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Doc. 7006
1403-25/1/94-10-E
OPINION
on the preservation and development of the Danube basin1
(Rapporteur: Mr KONECNY,
Austria, Socialist Group)
Your Rapporteur may be forgiven for choosing to focus the present opinion — on the report of the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities (Rapporteur: Mr Zierer) — on the recently opened (1992) Rhine-Main-Danube canal and its economic aspects. He will also touch briefly on another issue with clear economic ramifications, namely energy production from the Danube.
The Danube receives water from more than a hundred tributaries, from a huge basin encompassing 76 million people of ten nations. The historic changes that have taken place in central and eastern Europe have prepared the ground for particularly close economic relations in this part of Europe. The opening-up — politically, economically and transport-wise — of central and eastern Europe has nevertheless shown the magnitude of the problems to be overcome following forty or more years of division.
The Rhine-Main-Danube waterway: The opening in 1992 of the Rhine-Main-Danube waterway (see map in Appendix 1) was a major event in European transportation history. A trans-European link of 3 500 kilometres linking Rotterdam directly to the Black Sea port of Ismail was inaugurated, traversing eleven countries.
If the link's completion coincided in time with the "reunion" of the two halves of Europe after a generation of "Cold War" and east-west confrontation, then its preparation goes far back. The northern part of the Main-Danube canal, from Bamberg to Nuremberg (72 kilometres) was started already in 1969, and the southern part , from Nuremberg to Kelheim (99 kilometres) in 1971. The full length of the canal is 171 kilometres.
Also the financing of the Main-Danube canal is interesting. Briefly put, about half of the total cost of some US$ 3.5 thousand million was financed out of the profits of the fifty-three hydro-electric power stations along the canal, while the Land of Bavaria and the German federal government are financing the remainder in the form of a long-term interest-free loan.
The development of river traffic in general must be assessed in the context of the currently strong demand for the use of roads. The development of traffic on the Danube, as well as greater trade among countries in the region and between these countries and the rest of Europe all require important further investment in infrastructure.
Generally speaking, Europe would be well advised to make greater use of inland waterways, as a quieter, cheaper, less energy-consuming and less polluting alternative to other forms of traffic. This holds especially for goods which are bulky, or where speed of transportation is not the primary concern.
The Bavarian Ministry of Commerce and Industry estimates the reduction of transport costs on the Main-Danube canal at between 40% and 60% as compared to other forms of transport. The ministry also sees the new waterway as a major factor in regional development, not least in north-western Bavaria where unemployment is significant. Nuremberg, for instance, which is situated some 750 kilometres from the nearest sea, has now become one among a number of prosperous "new ports", benefiting and encouraging the much-needed change toward "combined traffic" (waterways, roads, rails) using roll-on-roll-off technology and containers.
Traffic on the Rhine-Main-Danube canal has perhaps not yet lived up to the expectations: the traffic volumes on the canal have thus far amounted to 2,5 million tonne-km (compared to the targeted 8-10 million) — largely owing to the United Nations sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro which have seriously curtailed trade in the whole of south-eastern Europe. However, there is no doubt that the link will be of great value in forging trade links between western and eastern Europe.
Another, let us hope temporary, problem is the fact that shipping on the Rhine is governed by one convention, and navigation on the Danube by another. This fact is described in greater detail in another report now before the Assembly (report on European transport problems, Doc. 6978; Rapporteur: Mr Efraimoǧlou), so it will not be dealt with here, except by joining in that report's call for harmonisation of the two conventions to permit smooth passage.
Shipping on the Danube is compromised by navigational difficulties on the Austrian and Hungarian parts of the river, typical of those found in rivers containing large lateral expanses. The latter cause strong and irregular variations in the water flow, and hence water depth, and they also form sandbanks. Owing to these difficulties, a large part of the merchandise transported must be transshipped onto the Danube fleet at Regensburg-Ost — a complication which raises transport costs.
For this reason the Danube Commission in charge of issuing recommendations on navigation channel gauges is now planning major works which will ensure minimum depth for navigation. However, your Rapporteur would be against any transformation of the Danube into a large-gauge channel, for he is convinced that development of the Danube for deep draft navigation on the one hand, and the conservation of alluvial plains and forests on the other, are two incompatible goals. It is preferable, also from the transport cost point of view, to use ships adapted to the Danube as it is today.
Given the enormous growth of road transport between the eastern and western parts of Europe, the use of the Danube as a main waterway could, however, decisively contribute to a reduction of air pollution. Under these circumstances other projects for shipping-channel connections — for example the often discussed channel between the Danube and the Oder — should be reconsidered.
Energy production and the environment: The protection of the environment cannot be dissociated from the production and use of energy. Poor energy management is one of the main sources of environmental damage, pollution and other hazards in the Danube region.
Under these conditions it is necessary to define a new energy policy which also takes into account energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy.
The hydroelectric potential is great in most of the Danube countries and these possess considerable expertise in this field — a knowledge which is indeed being exported throughout the world. Hydroelectric power is well developed in the Danube countries, and some of them — such as Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria plan further expansion in the years to come.
However, large hydroelectric power plants may have a large impact on the environment, for instance as regards the equilibrium of river ecosystems and for drinking water resources. This holds particularly for dams located in plain regions along the Danube, the Gabcicovo installation in Slovakia being a good example.
Your Rapporteur therefore believes that the development of large hydroelectric power plants on the Danube should be limited and carefully contemplated beforehand. New projects must be the object of detailed impact studies which take the ecological, technical and economic aspects into account along with alternative solutions. International consultation should be mandatory, and the interests of neighbouring countries taken into due account. The use of the hydroelectrical potential of the Danube could, however, contribute to a reduction of more polluting and more dangerous forms of energy production, which are a major occurrence in many of the central and eastern European countries concerned.
In conclusion, the Committee of Economic Affairs and Development supports the report of the Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities (Doc. 6992), subject to proposing the following amendments for inclusion in the relevant draft recommendation:
Amendment 1:
In paragraph 5, after the word "economic" the words "and energy" should be included, so that the phrase reads: "... economic and energy potential ..."
Amendment 2:
In paragraph 9, after the word "economic" the word "energy" should be included, so that the phrase reads: "... economic, energy, communication, agricultural and demographic components".
Amendment 3:
In paragraph 12, after the word "Authorities" add "in co-operation with the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development and the Committee on Science and Technology".
Amendment 4: In paragraph 12, after sub-paragraph i. a new paragraph should be included reading as follows:
"this instrument should concentrate on co-ordinated action to make use of the Danube as a main waterway and possibly the core of a system of shipping-channels, as a main source of ecologically acceptable energy production, as the principal reservoir of water both for human consumption and for use in industry and agriculture in the riparian regions, and as an area of relatively undamaged nature, which also offers the potential for touristic development."
APPENDIX
Rhine-Main-Danube waterway
Reporting committee: Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities (Doc. 6992).
Committee for opinion: Committee on Economic Affairs and Development.
Reference to committee: Doc. 6392 and Reference No. 1723 of 18 March 1991.
Opinion unanimously approved by the committee on 25 January 1994.