REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2018/974 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways
Date: 2026-03-04
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, application of EU law, carriage of goods, carriage of passengers, data collection, information system, inland waterway, sustainable mobility, transport safety, transport statistics

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.3.2026  COM(2026) 107 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2018/974 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways  
 
 
Contents 

1. 

1.1. 

1.2. 

1.3. 

2. 

2.1. 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

2.5. 

2.6. 

2.7. 

3. 

4. 

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 2 

Background .................................................................................................................. 2 

Policy context ............................................................................................................... 2 

Coverage of Member States and other countries ......................................................... 3 

FOLLOW-UP ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGULATION ......................... 4 

Compliance with legal obligations ............................................................................... 4 

Data collection methods used by the Member States ................................................... 5 

Costs and burdens of data collection and reporting on the Member States ................. 5 

Validation and quality checks on the data received ..................................................... 6 

Methodological support provided by Eurostat to Member States ................................ 7 

Data sharing ................................................................................................................. 7 

Statistics on passenger transport by inland waterways ................................................ 9 

POSSIBLE FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN INLAND WATERWAY 
TRANSPORT STATISTICS ..................................................................................... 10 

CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................ 12 

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1. 

 INTRODUCTION 

1.1.  BACKGROUND 

Regulation  (EU)  2018/974  on  statistics  of  goods  transport  by  inland  waterways  ( 1 )  (the 
Regulation) ensures comparable, reliable, harmonised, regular, and comprehensive statistical data 
on  inland  waterway  goods  transport  within  the  EU.  Such  data  provides  support  to  ministries, 
associations, shipping  companies, operators using inland  waterways and ports for transporting 
goods,  and  policy  makers.  Inland  waterway  transport  statistics  help  to  monitor  and  develop 
regional, national and trans-European policies, support infrastructure planning and traffic control, 
and provide valuable information on the modal shift to clean modes of transport. They also serve 
as a single source of common information across the EU, compiling data on the goods transported 
by inland waterways for each country rather than by individual rivers. 

Under  Article  9  of  the  Regulation,  the  Commission,  after  consulting  the  European  Statistical 
System  Committee,  must  report  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  how  the 
Regulation is being implemented and on possible future developments. The first report was due 
by 31 December 2020 (2), with further reports to follow every five years. This is the second such 
report. 

Section 1 of this report explains the policy context and coverage of the Regulation in the Member 
States and other countries. Section 2 provides follow-up on how the Regulation is implemented 
by  the  Member  States  and  the  Commission  (Eurostat).  This  covers  legal  compliance,  data 
collection  methods  used  by  Member  States,  the  costs  and  burden  on  them,  Eurostat’s  data 
validation and quality checks, methodological support provided to Member States by Eurostat, 
and information on data sharing. 

The  last  part  of  Section  2  describes  the  developments  for  statistics  on  passenger  transport  by 
inland waterways. Section 3 summarises potential future developments in inland waterway goods 
and passenger transport statistics, and Section 4 puts forward the report’s key conclusions. 

1.2.  POLICY CONTEXT 

Inland waterway transport is an important component of Europe’s transport system, featuring a 
network spanning over 49 684 kilometres across 20 EU Member States (3). Compared with other 
modes  of  transport,  which  often  face  congestion  and  capacity  problems,  transport  by  inland 
waterways  provides  a  more  reliable  and  energy-efficient  alternative  and  has  considerable 
potential  for  expanding  its  use.  Along  with  rail,  inland  waterway  transport  has  long  been 
acknowledged  as  one  of  the  most  CO2-efficient  means  of  transporting  goods.  It  is  therefore 
considered  crucial  to  the  EU’s  initiatives  including  modal  shift  objectives  to  reducing  carbon 

1 OJ L 179, 16.7.2018, p. 14-29. ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/974/oj. 
2 The first report was adopted on 18 December 2020 (COM(2020) 821 final). 
3 The calculation is based on data available at 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/iww_if_infrastr__custom_16182625/default/table?lang=en 
(Available in English, French and German). The total network length is based on 2023 data, except for Belgium 
where the most recent data available are from 2008. 

