Article 1 — Amendments to Directive 2005/44/EC

Directive 2005/44/EC is amended as follows: (1) Article 1 is replaced by the following: Article 1 Subject matter 1. This Directive establishes a framework for the deployment and use of harmonised river information services (RIS) in the Union in order to support inland waterway transport with a view to enhancing its safety, efficiency and sustainability and to facilitating interfaces with other transport modes. 2. This Directive provides a framework for the establishment and further development of technical requirements, specifications and conditions to ensure harmonised, interoperable and accessible RIS on inland waterways in the Union and to facilitate continuity with traffic management services of other transport modes through the use of standardised interfaces. ; (2) in Article 2, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: 1. This Directive applies to the implementation and operation of RIS on all inland waterways and inland ports of the Member States that form part of the trans-European transport network, as specified and listed in Annexes I and II to Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and that are directly connected to inland waterways and inland ports of another Member State that form part of the trans-European transport network, as specified and listed in those Annexes. (3) in Article 3, the following points are added: (i) trans-European transport network or TEN-T means inland waterways as specified in the maps set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2024/1679; (j) European Reference Data Management System or ERDMS means a single point of access repository (library) of reference data and code lists that are used by IT applications in inland waterway transport operated under the authority of the Commission; it does not include the network data provided by the Member State in accordance with Annexes I and III; (k) port community system means an electronic platform for the exchange of information between public and private stakeholders to ensure smooth port and logistics processes; (l) smart inland waterway infrastructure system means an electronic platform that supports semi- and fully automated management of inland waterway transport infrastructure in locks and movable bridges in the TEN-T and is operated by the public management authorities of inland waterways; (m) European RIS Environment means an electronic single-point-of-access platform based on national RIS information that provides technical and operational services for RIS users and contains links to electronic reporting according to the once-only principle; (n) inland port means an inland waterway port of the TEN-T core network or TEN-T comprehensive network, as listed and categorised in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2024/1679. ; (4) Article 4 is replaced by the following: Article 4 Setting-up of RIS 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to implement RIS on inland waterways and inland ports falling within the scope of this Directive. 2. Member States shall develop RIS in such a way that the RIS application is efficient, expandable and interoperable so as to interact with other RIS applications and with systems for other modes of transport, while also providing interfaces to transport management systems and commercial activities. 3. In order to set up RIS, Member States shall: (a) ensure that all relevant data for navigation and voyage planning on inland waterways are supplied to RIS users; those network data, as set out in Annex I, shall be kept up-to-date and provided at least in an accessible common electronic format in accordance with Annex III; (b) ensure that for all their inland waterways and inland ports of the TEN-T, in addition to the data referred to in point (a), electronic navigational charts suitable for navigational purposes are available to RIS users; (c) enable, as far as ship reporting is required by national or international regulations, the competent authorities to receive electronic ship reports of all required data from ships; in cross-border transport, those data shall be made available in full to the competent authorities of the neighbouring Member State before arrival of the vessels at the border; (d) ensure that notices to skippers, including on water level or maximum allowable draught, and ice reports of their inland waterways are provided as standardised, encoded and downloadable messages; the standardised message shall contain at least the information necessary for safe navigation and the notices to skippers shall be kept up-to-date and provided at least in an accessible common electronic format in accordance with Annex III; (e) ensure that the network data in the European RIS Environment are kept up to date by supplying all the necessary network data in accordance with Annexes I and III without delay; (f) ensure, when available, that at least traffic related information is made available through interfaces following the technical specifications laid down in accordance with point 7 of Annex II, where applicable, to electronic information exchange environments established by Union law and used in other transport modes; (g) ensure that standardised interfaces in accordance with Annexes II and III to this Directive are made available to the port community systems of inland ports, including, when available, up-to-date information on the availability of berths and of alternative fuel infrastructure, and in particular the installations required pursuant to Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 of the European Parliament and of the Council; (h) ensure that standardised interfaces in accordance with Annexes II and III are made available to other smart inland waterways infrastructure systems for the purpose of managing inland waterway traffic. The obligations referred to in this paragraph shall be fulfilled in compliance with the requirements and principles set out in Annexes I and II. 4. The competent authorities of the Member States shall establish RIS centres according to regional needs. 5. Member States shall jointly create, govern, operate, use and maintain a European RIS Environment that provides fairway-, infrastructure-, traffic-, and transport-related services, and shall provide the necessary data. The European RIS Environment shall be accessible for all RIS users and shall be the main platform for the exchange of RIS-related information. It shall contain interfaces for connections with systems of other transport modes and inland ports. Member States shall designate one or more competent authorities responsible for the operation of the European RIS Environment. The European RIS Environment shall allow for the possibility of contributions from third countries whose waterways are connected to the European inland waterway network and which are willing to cooperate and provide their network data, provided that the data are of identical quality and format to that of Member States and that they adhere to the same level of cybersecurity and data protection. 6. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts which lay down the operational characteristics, roles and procedures for the European RIS Environment and which identify its operating entity, based on the principles for RIS technical specifications set out in point 6 of Annex II, to ensure their uniform implementation throughout the Union. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 11(2). 