Brussels, 21.5.2026

COM(2026) 241 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on exercising the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/974 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways


REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on exercising the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/974 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways

1.INTRODUCTION

Regulation (EU) 2018/974 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 1 ) empowers the Commission to adopt delegated acts, under Article 10 of that Regulation, for the following purposes:

Øto raise the threshold for statistical coverage of goods transport by inland waterways, so as to take economic and technical trends into account (see Article 2(5));

Øto adapt definitions or provide for new ones, so as to take relevant definitions that have been amended or adopted at international level into account (see Article 3);

Øto reflect changes in coding and nomenclature at international level or in relevant EU legislative acts (see Article 4(4)).

According to Articles 2(5), 3 and 4(4), when exercising that power, the Commission must ensure that the delegated acts do not impose a significant additional burden on the Member States or respondents. Furthermore, the Commission must justify the actions laid down in those delegated acts, using, where appropriate, a cost-effectiveness analysis that assesses the burden on respondents and the production costs.

As specified in Article 10(4), before adopting a delegated act, the Commission must consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making ( 2 ).

2.LEGAL BASIS

This report is required under Regulation (EU) 2018/974, which specifies in Article 10(2) that the power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 7 December 2016. The Commission is required to 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 Commission submitted a first report in 2021 ( 3 ). This is the second report.

3.EXERCISE OF THE DELEGATION

The Commission has not yet exercised the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on it by Regulation (EU) 2018/974.

The Commission regularly discusses potential improvements to statistics on goods transport by inland waterways with the Expert Group on Inland Waterway Transport Statistics and the Coordinating Group for Statistics on Transport. These discussions also take into consideration possible costs and burdens on countries and respondents.

Statistics are needed to monitor the implementation of the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy (2020 – 2050 targets) ( 4 ) and complementary actions such as the EU’s trans-European transport network (TEN-T) policy ( 5 ), the electronic freight transport information (eFTI) Regulation ( 6 ), the Naiades III action programme ( 7 ) and the River Information Services Directive ( 8 ). Such actions may require the Commission to adopt delegated acts to adapt statistics of goods transport by inland waterways to economic and technical trends in accordance with Article 2(5) of Regulation (EU) 2018/974 and to reflect changes in definitions, coding and nomenclature at EU or international level.

(1)

Regulation (EU) 2018/974 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways (OJ L 179, 16.7.2018, p. 14; ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/974/oj ) .

(2)

 Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission on Better Law-Making (OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1; ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_interinstit/2016/512/oj ).

(3)

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/974 on statistics of goods transport by inland waterways (COM(2021) 117 final, 12.3.2021;
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52021DC0117 ).

(4)

 COM(2020) 789 final, 9.12.2020;
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52020DC0789 .

(5)

 Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1153 and (EU) No 913/2010 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 (OJ L, 2024/1679, 28.6.2024; ELI:  http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1679/oj ).

(6)

 Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 on electronic freight transport information (OJ L 249/33, 31.7.2020, p. 33; ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2020/1056/oj ).

(7)

 COM(2021) 324 final, 24.6.2021;

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A52021DC0324 .

(8)

 Directive (EU) 2025/2482 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2025 amending Directive 2005/44/EC on harmonised river information services (RIS) on inland waterways in the Community (OJ L, 2025/2482, 12.12.2025; ELI:  http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2025/2482/oj ).