The advisory event, held on 29 January 2026, was organised by the Danube Commission for the first time to discuss various aspects of the work of crew members of inland navigation vessels. Topics covered vocational education and training, social and legal protection, state supervision and control over compliance with qualification requirements, conditions and peculiarities of the labour market situation. Particular attention was paid to development prospects of the applicable regulatory framework at the European level.
National transport authorities, law enforcement agencies, shipping companies, trade unions, educational institutions attended the meeting, as well as representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), European Committee for Drawing Up Standards in the Field of Inland Navigation (CESNI), European Labour Authority (ELA), European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), etc.
The Ukrainian delegation delivered a presentation on the status of implementation of Directive (EU) 2017/2397 on the recognition of professional qualifications in inland navigation and related acts in Ukraine. Advances in adopting key secondary legislative acts that supplement the Law of Ukraine “On Inland Waterway Transport” while transposing the provisions of the Directive into national legislation were outlined. These include, inter alia, the list of questions for computer-based examination necessary for obtaining qualification documents, approved by the Shipping Administration, which incorporates the requirements of the European standard ES-QIN.
International experts highly appreciated Ukraine’s significant progress in implementing the EU acquis in the field of professional qualifications in inland waterway transport. They expressed hope that the russian federation’s aggression against Ukraine would not hinder further planned activities towards obtaining a relevant implementing act from the European Commission.