In the context of this years Elbschifffahrtstag on 27th of September located in Dessau/Roßlau the exploitation of navigational infrastructure along Elbe river was postaluted by representatives of politics, industry and administration.

The Elbschifffarhtstag 2012 claimed the categorization of waterway Elbe into class A. The federal government of Germany will be requested to categorize Elbe as class A waterway as it is intended by the European Commission TEN-T-"core network". Waterway Elbe should therefore be assorted similar as a consequence from the refomation of waterway and inland navigation adminstration. The assured water depth at middle and upper Elbe region has to be guaranteed in the long term by environmentally sustainable and cost efficient activities. Stable conditions for inland navigation at Elbe river are not just important for transportation of goods but also for flood prevention.