2 

 
 
 
emissions in the transport sector (4). Moreover, inland waterway transport generates lower noise 
emissions and provides high safety levels, a considerable advantage especially for the transport 
of dangerous goods. It also relieves the burden on overloaded road networks in densely populated 
regions (5). 

Given these strengths, inland waterway transport could potentially play a crucial role in the EU’s 
transport  system.  The  European  Commission  recognises  the  considerable  growth  potential  of 
inland waterway transport and is committed to enhancing its competitiveness and role within the 
intermodal logistics network. This commitment is reflected in the Naiades III action programme 
(6).  The  programme  mainly  focuses  on  shifting  more  cargo  to  Europe’s  rivers  and  canals  and 
transitioning towards zero-emission barges by 2050. It also includes measures for encouraging 
the development and deployment of zero-emission and zero-waste technologies for vessels and 
inland ports. The Naiades III action programme is aligned with the European Green Deal (7) and 
the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy (8), which aim to increase inland waterway transport 
and short sea shipping by 25% by 2030 to 50% by 2050. 

European inland waterway transport statistics are essential for the development, monitoring and 
evaluation  of  initiatives  and  policies  under  the  Naiades  III  programme  and  other  EU 
environmental, transport and EU single market programmes. Such initiatives and policies require 
in-depth knowledge of the scale of inland waterway transport and the ways in which this mode of 
transport is evolving over time. 

1.3.  COVERAGE OF MEMBER STATES AND OTHER COUNTRIES 

The Regulation directly applies in its entirety to all Member States. It does not need to be turned 
into national legislation. However, inland waterway transport does not exist in all Member States. 
Therefore, the effect of the Regulation is limited to those in which this mode of transport exists. 

For  those  Member  States  with  inland  waterway  goods  transport,  the  Regulation  establishes  a 
threshold above which countries are obliged to provide data. The reporting obligation applies to 
all Member States where the total volume of goods transported annually by inland waterways 
exceeds one million tonnes. Currently, 11 Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, France, 
Croatia, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania and Slovakia) are obliged to 
supply data for all the following mandatory tables listed in Annexes I to IV: 

• 
• 
• 
• 

I1: Goods transport by type of goods (annual data); 
II1: Transport by nationality of the vessel and type of vessel (annual data); 
III1: Container transport by type of goods (annual data); 
IV1: Transport by nationality of vessels (quarterly data); 

4 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0324 (Available only in English). 
5 https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/inland-waterways_en (Available in all official EU languages). 
6 https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/inland-waterways/promotion-inland-waterway-transport/naiades-

iii-action-plan_en (Available in all official EU languages). 

7 COM(2019) 640 final;  

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52019DC0640&qid=1758888521529 

8 COM(2020) 789 final; 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0789&qid=1758888687830 

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• 

IV2: Container transport by nationality of vessels (quarterly data). 

Among the countries obliged to supply data, Belgium, Hungary (9) and Luxembourg also provide 
data for the optional Table II2: Vessel traffic (annual data) in Annex II to the Regulation. 

According to the Regulation, countries that exceed the one million tonne threshold but have no 
international or transit traffic are required to provide only a reduced Table V1: Goods transport 
(annual data), as set out in Annex V to the Regulation. Currently, this provision applies only to 
Sweden. However, Sweden voluntarily provides all mandatory tables, not only the reduced annual 
table. 

Five additional Member States with inland waterway transport activity below the thresholds set 
by the Regulation currently provide data on a voluntary basis: Czechia, Finland, Italy, Lithuania 
and  Poland.  Czechia,  Finland  and  Poland  submit  all  the  mandatory  tables  required  by  the 
Regulation. Czechia also provides annual data on vessel traffic for the optional Table II2. Italy 
and Lithuania, by contrast, only provide annual data on goods transport for the reduced Table V1. 
Outside  the  EU,  the  candidate  country  Serbia  provides  data  for  Table  IV1:  Transport  by 
nationality of vessels (quarterly data) in Annex IV to the Regulation. 

