Developing Inland Waterway Transport as a Potential Method of Balancing the Transport System in Europe – Opportunities and Limitations

Inland waterway transport and its development is way of creating a more sustainable transport system in any country or region in the world. At declaration level, the EU shows some action in this regard. However, at the level of real actions the situation is far less satisfactionary. The main objective of the article is to identify opportunities to enhance the role of inland waterway transport (IWT) in the EU transport system and thus create a more sustainable transport system. On the basis of a critical analysis of the professional literature, the participation of IWT in freight transport in the EU, examination of EU programmes for the IWT development and the adoption of a logical reasoning approach, it might be concluded that, in the best-case scenario, the current role of IWT in the EU transport system will be maintained.