EU Inland Water Transport Development in the Face of Market and Regulatory Challenges

Purpose: The main aim of the research is to: 1/ indicate and assess the importance of the inland navigation in the transport market and in the EU regulatory system, 2/ identify, classify and analyse the key factors, including opportunities and barriers to its development in the EU countries, 3/ evaluate the mid-term prospects and potential scenarios of inland navigation development. Design/Methodology/Approach: At conducting this data-deiven research, the following methods were applied: 1. critical literature analysis, 2 factor analysis (FA), 3. mining of data obtained from European Commission (EC) and Eurostat, as well as reports and studies issued by international organizations and institutes, such as ITF, D_STATIS, 4. market analysis (MA) and 5. comparative analysis (CA). Findings: The research results indicate that inland navigation navigation plays a marginal role in the EU transport market, and what more, it loses gradually the market share in favour of other more logistically advanced modes of transport. Only in a few countries, its share in the domestic market is relatively significant and can be maintained in the coming years. Its few advantages, including low GHG emissions, lose their significance in the face of numerous barriers and disruptions that occur more and more often in the freight transport by inland navigation. There is, therefore, a growing discrepancy between the real, i.e. market effects generated by inland navigation for EU transport and logistics system and a very high economic and financial support it receives from the regulatory sphere. Practical Implications: The study reveals the significant inconsistences and disproportions existed between the real role inland navigation plays in the EU transport market performance and the scope of financial, economic and programmatic support it receives from the EU regulator of this market. The current formula for its promotion should be changed in favour of shifting part of this support to rail and intermodal transport in the EU, to boost the transformation of the entire transport sector towards zero-emission. Originality/Value: The research that can be treated as a kind of case study, defines the contemporary challenges facing the transport market regulator in the face of the ongoing profound change, which is the need to carry out the dynamic fuel and energy transformation in transport. This change is associated with the requirement to manage the entire sector, as well as individual transport branches, differently than before. This paper justifies this necessity and sets the path for further action.