In addition to the tables in the Regulation, the Commission Expert Group on Inland Waterway 
Transport  Statistics  agreed,  in  February  2007,  to  organise  voluntary  data  collections  on  the 
transport of dangerous goods (Table A2) and accidents (Table A3). In October 2013, the Group 
also  decided  to  organise  voluntary  data  collections  on  goods  transport  by  port  of 
loading/unloading (Table A4) and on goods transport by type of cargo (Table A5).  

For the reference year 2024, voluntary data submissions were made by several countries across 
different tables as follows: 

•  Table A2 was reported by seven countries: Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, 

Romania, and Slovakia; 

•  Table A3 was reported by five countries: Czechia, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, and Poland; 
•  Table A4 was  reported  by eight countries:  Bulgaria, Czechia,  Finland,  Germany, Croatia, 

Austria, Poland, and Romania; 

•  Table  A5  was  also  reported  by  eight  countries:  Bulgaria,  Finland,  Germany,  Croatia, 

Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, and Romania. 

2. 

FOLLOW-UP ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGULATION 

2.1.  COMPLIANCE WITH LEGAL OBLIGATIONS 

Compliance with the data provision obligations laid down in the Regulation is very good. All 
Member States provided the datasets required, following the agreed methodology and within the 
deadlines set. Minor delays have been observed in only a few cases, but they have not had an 
impact on the production of statistics. The high level of compliance results in reliable and high-
quality statistics on goods transport via inland waterways. 

9 No data on vessel traffic were reported by Hungary for reference years 2022, 2023 and 2024. 

4 

 
 
 
In  terms  of  confidentiality,  most  Member  States  report  no  issues.  However,  some  countries 
(Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary) designate their data on port of loading and port of  unloading  as 
confidential. These data are relevant for a voluntary table not within the scope of the Regulation. 
In addition, France has marked some data as confidential as of reference year 2023. For all types 
of confidential data, Eurostat applies rules and measures to prevent their disclosure. 

2.2.  DATA COLLECTION METHODS USED BY THE MEMBER STATES 

Data  collection  and  compilation  processes  differ  among  reporting  countries  but  follow  a 
traditional bottom-up flow of information. Data suppliers also vary between countries, with the 
most  frequent  sources  being  port  and  lock  authorities.  Countries  complete  their  data  with 
information  received  from  a  wide  range  of  sources,  including  customs  offices,  neighbouring 
countries, private operators, firms and agencies. Most reporting countries also use data obtained 
from  their  river  information  service  (RIS)  systems  or  other  systems.  In  addition,  all  reporting 
countries make direct or indirect use of data collected at national level, either for policy purposes 
or for sharing. 

Most national authorities apply validation checks using internally developed control procedures 
before sending the information to Eurostat. The validation rules cover many aspects of the process, 
including  data  formatting  and  codification.  They  also  cover  consistency  within  each  dataset, 
between different datasets and variables, and on the time series. 

General information on data collection and compilation is published in the EU reference metadata 
(10) that Eurostat updates regularly. Specific information on national methodologies is published 
in national metadata files updated by countries on a yearly basis. In addition to this, Eurostat’s 
Reference Manual on Inland Waterway Transport Statistics (11) includes a chapter on national 
methodologies with subchapters on data sources, data compilation, validation and sharing. The 
chapter  on  national  methodologies  is  based  on  a  questionnaire  sent  to  Member  States.  This 
questionnaire has been revised and was sent to countries for completion in 2025. The countries’ 
replies will be incorporated in an upcoming revision of the reference manual. 

