Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine

The Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR; French: Commission Centrale pour la Navigation du Rhin) is an international organisation whose function is to encourage European prosperity by guaranteeing a high level of security for navigation of the Rhine and environs. It is the world's oldest international organization still in operation.[1][2]

Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine
Commission Centrale pour la Navigation du Rhin  (French)
Zentralkommission für die Rheinschifffahrt  (German)
Centrale Commissie voor de Rijnvaart  (Dutch)
Flag
Map of the Rhine running through member countries.
AbbreviationCCNR
Formation1815
TypeIGO
HeadquartersPalais du Rhin, Strasbourg (France)
Region served
Rhine basin
Membership
Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland
Main organ
Secretariat
Websitewww.ccr-zkr.org

Secretariat
The seat's entrance, with flag

The commission and its secretariat are based in Strasbourg, France, in Le Palais du Rhin. It has around 30 staff members who deal with general management of the 50 meetings annually, external representation, administering social security for ship crews on the Rhine and functioning as the seat of the Rhine navigation tribunal. Its operational budget is €2.7 million annually.[3]

History
Main assembly room of the Commission

Legally, the commission's authority comes from agreements made at the Congress of Vienna, held in 1815 in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The first meeting took place on 15 August 1816 in Mainz. In 1831, the Convention of Mainz was adopted, establishing a number of the first laws governing Rhine navigation. In 1861, the commission's seat was moved to Mannheim, and on 17 October 1868, the Convention of Mannheim was agreed to.

This agreement still governs the principles of Rhine navigation today. The member states are currently Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland.[4]

The current revised convention was signed in Strasbourg by the five members of the commission and the United Kingdom on 20 November 1963 and entered into force on 14 April 1967. There have since been additional protocols.[5]

Shortly after the end of the First World War, the commission's headquarters was moved to Strasbourg in 1920 as a part of the Treaty of Versailles. In 2003 the European Commission asked for the permission of the Council of Ministers to negotiate the adherence of the European Union to the regulations of the CCNR and the Danube Commission, especially given the prospective enlargement of the EU.

Individual German states were members before the First World War. The United States was temporarily a member immediately after the Second World War, while Germany was under Allied occupation, until 1961. Italy and the United Kingdom were also members following the Treaty of Versailles, though Italy renounced its position in 1935 and the UK renounced it in 1993.[6]

See also

References
  1. European Yearbook, volume XLII (1994) p. CCR1 at Google Books
  2. Klemann, Hein A.M.; Klemann, Hein A. M. (2017), "The Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, 1815-1914. Nineteenth Century European Integration.", The Rhine: A Transnational Economic History, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, pp. 31–68, doi:10.5771/9783845284736-31, ISBN 978-3-8487-4204-2, retrieved 2 August 2020
  3. "Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine - Secretariat". www.ccr-zkr.org. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  4. The Integration of European Waterways, p. 12 Archived 27 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Revised Convention for Rhine Navigation Archived 21 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine of 17 October 1868 as set out in the text of 20 November 1963
  6. Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine: Organisation - Member States
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