42 Amendments of Vlad GHEORGHE related to 2021/2015(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
– having regard to the Council conclusions of 5 June 2020 on “EU Waterborne Transport Sector – Future outlook: Towards a carbon-neutral, zero accidents, automated and competitive EU Waterborne Transport Sector”1b, _________________ 1b Document 7976/20
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)
Citation 10 a (new)
– having regard to the Council conclusions of 15 November 2018 on Inland Waterway Transport – “See its potential and promote it!,”1a _________________ 1a Document 15144/18
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas European countries have a variety of different fleets of inland vessels, which makes inland waterway transport very convenient and useful for transporting different types and large quantities of cargo to different destinations on either large or small rivers, canals and lakes;
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas, the total share of cross- border freight by our inland waterways is 54% on the Rhine-Alpine corridor, 35% on the North Sea-Mediterranean corridor and even 38% on the North Sea-Baltic corridor and whereas it is important to advance the completion of the TEN-T inland waterways core network as well the connection to the comprehensive network;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas the modal shift objectives of the 2011 White Paper on transport1c have not been reached; _________________ 1c28.03.2011 White Paper Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area - Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas drought and climate change are among the major problems for European inland waterway transport. In several European regions, inland waterway transport was hard hit by the long drought period in 2018 with extremely low water levels; whereas the consequences were devastating for the Rhine and its tributaries, the Upper and Middle Danube and the Upper and Middle Elbe; whereas in Germany, this led to a decline of EUR 5 billion in industrial production; whereas furthermore, in Northern Europe, the inland water areas are frozen during the most severe winter months and the traffic season has to be stopped;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the modal shift from road to inland waterways not only concerns freight but also passenger transport - notably in urban areas. As 50% of the EU population lives close to the sea and along rivers, inland waterway passenger transport offers an environmentally friendly alternative in terms of both energy consumption and noise emissions. It also contributes to decongesting overloaded road networks and provides an alternative for road infrastructure expansion in densely populated areas;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas river cruises, ferries, water taxis and water shuttles should become a cleaner option for tourism and public transport in regions and cities with accessible and navigable rivers and canal, canals and lakes, which would make urban mobility more sustainable and effective;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas inland waterway transport could play an important role for maritime transport in terms of digitalisation development and creating scale regarding zero-emission propulsion solutions (e.g. electrification as well as hydrogen);
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the procedures to obtain a certificate for a hydrogen vessel are still very lengthy. In addition, for a series of hydrogen vessels (with exactly the same technical characteristics), applications have to be submitted for every single vessel separately. This kind of administrative burden discourages private investments and therefore slows down the technological progress and thus the improvement of cost-efficiency;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cc. whereas the role of contractors in the entire supply chain is important to take into account in order to improve the business case for sustainable investments in the inland waterway transport sector;
Amendment 59 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the Commission’s intention in the Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility to shift more goods from road to inland waterways and short sea shipping; stresses however the high untapped potential and manoeuvre for inland waterway transport to grow; therefore calls on the Commission to show more ambition by putting the modal shift goals for inland waterway transport on the same level as rail (i.e. a raise of 50% by 2030 and a twofold increase by 2050);
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Stresses that regional and (inter-) urban freight transport and logistics by inland waterways should be encouraged in countries and regions where this could become a valuable alternative in order to accomplish the much needed modal shift; in this regard, stresses that investments are needed in more flexible and innovative ship designs and in the greening of the existing inland waterway transport fleet in order to become a serious competitive alternative to road transport;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Stresses that more investment in updating river and canalphysical and digital waterway infrastructure (for example, locks, bridges and interoperable deployment of digital technologies across borders) is key in order to maintain the reliability of inland waterway transport and boost the competitiveness of the sector, while respecting the applicable environmental law;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution for tackling the problem of low water levels as a result ofwhich could worsen due to climate change