2.3.  COSTS AND BURDENS OF DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING ON THE MEMBER STATES 

According to the information provided by the Member States, most reporting countries consider 
the workload involved in data provision to be acceptable. Several Member States report that the 
response burden is put on shipping agents, vessel captains, skippers, port administrations, port 
authorities,  regional  harbour  masters,  ports  and  other  loading  places,  or  other  parties  who  are 
appointed as agents to collect the required information. 

The administrative burden may increase where detected errors need to be manually cleared or 
data  suppliers  need  to  be  re-contacted.  There  may  also  be  an  extra  burden  involved  in  the 
collection of data on transit transport, which sometimes requires bilateral cooperation with other 

10 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/iww_go_esms.htm (Available only in English). 
11 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/29567/3217334/iww_reference_manual_april_2023.pdf/957

85869-c98a-7f6a-a936-b243bb5ba468 (Available only in English). 

5 

 
 
 
Member States to obtain the data or imputation and extrapolation procedures. Overall, the cost of 
the data collection and reporting is not regarded as very high. 

Member  States  that  are  able  to  quantify  the  cost  and  burden  on  their  inland  waterway  data 
collection report significant disparities depending on the volume of inland waterway transport in 
the country and the data compilation systems. However, the Regulation has set up thresholds on 
the magnitude of transport activity to limit the reporting burden while maintaining the quality of 
statistics. 

Reducing burden and simplification 

Eurostat is working to reduce the data collection burden and maintains a communication channel 
with  the Member States  on this matter.  In  cooperation with  the national  statistical  authorities, 
Eurostat is implementing specific measures to reduce the burden of data collection and reporting. 
These include: 

• 

• 

• 

the development of a distance matrix to support the calculation of inland waterway transport 
measurements in tonne-kilometres or passenger-kilometres; 
new validation tools developed by Eurostat, which allow reporting countries to validate their 
data before they officially transmit them to Eurostat (pre-validation) and to receive feedback 
on errors for each dataset; 
consultations  with  the  Member  States,  European  Free  Trade  Area  (EFTA)  countries, 
candidate countries and potential candidates on methodological issues and new requests (e.g. 
on passenger transport), aiming to reduce the burden on producing inland waterway transport 
statistics as far as possible. 

2.4.  VALIDATION AND QUALITY CHECKS ON THE DATA RECEIVED 

Data collection and transmission is the responsibility of the Member States, but Eurostat takes all 
necessary measures to ensure high-quality statistics and detect any errors or inconsistencies in the 
data received. 

Since  2023,  Eurostat  has  implemented  a  sophisticated  IT  data  management  system  with  two 
improved  components:  new  data  validation  tools,  and  powerful  Statistical  Analysis  Systems  
(SAS) software for processing, quality checking and publishing inland waterway transport data. 

Data transmission and validation procedures are  now highly standardised. Reporting countries 
transmit datasets to Eurostat via the EDAMIS (12) portal using a structure that is compatible with 
the  SDMX  (Statistical  Data  and  Metadata  eXchange)  standard.  A  robust  two-step  validation 
process is then applied to the datasets received. 

•  Firstly,  the  STRUVAL  (STRUctural  VALidation)  tool  validates  each  dataset  in  terms  of 
format, completeness of mandatory fields, and correctness of structure and codes used. 

12 Electronic Dataflow Administration and Management Information System. This is the single-entry point for data 

exchange used by Eurostat. https://cros.ec.europa.eu/dashboard/edamis  

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•  Secondly, the CONVAL (CONtent VALidation) tool validates the content of each dataset on 
the basis of predefined rules and thresholds. CONVAL validation takes place only once a 
dataset successfully passes the STRUVAL validation. 

Reporting countries receive a detailed validation report after each validation step which makes it 
easy to correct any errors. Eurostat is regularly updating the validation rules applied in order to 
meet evolving needs and ensure that high-quality statistics are produced. 