7. For the use of the automatic identification systems (AIS), the Regional Arrangement on the Radiocommunication Service for Inland Waterways (RAINWAT), concluded in Bucharest on 12 April 2012, in the framework of the radio regulations of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) shall apply. 8. Member States, in cooperation with the Union, if appropriate, shall encourage boat masters, operators, agents or owners of vessels navigating on their inland waterways and shippers or owners of goods carried on board such vessels to fully profit from the services which are made available under this Directive. 9. The Commission shall take appropriate measures to verify the interoperability, reliability, availability and safety of RIS. (5) Article 5 is replaced by the following: Article 5 Technical specifications 1. In order to support RIS and to ensure the interoperability of services in accordance with Article 4(2), the technical specifications referred to in Annex III in line with the principles set out in Annex II shall apply and shall cover in particular the following areas: (a) electronic chart display and information system for inland navigation (inland ECDIS); (b) electronic ship reporting; (c) notices to skippers; (d) vessel tracking and tracing systems; (e) compatibility of the equipment necessary for the use of RIS; (f) operation of the European RIS Environment; (g) interconnection and exchange of information with Union data bases (ERDMS); (h) standardised interface for IT platforms of other transport modes; (i) standardised interface between the European RIS Environment and port community systems of inland ports and between the European RIS Environment and smart inland waterway infrastructure systems; (j) data for navigation and voyage planning on inland waterways. ; (6) Article 6 is replaced by the following: Article 6 Satellite positioning For the purposes of RIS, for which exact positioning is required, it is recommended to use satellite positioning and navigation systems, such as navigation services provided by Galileo, including the high-accuracy service and Open Service Navigation Message Authentication and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) referred to in Regulation (EU) 2021/696 of the European Parliament and of the Council. For the purposes of applications and services relying on Earth observation data, the use of Copernicus data, information and services is recommended. (7) Article 8 is replaced by the following: Article 8 Competent authorities Member States shall designate competent authorities responsible for the RIS application, for the international exchange of data, for the operation of the European RIS Environment and for the handling of feedback by RIS users. They shall notify those designated authorities to the Commission by 17 January 2029. ; (8) the following Article is inserted: Article 8a Feedback mechanism 1. Each Member State shall ensure that an effective, simple and accessible procedure is in place, building, where possible, on existing structures, to handle feedback from RIS users arising from the application of this Directive. 2. The handling of feedback from RIS users shall be carried out in a manner which avoids conflicts of interest. The handling of feedback shall be impartial and transparent and shall duly respect the right to freely conduct business. 3. Feedback from RIS users shall be submitted through the European RIS Environment and be transmitted to the relevant Member States. Member States shall ensure that RIS users and other relevant stakeholders are informed of where and how to submit feedback. 4. Member States shall ensure that feedback from RIS users is handled in a timely and appropriate manner and that the information on its follow-up is provided through the European RIS Environment. 5. The European RIS Environment shall inform the Commission, on an annual basis, of the amount of feedback received and of the way that the feedback was handled. ; (9) Article 9 is replaced by the following: Article 9 Rules on privacy, security of information and processing of personal data 1. Member States shall take the necessary technical and organisational measures in accordance with applicable Union and national law in order to protect RIS information and records against untoward events or misuse, including improper access, alteration or loss, and to ensure the confidentiality of commercial and other sensitive information exchanged pursuant to this Directive. 2. Data that constitute personal data as defined in Article 4, point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council may be processed on the basis of this Directive only insofar as such processing is necessary for the operation of RIS applications, with a view to ensuring harmonised, interoperable and accessible RIS on inland waterways in the Union and to facilitating standardised interfaces with traffic management services of other transport modes. (10) Article 10 is replaced by the following: Article 10 Delegated powers 1. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a to amend Annex I, by updating and revising the minimum data requirements, taking into account the experience gained from the application of this Directive, and the technical progress in developing RIS technologies and applications. 2. In the absence of pertinent and up-to-date technical specifications, or when technical specifications developed by the European committee for drawing up standards in the field of inland navigation (CESNI) do not comply with any of the applicable requirements set out in the Annex II, or where changes in the decision-making process of CESNI or in other elements of the standard would compromise Union interests, and where duly justified by an appropriate analysis, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 10a to amend Annex III to provide appropriate technical specifications based on the principles set out in Annex II. ; (11) Article 10a is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 10 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 1 January 2026. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period. ; (b) paragraph 6 is replaced by the following: 6. A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 10 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council. ; (12) Article 11 is replaced by the following: Article 11 Committee procedure 1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Inland Waterway Transport Committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply. Where the committee delivers no opinion, the Commission shall not adopt the draft implementing act and Article 5(4), third subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply. (13) in Article 12, paragraphs 2 and 3 are deleted; (14) the following article is inserted: Article 12a Monitoring The Commission shall monitor the setting up of RIS in the Union and shall report to the European Parliament and to the Council by 3 January 2034. The report shall include an analysis of the impact of this Directive on the level of integration of inland waterway transport in the overall logistics chain and shall examine the potential for new digital tools to increase efficiency throughout the TEN-T inland waterway network. ; (15) Annex I to Directive 2005/44/EC is replaced by the text set out in Annex I to this Directive; (16) Annex II to Directive 2005/44/EC is replaced by the text set out in Annex II to this Directive; (17) the text set out in Annex III to this Directive is added as Annex III to Directive 2005/44/EC.