EU council and parliament agree to update River Information Services

The Council and Parliament of the EU have agreed on a major update to the framework for River Information Services (RIS). They aim to make inland waterway transport more efficient, integrated and digitally connected across Member States. This provisional agreement now requires endorsement by the Member State representatives.

Thirteen EU countries are connected by approximately 13,000 km of inland waterways and more than 250 inland ports, offering a viable alternative to road and rail transport. To enhance the safety and efficiency of this network, the River Information Services Directive established a framework for implementing harmonised, interoperable, and open river information services.

RIS evaluation

An evaluation carried out by the European Commission in 2021 found that RIS deployment across the EU remained slow and uneven, limiting both the competitiveness and safety of inland waterway transport. The revised directive aims to tackle these issues by harmonising RIS data standards, improving integration with other transport modes, and ensuring wider uptake of interoperable digital tools, while also strengthening data protection.

Providing more data and data protection

The River Information Services Directive will streamline how navigational, administrative and safety-related data is shared across the inland waterway network. The changes reflect both technical developments and the EU’s push to boost the role of inland waterways in greener, multimodal transport systems. In summary, the key changes include an adjustment of the scope with the directive now limited to the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) waterways which cross Member State borders. Furthermore, the implementation window has been extended from one to three years.

Single digital platform

Regarding the digital environment and data protection, the revisions include updated technical specifications (covering navigation charts, vessel tracking, port data, and digital interfaces). They include a single digital platform for all RIS data with stronger data protection; and mandatory data sharing. The latter requires Member States to provide real time data on water levels, infrastructure, port access and alternative fuel availability. Two proposals have been dropped from the directive. These are the adoption of an EU-wide complaint mechanism, and the automatic extension of RIS to all TEN-T waterways regardless of the cross-border relevance.

No longer mandatory for non-cross border inland waterways

The Council revised the original proposal of the European Commission to narrow the directive’s scope, excluding Member States with non-cross-border inland waterways from mandatory compliance. Concerns had been raised about the cost and administrative burden of applying RIS to purely domestic waterways, particularly where maritime systems already exist. Therefore, the revised directive will apply to cross border waterways and ports. Countries can still choose to apply the rules more broadly within their borders but concerns about cost and limited cross border benefit mean that purely national waterways have been excluded from the mandatory scope.

Creation of a single digital environment 

A key feature of the overhaul is the creation of a single digital environment — the European RIS Environment. This will act as a central platform where national RIS systems feed in data, providing real-time information on waterway conditions, infrastructure, vessel traffic, and port operations. It is intended to support both inland waterway operators and digital links with other transport modes, including maritime and rail.

Provision of standardised data

To support this, Member States will be required to provide standardised, up-to-date data on elements such as waterway restrictions, bridge and lock operating times, waiting times, and locations of alternative fuel infrastructure. Notices to skippers and electronic navigational charts will also be integrated into a harmonised digital framework. The focus is on removing fragmentation and ensuring that RIS can interact smoothly with other digital transport services, such as the European Maritime Single Window and electronic freight transport information (eFTI) platforms.

Procedure

The provisional agreement now requires endorsement by Member State representatives in the Council (Coreper) and approval by the European Parliament. Formal adoption by both institutions will follow a legal and linguistic review.