Once data have been loaded into Eurostat’s SAS production database, detailed quality checks are 
applied to the data. These checks concern time series consistency, inter-dataset consistency of 
quarterly  and  annual  data,  and  the  comparison  of  results  between  partner  reporting  countries 
(mirror checks). 

Overall,  the quality  of the data transmitted  are  good. Nevertheless, efforts are still required to 
reduce  the  asymmetries  detected  by  mirror  checks  and  to  improve  data  reporting  on  inland 
waterway transit transport. 

2.5.  METHODOLOGICAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY EUROSTAT TO MEMBER STATES 

Eurostat provides reporting countries with continuous methodological and technical support for 
implementing the Regulation in an effort to maintain high-quality data and metadata. 

Meetings  of  the  Commission  Expert  Group  on  Inland  Waterway  Transport  Statistics  provide 
Member States, EFTA countries, candidate countries and potential candidates with an opportunity 
to discuss data quality, methodological issues and new projects. Implementation of the Regulation 
is also a standing item on the agenda at the annual meetings of the Commission Coordinating 
Group for Statistics on Transport. 

In addition to that, Eurostat’s Reference Manual on Inland Waterway Transport Statisticsprovides 
reporting countries with detailed guidance on implementation of the Regulation. The reference 
manual is updated regularly (usually on an annual basis) to include the most recent information, 
documentation and guidelines relevant to the collection of inland waterway transport statistics. 

The Glossary for transport statistics (13), produced in close cooperation with the United Nations 
Economic  Commission  for  Europe  and  the  International  Transport  Forum,  has  undergone  a 
significant  revision.  The  glossary  aims  to  standardise  definitions  of  transport  statistics  at 
European  and  international  level.  The  revised  glossary  will  include  an  updated  and  improved 
section on inland waterway transport with definitions mirroring those in the Regulation and new 
definitions  pertaining  to  passenger  transport  by  inland  waterways.  The  revised  glossary  is 
scheduled to be published in early 2026. 

2.6.  DATA SHARING 

Eurostat’s online database 

13 https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2785/675927 (Available in English, French and German). 

7 

 
 
 
Eurostat publishes the data collected under the Regulation through its online database, which is 
freely accessible via the Eurostat website (14). The database contains 17 tables on inland waterway 
goods  transport,  which  are  updated  regularly  and  complemented  by  detailed  European  and 
national metadata files. 

Sharing products 

Eurostat  produces  the  following  four  Statistics  Explained  articles  on  inland  waterway  goods 
transport. These articles provide the media and the general public with an overview of the most 
important developments in this mode of transport and an analysis of the data collected under the 
Regulation. 

1.  Inland waterway freight transport – quarterly and annual data (15) 
2.  Inland waterway transport statistics by product category (16) 
3.  Inland waterways – statistics on container transport (17) 
4.  Inland waterway freight transport at regional level (18) 

These articles are updated annually as soon as the data collection for a given reference year is 
finalised. 

Other means of sharing 

Data  on  inland  waterway  transport  are  also  shared  via  Eurostat’s  news  articles  (e.g.  Inland 
waterway freight transport drops again in 2023) (19) and other Eurostat publications, such as Key 
figures on European transport (20) and Key figures on Europe (21). The data are also disseminated 
in  publications  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Mobility  and  Transport  (e.g.  in  their  Statistical 
pocketbook) (22). 

Inland  waterway  goods  transport  data  are  also  included  in  the  Sustainable  Development 
Monitoring Report (23) that observes progress in the EU policy objective of shifting freight from 
road to rail and inland waterways. The relevant indicator in that report analyses the short-term 
and  long-term  development  in  the  ratio  of  rail  and  inland  waterways  to  total  inland  freight 
transport in tonne-kilometres. 

Eurostat  also  offers  bespoke  data  extractions  upon  user  request.  All  data  included  in  bespoke 
extractions and publications are also published in Eurostat’s online database. 

14 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/transport/information-data/inland-waterways-transport (Available in English, 

French and German). 

