On the 11th – 12th of March 2026, the CESNI-TI meeting was hosted by the Danube Commission at its headquarters in Budapest.

Following the CESNI-QP and CESNI-PT meetings in 2024 and 2025, respectively, the CESNI-TI was the third CESNI working group to convene in Budapest. These meetings demonstrate the productive cooperation between the Central Commission for the Navigation on the Rhine and the Danube Commission. Both River Commissions intend to continue this successful cooperation by bringing CESNI’s activities closer to the Danube region and its Member States.

The CESNI TI focused on several topics highly relevant also for the Danube region, such as the tasks assigned to the temporary working groups for Electronic Chart Display and Information System for Inland Navigation (CESNI/TI/Inland ECDIS), for Electronic Reporting International (CESNI/TI/ERI), for Vessel Tracking and Tracing (CESNI/TI/VTT), and for Notices to Skippers (CESNI/TI/NtS), as well as the validation of the draft ES-RIS 2027/1, impact assessment of eFTI on the ERI part of ES-RIS, and the impact of the future revised RIS Directive on ES-RIS. The representative of the European Commission, Marta Wolska, informed the working group on the status of Directive (EU) 2025/2482 on harmonized RIS on inland waterways (link) and its implementation in national legislation, including adjustments to national RIS systems.

During the meeting, the DC Secretariat informed the working group about the relevant projects and initiatives in the Danube Region regarding digitalization and information technology: the CEF DiVINE project for the Implementation of the Inland Waterway Transport Digitalization Vision and the CEF UkrRIS – Danube for the development and implementation of RIS on the Ukrainian part of the Danube. In addition, the DC intends to organize a joint workshop with COMEX2 for barge tracking and identification, including the topic of autonomous navigation in the Danube region.