Same river same rules? – Administrative barriers in the Danube countries

The Danube River Basin is shared by 19 countries, which makes it the world’s most international river basin. More than 81 million people of different cultures and languages live in the Danube Basin and they all are interconnected through the widely ramified water system of the Danube. The cultural variety is not only a valuable attribute of this region, but it also causes barriers related to the transport of goods and passengers on the Danube waterway and its navigable tributaries. The abundant existence of administrative barriers in Europe limits the economic and environmental potentials of inland waterway transport (IWT) as a sustainable mode of transport. These administrative barriers consist for example in reporting requirements that vary considerably among fairway authorities and Danube countries. Most often, reports or data provided cannot be re-used across countries or is not available requiring additional input or additional reporting activities by the barge operator. The objective of this paper is to identify administrative barriers for IWT on the Danube and develop solutions for improved procedures and processes. Data is collected from a dense network of stakeholders operating along the Danube. National focus groups were held to analyse the procedures and administrative processes in inland waterway transport and identify barriers. Further, an online-survey has been set up to collect data. Potential solutions are developed in a cooperative way together with involved operators and authorities. The philosophy of lean administration suggests that non-value added activities (“waste”) must be identified in a first step to make processes more efficient. A diverse number of non-value added administrative barriers were therefore identified in the countries along the Danube. Afterwards, Port Community Systems are introduced as a possible solution to overcome administrative barriers.