15 Inland waterway freight transport - quarterly and annual data (Available only in English). 
16 Inland waterway transport statistics by product category (Available only in English). 
17 Inland waterways - statistics on container transport (Available only in English). 
18 Inland waterway freight transport at regional level (Available only in English). 
19 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20240920-1 (Available only in English). 
20 https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2785/9777356 (Available only in English). 
21 https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2785/318624 (Available in English, French and German). 
22 https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2832/16593 (Available only in English). 
23 https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2785/98370 (Available only in English). 

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2.7. 

STATISTICS ON PASSENGER TRANSPORT BY INLAND WATERWAYS 

Even  though  inland  waterway  transport  is  a  small  sector,  its  passenger  transport  segment  is 
growing rapidly. Therefore, data on its economic activity and development is essential for market 
observation and policy development. 

Currently, the Regulation does not require the collection of statistics on passenger transport by 
inland waterways. However, Article 5 of the Regulation requires the Commission, in cooperation 
with the Member States, to investigate the development of statistics on passenger transport by 
inland waterways, including by cross-border transport services. 

Following the requirements of Article 5, in 2018 Eurostat and the Member States developed a 
draft methodology for compiling statistics on passenger transport by inland waterways, to be used 
by  the  Member  States  in  pilot  studies.  In  2019,  Eurostat  co-funded  seven  Member  States 
(Germany, Croatia, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania and Sweden) to carry out pilot studies 
which comprised two modules: statistics on passenger transport by inland waterways (module 1); 
and  statistics  on  inland  waterway  accidents  (module  2).  In  2020,  Eurostat  also  conducted  a 
passenger  transport  statistics  survey  with  all  Member  States  concerned  to  complement  the 
observations made in the seven pilot studies. 

In February 2021, the Commission adopted a report to the European Parliament and to the Council 
(24) presenting the outcome of the pilot studies and the 2020 survey on inland waterway passenger 
transport statistics. The report focused on the feasibility of collecting new data, statistical  data 
quality,  related  methodology,  and  the  costs  and  burdens  for  the  Member  States.  The  report 
concluded that the pilot studies had thoroughly investigated the feasibility of collecting data on 
inland waterway passenger transport, showing that in the seven participating countries, it would 
be feasible to collect such data to a certain extent. However, the report also concluded that the 
need for data would have to be balanced with the availability of information and the burden on 
respondents. 

The outcome of the pilot studies was presented at the meeting of the Commission Expert Group 
on Inland Waterway Transport Statistics in October 2021. After this meeting, Eurostat launched 
a  consultation  with  the  Member  States  aiming  to  adapt  the  proposed  methodology  to  the 
observations of the pilot studies and other country comments. This consultation’s outcome led to 
a simplification of the proposed datasets on inland waterway passenger transport to reduce the 
burden on respondents.  A revised version of the draft methodology was discussed at a second 
country consultation in May 2022. This consultation concluded the discussions on the proposed 
methodology,  which  resulted  in  four  datasets  on  inland  waterway  passenger  transport  being 
included. 

•  Dataset 1: number of passengers, excluding river cruise passengers, transported by region of 

embarkation, region of disembarkation and type of journey (annual dataset). 

•  Dataset 2: river cruises – number of passengers by region of embarkation (annual dataset). 

24 Report of 12.2.2021 from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the results of pilot 
studies carried out by Member States on statistics on passenger transport by inland waterways according to Article 
5(3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/974, COM(2021) 59 final; https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021DC0059.  

9 

 
 
 
•  Dataset  3:  river  cruises  –  number  of  trips  starting  their  journey  in  the  reporting  country 

(annual dataset). 

•  Dataset 4: number of vessels registered in a country (whether or not navigating in its inland 
waterway  routes)  by  type  of  accommodation,  vessel  capacity  and  vessel  age  (dataset 
collected every two years). 

