The "Green Deal for Danube river transport" was initiated by Pro Danube mid-2016 and formed a new policy and business framework consisting of reliable commitments and intensive coordinated cooperation between public and private stakeholders to improve efficiency and environmental performance of Danube waterway transport system ensuring tangible results and supporting sustainable economic growth.
Inspired by examples of good practices in Western Europe, Green Deal proposes a set of solutions that focus on the modernisation of the fleet, the reduction of the environmental impact and the development of Danube ports as catalysts for economic development on the regional level and beyond.
The framework’s development goals are based on 4 main pillars, having the core objective to bring together relevant decision makers from the local and national levels as well as fleet & barge
operators, port & terminal operators and industrial users of the Danube waterway together with
their logistics service providers.
Its main pillars are:
- National Governments of Danube States,
- Vessel and Fleet Operators,
- Ports and Terminal Operators,
- Danube IWT and Logistics Operators.
Based on these, the following key elements are being addressed:
- Reduction of administrative barriers,
- Infrastructure and maintenance,
- State aid schemes for fleet and terminal modernization,
- Pilot projects/deployment projects,
- Development strategies/Action Plans.
All four pillars have been addressed by dedicated project initiated by Pro Danube in the frame of the Danube Transnational Programme, such as DANTE (www.interreg-danube.eu/dante), DAPHNE (www.interreg-danube.eu/daphne), GRENDEL (www.interreg-danube.eu/grendel) and DIONYSUS (www.interreg-danube.eu/dionysus).