| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 3.7.03 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 03/07/2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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'Implementing the trans-European network for transport (TEN-T) requires significant more investment and Community financial support' - that is the conclusion of the High Level group on TEN-T, which published its recommendations on 30 June 2003. The High level group was established in January 2003 by the European Commissioner for Transport, Loyola de Palacio, to assist in a major review of the TEN-T guidelines by the end of 2003. The guidelines, which were adopted through Decision 1692/96/EC in 1996, set out a general reference framework for the implementation of the network across roads, railways, inland waterways, airports, seaports, inland ports and traffic management systems by 2010. However, work on the networks has not advanced as rapidly as envisaged when the initial idea was launched. In 1998, a TEN-T implementation report found that investments in the trans-European network projects in 1996-1997 totalled about €38 billion, while the financial resources needed to complete the network by 2010 were estimated to be €400 billion. Following on from that, the White Paper on a European Transport Policy for 2010, published in 2001, found that only 20% of the projects scheduled by 2010 had been completed. In response to these findings, the European Commission undertook an initial revision of the TEN-T guidelines in October 2001 in order to tackle the new challenges facing transport and to help to meet the objectives of the new transport policy as described in the White Paper. The European Commission also agreed that a more fundamental revision the TEN-T Guidelines up to 2020 should be conducted in 2003, to take account of enlargement and the expected changes in traffic flows. The recommendations of the High Level group, led by Karl Van Miert, a former European Commissioner for Competition, are expected to become a central part of this review, which will be announced in Autumn 2003. The group examined over 100 new projects put forward by the Member States as well as fourteen projects identified by the Essen (1994) and Dublin (1996) European Councils, only three of which have been completed to date, and the six new projects identified by the European Commission in its October 2001 revision, which have been approved by the European Parliament. The group assessed the projects on the basis of four key criteria:
Based on this assessment, the group agreed on 22 new priority projects as well as five 'Essen' projects still to be completed. In the case of 18 of the new projects work will start before 2010. The main projects are intended to improve links between the current Member States and the accession countries, enhance road and rail links across the Pyrenees and Alps and create genuine 'motorways of the sea' in the Mediterranean, Baltic and Atlantic regions. The projects have been broken down into a thematic list of projects as follows:
In addition to identifying the key projects that should be supported by the TEN-T programme, the Van Miert group also provided recommendations on how these projects should be funded in the future. The group suggests that the priority projects should be supported by appropriate Community budgetary resources in the next financial perspective and that the rate of Community financial aid for cross-border projects should be increased to at least 20% of the project cost. The role of the European Investment Bank in the TEN-T programme could be enhanced and public/private partnerships should be promoted. Commenting on the group's recommendations, Loyola de Palacio said:
The European Commission is expected to publish its proposal on a full revision of the TEN-T guidelines in Autumn 2003 with a final decision taken by mid-2004. Van Miert has suggested that a new High Level group should conduct a further review in 2010, on the basis of detailed independent studies on the projects, which would be conducted by bodies such as the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Helen Bower Compiled: Thursday, 3 July 2003 Background and reporting on the week's main stories in the European Union and the wider Europe. |
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| Subject Categories | Mobility and Transport, Politics and International Relations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