To test the agreed methodology again, Eurostat co-funded pilot projects  on data collection for 
inland waterway passenger transport through its 2022 call for proposals (grants). Four proposals 
were submitted and co-funded in 2023. The outcome of these projects was presented during the 
2025 meeting of the Commission Expert Group on Inland Waterway Transport Statistics. 

These project results will allow the passenger transport by inland waterways methodology to be 
fine-tuned as necessary. Eurostat finalised the methodology in December 2025. As a next step, it 
will set up a voluntary regular data collection to assess the methodology’s robustness in the longer 
term and the Member States’ efficacy to produce the desired datasets. The first voluntary data 
collection is planned for 2026 covering the reference year 2025. 

Progress in this domain is regularly presented and discussed by DIMESA (Commission Expert 
Group – Directors of Sectoral and Environmental Statistics and Accounts) (25). 

3. 

POSSIBLE  FUTURE  DEVELOPMENTS 
TRANSPORT STATISTICS 

IN 

INLAND  WATERWAY 

Inland  waterway  transport  statistics  play  a  crucial  role  in  laying  down  and  monitoring  policy 
targets.  This  is  currently  achieved  by  providing  data  on  volumes  of  goods  transported,  inland 
waterway vessel numbers and traffic, inland waterway infrastructure, as well as investment and 
maintenance  expenditure  in  inland  waterway  transport  infrastructure.  Data  on  equipment, 
infrastructure and expenditure are collected on a voluntary basis and not under the Regulation but 
using the Eurostat/ITF/UNECE Common Questionnaire on inland transport statistics. The data 
collection provides indicators on various aspects, such as: 

• 

• 

• 

the length of the navigable inland waterway network; 
the number of freight vessels by type, year of construction and load capacity; 
the  level  of  investment  and  maintenance  expenditure  on  inland  waterway  transport 
infrastructure. 

In addition, Eurostat is looking for ways to help countries report current statistics. In this context, 
one development that has been mentioned by Member States is Eurostat’s support in compiling 
transit data on the basis of a distance matrix at port-to-port level. The Commission is developing 
such a distance matrix to help reduce the burden associated with  data collection. By using the 
distance  matrix,  Member  States  can  break  down  the  total  distance  from  port  to  port  into  the 
individual  distances  travelled  in  each  of  the  countries  passed  through  along  the  journey.  The 
further development of the distance matrix mainly depends on the precise identification of the 
geographical position of each port. The distance matrix will also  ease Eurostat's calculation of 

25 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-groups/consult?groupID=1528  

10 

 
 
 
modal split indicators. However, for this purpose, Member States are encouraged to provide data 
on goods volumes by port of loading/unloading, despite this being voluntary. 

Inland waterway transport data are often compared with data for other transport modes, to assess 
modal split. In this context, Member States are encouraged to report inland waterway transport 
by  type  of  cargo  in  order  to  boost  comparability  with  other  modes  of  transport,  in  particular 
maritime and road. 

Furthermore,  inland  waterways  have  the  potential  to  play  a  larger  role  in  passenger  transport, 
acting as an essential component of sustainable mobility. Recognising this potential, Eurostat has 
made  considerable  progress  in  developing  a  methodology  for  inland  waterway  passenger 
transport statistics and by supporting relevant pilot projects run by national statistical authorities. 
As described Section 2, Eurostat plans to refine the relevant methodology and collaborate with 
Member States to set up voluntary, regular data collection. This initiative aims to further evaluate 
the methodology’s robustness. 

Eurostat also plans to further develop its statistics on inland waterway accidents. In 2026, based 
on  the  findings  of  the  2019  pilot  studies,  Eurostat  will  launch  a  written  consultation  with  the 
Commission Expert Group on Inland Waterway Transport Statistics on the feasibility of voluntary 
datasets with variables and dimensions in addition to the ones currently disseminated, such as the 
degree of seriousness of an accident, the type of accident, the type of vessels involved, and the 
number of people killed or injured. 

