On 6th October 2020, Expert Meeting on Recognition of Navigation Personnel Certificates was held as on-line conference.
The meeting, convened in accordance with the Work Plan of the Danube Commission (DC) for the period from 10th June 2020 to 31st December 2020, examined the mutual recognition of certificates of professional qualifications for crews of vessels on the Danube; results of the questionnaire survey of the DC member states on the vocational training system for Danube navigation; progress in the implementation of Directive (EC) 2017/2397 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2017 in Danube navigation and the approximation of the DC Recommendations to the Directive; matters concerning the statistical recording of boatmaster’s certificates (patents) issued in the Danube states.
The discussion of the meeting participants and invited guests was focused on the implementation of Directive (EC) 2017/2397 in Danube navigation and the parallel effect of the relevant DC Recommendations. An assessment was made of the situation regarding the implementation of the Directive in the DC member states; a high priority was given to this process in non – EU member states of the DC.
The expert meeting drew the attention of the competent authorities from non – EU member states of the DC to the need to provide the Secretariat with timely information on the status of implementation of Directive (EC) 2017/2397 and to identify possible support from the Commission in order to consolidate efforts to prepare the necessary confirmations by DG Move to avoid restrictions or interruptions of navigation.
The Secretariat informed the meeting that regular statistics on the issued boatmaster’s certificates had been initiated since last year, which greatly contributed to the development of a common position of the DC in the subject-related negotiations in various fora, including DG Move and CESNI/QP.
In summarizing the meeting, the Chair focused on the key findings and proposals made on the agenda items to be adopted by the DC member states and its Secretariat in the short-to-medium term.