The aim of the article is to study the features of the inland waterway transport development in the European countries to define the main ways of development of the shipping European Union countries and the use of their experience for inland navigation in Ukraine. The paper analyzes the volume of cargo turn-over, length of inland waterways in the European countries, nomenclature of the main goods of this transportation means in Europe. There have been identified the main shipping corridors:

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... e – the main corridor linking the port cluster of Northern Europe with Hinterland; North – South, which consists of the channels in the Netherlands, Belgium and France; eastern corridor, which inland waterways cover the territory of Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic; south-eastern corridor, which includes the Danube, the Main and the channels Main – Danube, Danube – Black Sea. The main elements of the program for developing the inland waterway transport in Europe «NAIADES» – Navigation and Inland Waterway Action and Development in Europe – have been analyzed.