Given  that  there  is  an  increasing  demand  for  information  about  the  environmental  aspects  of 
inland waterway transport and vessel characteristics such as fuel type, Eurostat will discuss with 
the Member States the possibility to introduce relevant variables on the basis of information from 
administrative sources. 

Regulation (EU) 2024/3018 amends Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (26). It 
provides  that  national  statistical  institutes  and  other  national  authorities  may  access  and  use 
administrative  data  free  of  charge,  in  a  timely  manner  and  with  sufficient  frequency,  for  the 
production and sharing of European statistics. 

In  this  context,  Eurostat  will  discuss  with  the  Member  States  the  possibility  of  using 
administrative data from the river information services (RIS) system for statistical purposes. This 
system provides harmonised information services to support traffic and transport management in 
inland waterway navigation. Eurostat will investigate the possibility of using RIS data on vessel 
traffic for statistics; such data comprise information on vessel positions through the RIS vessel 
tracking and tracing standards. 

In addition, Directive (EU) 2016/1629 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway 
vessels (27) applies common conditions for issuing inland navigation certificates for vessels in the 
EU.  To  ensure  proper  application  of  this  Directive,  a  dedicated  database  –  the  European  Hull 
Database –  has been  created to  hold  data identifying  inland waterway vessels,  data  on certain 
characteristics  as  well  as  vessel  certificates.  Eurostat  will  explore  the  possibility  of  retrieving 

26 OJ L, 2024/3018, 6.12.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/3018/oj.  
27 OJ L 252, 16.9.2016, p. 118–176, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2016/1629/oj. 

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administrative data from this database for statistical purposes, to further reduce the data collection 
burden on Member States. 

The geographical coverage of inland waterway transport statistics could  also be extended as a 
result of future enlargement of the EU to include new countries. Several candidate countries for 
membership of the European Union are currently undertaking pilot data collection initiatives for 
both freight and passenger transport by inland waterways. These initiatives have been funded by 
the  Instrument  for  Pre-Accession  Assistance  (IPA).  The  findings  of  these  pilot  projects  are 
expected in 2026 and 2027. Eurostat is constantly supporting the efforts and future progress of 
candidate  countries  and  potential candidates  on complying with  the Regulation, by discussing 
methodological issues, data quality, data transmission and validation processes. 

4. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The experience gained and the results obtained from implementing the Regulation remain positive. 
Member States comply with the data provision obligations, and the resources allocated at both 
Eurostat and national level are sufficient to ensuring high-quality outcomes. 

Eurostat takes all necessary measures to support and help Member States in implementing the 
Regulation and encourages candidate countries and potential candidates to obtain and compile 
inland  waterway  transport  statistics.  Eurostat  has  modernised  its  IT  system  for  validating  and 
processing inland waterway transport data, improving the quality of those data and facilitating 
the work of the national statistical authorities. 

The Commission Expert Group on Inland Waterway Transport Statistics remains the body under 
which  the  Regulation’s  implementation  and  potential  improvements  to  it  are  discussed.  To 
prevent imposing additional burdens on the Member States, Eurostat is not currently considering 
the introduction of further mandatory data collections. Instead, Eurostat is planning to set up a 
voluntary, regular collection of data on passenger transport by inland waterways. Other future 
developments will include the potential retrieval of administrative data, and the finalisation of the 
distance matrix at port-to-port level. 

Inland  waterway transport statistics  are disseminated via Eurostat’s online database, statistical 
and news articles and other Commission publications. These statistics are valuable to Member 
States, policymakers, sectoral organisations and river commissions, since they help them design 
and assess policies for sustainable, clean and safe transport. 

The Regulation efficiently and effectively helps to generate reliable, harmonised inland waterway 
transport  statistics  at  EU  and  national  levels,  supporting  the  Commission  in  promoting 
competitiveness and intermodal logistics integration for inland waterway transport. 

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