MEPs push for more investments in TEN-T

Publication date: 23 April 2009

Members of the European Parliament consider investments in transport infrastructures a “key area” for tackling the economic and financial crisis. They consequently urge the European Commission to speed up the implementation of Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) projects financed by the Structural Funds.

They present this request in a resolution on the green paper on the future TEN-T policy, adopted in plenary on 22 April in Strasbourg (report by Evelin Lichtenberger, Greens-EFA, Austria).

Parliament also urges the member states “to properly consider the issue of the necessary financial support” in view of the mid-term revision of the EU financial framework “and also with regard to the current discussion on the EU recovery plan”. Members expect “more coherence” from the Council between wishes on TEN-T projects and decisions on TEN-T budgets.

The Commission presented a proposal for financing of the TEN-T network for the years 2007-2013 amounting to around €20 billion, which the Council ended up slashing to €8 billion.

The EP resolution insists on the need to support more environmentally acceptable modes of transport (they should continue to be over-represented in the priority projects, according to Parliament) and multimodal transport. This does not keep it from simultaneously urging the Commission to consider raising the share of available funding for the aviation sector, given the growing investment needs under the Single European Sky legislation.

LIBERALISING RAIL

The resolution also contains an interesting sentence, in which Parliament “asks the Commission, in order to boost the competitiveness of the whole rail TEN network, to propose – by the end of its mandate – a legislative initiative concerning the opening of the rail domestic passenger markets as from 1 January 2012”. Although it stands virtually no chance of being met, this request is nonetheless surprising. Parliament has of course always been very determined on the question of liberalisation of rail transport, but the fate of domestic rail passenger services was covered by an agreement with the Council as part of the third rail package, in mid-2007. Under this agreement, the Commission will report, by 31 December 2012, on the “state of preparedness” for the opening up of national markets, matched with proposals if appropriate.

The idea of the end-2012 report is first to see how things happen with the opening up of international passenger services, set for 1 January 2010. At the time of adoption of the third rail package, a majority of MEPs – but not the qualified majority required – had sought the liberalisation of domestic routes for 1 January 2017.

Source: Europolitics