effects; deplores, however, that the problems of the inland waterway sector, caused by the low water levels, have not been taken duly into account while solutions are available; therefore stresses that coherent action needs to be taken, such as fleet adaptation (type of ships, quantity of fleet, spare capacity), optimisation of ship design, taking into account the inland waterway vessel’s versatility, better infrastructure management and development, improved water level information and forecasting as well as cooperation with rail during low water periods, time-charter contracts for vessels which are able to operate during low water tide periods, implementation of digital tools and increasing storage capacity in ports;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission, Member States' public authorities and stakeholders to cooperate, in order to take the necessary measures to ensure a climate resilient, future proof, year-around and flexible inland waterway infrastructure taking into account aspects and possibilities of multimodality; considers that national and international authorities managing inland waterways should be fully mobilised in the adoption and implementation of any measure aimed to tackle extreme climate conditions in order to enable year round navigation;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights the importance of further encouraging and supporting initiatives aimed at the use of alternative fuels and propulsion methods for shipping in accordance with the principle of technological neutrality; points out, in this regard, the value of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a transitional solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants in inland waterway transport; notes that the existing, technically mature vessels and distribution infrastructure now based on LNG could be used for biogas and will therefore be essential in scaling up Bio-LNG as a marine fuel;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Highlights that low-emission and zero-emission alternatives should become more financially attractive than conventional propulsions and that this trend should be accelerated, for example by a realistic, progressively increasing blending percentage based on an impact assessment; considers furthermore that Member States should have the opportunity to set a decreasing or zero tax rate for the use of shore-side electricity and zero-emission fuels;
Amendment 115 #
5a. Stresses that a European emission labelling scheme for IWT that ensures availability of information on the energy performance of ships, promotes energy efficiency and creates a stable environment for investment decisions, should be assessed; highlights that this scheme must aim to effectively reduce emissions and assist the sector by providing improved access to funding, loans and guarantees based on its emission performance, improve emission monitoring, create benefits by incentivising port authorities to differentiate port infrastructure charges, ultimately raising the sector's attractiveness as a whole;
Amendment 119 #
6a. Believes that in view of our climate goals, the shipping sector is able to offer more sustainable and future-proof transport; stresses that public authorities should play a connecting and coordinating role in this development phase and engage with all interested stakeholders, including users of inland waterways and the shipbuilding industry; therefore stresses that support for innovation, a European financing plan, the facilitation of certification and permission to sail on alternative fuels are therefore strongly needed;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Highlights that greening the fleet should focus on reducing other sources of pollution as well, as the pollution of rivers is not limited to CO2 emissions only; therefore, highlights the importance of providing waste discharge facilities in ports as well as promoting the use of innovative anti-fouling paint and advanced hull maintenance technology (e.g. underwater drones);
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls on the Commission to provide a practical guide and toolbox on the possibilities of sustainable fuel options and technologies for inland waterway and short sea ships in order to support ship- owners in their decision-making; highlights that it should focus on inland waterway and short sea ship types given their similar technical characteristics;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Notes that far-reaching digitalisation and data collection contributes to a cleaner environment and improved safety on board and result in more efficient routing and better communication and information exchange between ships, ports and infrastructure; stressespoints out that digitalisation could bring significant benefits for the collection and analysis of data related to the inland waterway transport sector, for the safety and for energy efficiency reasons, contributing to further emission reduction; stresses in this regard the need to further harmonise River Information Services (RIS), which wouldaiming to solve the problems arising from different interpretations of technical standards and the lack of comparable data, and underlines the need to prepare for interoperable data exchange with other modes of transport;
