended market observation system; - the formation of a reserve fund for emergency measures, financed by the sector; - the application of the existing scrapping arrangements and old-for-new rules in unforeseen crisis situations; - the possibility of strengthening the position of (small) operators by means of trade groups.