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to ensure a harmonised digital use and acceptance of electronic crew and vessel documents throughout the EU as soon as possible, which ensures improvement of the efficiency and attractiveness of inland waterway transport and its smooth interaction and integration with other transport modes and increases interoperability of data exchange systems in the context of the entire logistics chain;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Stresses the importance of using space data and services for inland waterway transport services, leading to a safer, more sustainable, efficient and competitive sector; considers that in particular new Galileo, EGNOS and Copernicus services should be included in the review of the ITS Directive and other smart mobility legislative initiatives;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Stresses the importance of collecting data on the European logistics system in coordination with relevant stakeholders in preparation for the Combined Transport Directive proposal and other measures leading to more efficient logistics planning and use of physical infrastructure; moreover, calls on the Commission to come up with an intermodal overview on the flow of goods and containers entering Europe as well as the routes the goods follow to their end destination as this could help when drawing up effective modal shift policy;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that increased automation brings the reality of synchromodal transport in Europe closer; insists therefore on the need for a European Roadmap for Smart and Autonomous Inland Waterway Transport Systems that supports research, the development and successful implementation of smart ships and ports, and digital interoperability; calls on the Commission, based on an impact assessment and a broad consultation with all relevant stakeholders, to consider the necessary revisions of all related legislation in order to facilitate the uptake of autonomous shipping, particularly concerning the responsibilities of crew in emergencies or system failure, clarification of liability issues in case of damages, and more in general on the safety aspects of autonomous vessels, in order to achieve a certain level of harmonisation at EU level1d; stresses that this would help to ensure the safety of autonomous vessels and thereby increase the uptake of the technology across Europe; insists therefore on the need for a European Roadmap for Smart and Autonomous Inland Waterway Transport Systems that supports research, the development and successful implementation of autonomous ships, smart ports, and digital interoperability, as well as ensures the deployment of remote vessel control and remote lock management; in this regard, stresses the need for smart infrastructure as well as the necessary training, up- skilling and re-skilling of crew, which could be supported under the social investments and skills window in the InvestEU programme; _________________ 1dEuropean Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) 2021 Report ‘Waterborne transport in Europe - the role of Research and Innovation in decarbonisation - An analysis of waterborne transport, based on the Transport Research and Innovation Monitoring and Information System(TRIMIS)’, p. 53. Furthermore, preliminary results from the Horizon 2020 EGNSS Hull-to-Hull (H2H) project show that the EU navigation systems EGNOS, Copernicus and Galileo contribute to improving navigation decisions and conditions for autonomous vessels: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/775998 /results.
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Boosting the modal shift should be considered as a priority as sea containers are currently not always efficiently transported from a seaport to the hinterland leading to higher costs and longer travel times; calls on the Commission to conduct research and promote the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence in container hinterland transport for an optimal planning and processing of containers;
Amendment 165 #
10. Stresses the role of inland ports as strategic, multimodal nodes in the logistics system; stresses, therefore, that inland ports as well as sea ports should have efficient connections, including rail infrastructure, with a focus on connecting to the TEN-T core and comprehensive corridornetworks where possible;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Highlights that close cooperation between the different inland ports (e.g. on sustainability), creates further possibilities for cost and operational efficiency improvements and has a positive effect on regional development and employment; considers that projects of a cluster of ports should be given priority with regards to funding;
Amendment 172 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Highlights that the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure should take into account the potential demand and market characteristics of a port; stresses, therefore, that a European rollout strategy of alternative fuels for multimodal use through the TEN-T revision and Directive 2014/94/EU on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (AFID) should follow a network approach that leads to an efficiently planned infrastructure, based on the potential market demand characteristics of a port and, where necessary, along water routes; moreover stresses the potential of a flexible infrastructure system, e.g. including mobile generators;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls on the Commission to promote the concept of Life Cycle Assessment with the goal to start a dialogue and to encourage inland ports to design integrated management systems for water, energy, waste, construction sites, spatial planning and urban green areas;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Stresses the need to encourage the project development of innovative inland waterway vessels and the corresponding port infrastructure under the Horizon Europe Partnership on zero-emission waterborne transport;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Stresses the importanceHighlights the possibility of existing EU funding instruments for greening and digitalising our European inland waterway transport sector, such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), Horizon Europe and the Structural and Cohesion Funds, and the need to mobilise them to finance investments in alternative fuels and adequate ships and infrastructurthe development and roll-out of alternative propulsion systems for vessels and the necessary infrastructure; stresses, however, that these funding instruments are not suitable for SMEs, family businesses and other micro-sized enterprises, carrying the risk that these smaller projects are not eligible;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Highlights that the path towards a zero-emission inland waterway sector and the needed energy transition will create a funding gap approaching EUR 10 billion1e, which cannot be financed by the sector alone; moreover, highlights the absence of a business case for private vessel owners to invest in zero-emission propulsion technologies; therefore, stresses the need to mobilise public support and private investments; _________________ 1e DST, “Assessment of technologies in view of zero-emission IWT“, Edition 1, part of the overarching CCNR study “Financing the energy transition towards a zero-emission European IWT sector“, Report No. 2293, p. 95 https://www.ccr- zkr.org/files/documents/EtudesTransEner /Deliverable_RQ_C_Edition_1_Oct2020.p df
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Stresses that the inland waterway sector consists mostly of SMEs, family businesses and smaller ports, which makes it difficult for them to make expensive investments in order to comply with the goals of the Green Deal; considers, therefore, that the administrative burden and cost for access to funding should be significantly reducshould be significantly reduced and access to funding improved;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. CTherefore, calls on the Commission to set up a dedicated European inland waterway fund, including a one-stop-shop system that is easily accessible for help and assistance and has the possibility to combine projects into a single application, thus increasing the chances for funding; stresses that the fund should be financed through the reserve funds created under Regulation (EU) 546/20149 , where possible complemented with national funds and contributions, and should provide for the possibility of blending with the CEF and the Structural and Cohesion Funds and national funds where possible; _________________ 9 OJ L 163, 29.5.2014, p. 15.
Amendment 217 #
16a. Stresses that the Fund should focus on ship retrofitting and renewal aiming to improve the energy efficiency of ships and support investments in innovative and energy saving technologies as well as port infrastructure, notably the deployment of alternative fuels, contributing to the objectives of the Green Deal, a green recovery and a more sustainable transport system as a whole;
Amendment 222 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Recalls that the European Investment Bank (EIB) provides funding for attractive capital loans, including the shipbuilding industry; considers, however, that the realisation and the effectiveness of EIB funding depends on its accessibility; therefore, insists on: a) ensuring that the Green Shipping Guarantee Programme of the EIB should also be applicable to smaller transactions including more flexible loan conditions, e.g. taking into account the average ship’s service operational life in the payback period; b) ensuring that the EIB provides both pre-delivery financing and post-delivery financing for shipbuilders, in order to guarantee the implementation and the viability of innovative shipbuilding projects; c) funding of research and innovation programmes for green shipbuilding becoming a priority;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Highlights the untapped potential of inland waterways in urban areas as confirmed in the Strategy for Sustainable and Smart Mobility; stresses that urban areas become more and more congested and building new road infrastructure is not always cost efficient; calls on the Commission to come up with concrete proposals aiming to increase logistics over our inland waterways - boosting the modal shift;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
Paragraph 17 b (new)
17b. Highlights that 2019 figures for passenger transport demand revealed that the European river cruise sector, including day-trip vessels and ferry services, was in a healthy state before the COVID-19 pandemic and came to an almost complete standstill in the first half of 2020 due to the current health situation resulting in a negative economic impact and financial difficulties for companies, and it remains uncertain whether passenger traffic will return to normal in 20211f; therefore calls on the Commission to include inland waterway tourism in its upcoming European Agenda of Tourism 2050 in order to facilitate a business case for a sustainable, innovative and resilient recovery of river tourism, taking into account the economic impacts of river tourism on port regions in terms of added value, employment creation and port revenues; _________________ 1f https://inland-navigation- market.org/chapitre/8-outlook/?lang=en
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 c (new)
Paragraph 17 c (new)
17c. Calls on the Member States to accept the international Certificate for the Operation of a Pleasure Craft by adopting Resolution 40 of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee, in order to allow the cross-border recognition of licences and to facilitate recreational navigation within Europe;