European transport organisations representing railway, maritime, river, air and road transport operators, as well as the infrastructure managers and services suppliers in these specific segments (including urban transport) submitted (at the end of June) an open letter to the European Council demanding member states and the European Parliament to protect the EUR 32 Billion budget that had been granted to the transport infrastructure in the EU within the Connecting Europe Facility in the 2014-2020 budget.
The development of a complete and integrated network and of an efficient and sustainable transport system to cover and interconnect all transport modes has to be seen as an essential investment for creating a sustainable economy in the EU.
The transport industry counts for over 10 million jobs and represents around 5% of the GDP and when related industries are included (manufacturing, ser-vices, maintenance etc.) these figures can double. Moreover, transport is one of the sectors in which European companies are global leaders in infrastructure, logistics, traffic management system and equipment manufacturing.
If the EU wants a transport network that meets traffic and mobility demands and supports the economic activity, then it will need at least EUR 250 Billion by 2020 (according to EU estimates), this amount of money being the key to removing barriers and creating the missing links of the primary network. Moreover, another EUR 250 Billion are necessary to improve the global network and to permit access to the primary network. “The European transport network is extremely worried that there will not be enough funds avai-lable to cover necessary investments and the EUR 32 Billion allocated by EC for the primary network through CEF cover only a small share of the investments to be supplied for finalising projects”, shows the open letter.
Moreover, while “the budget proposal seems ambitious at a first glance, it actually compensates the important reduction of regional funds. There are clear specifications that the transport funds allocated through the European Fund For Regional Development (ERDF) – which amounted to EUR 46.7 Billion for 2007-2013, will be significantly reduced in some regions although they are completely removed from the latest ERDF regulation. In this context, the allocation of the EUR 32 Billion (around 3% of the Multi-annual Financial Framework) to TEN-T for 2014-2020 is a vital minimum and has to be guaranteed more than ever”, the organisations state in the letter submitted to the European Council.
As for the ERDF legislation, “CER suggested broadening the scope of the ERDF. The ERDF can particularly be useful in financing rail infrastructure connecting major projects, traffic feeders and other important portions of regional networks. The inclusion of transport among the ERDF’s spending priorities in more developed regions as well as in transition regions is essential in order to develop a regional network able to feed the TEN-T core network, promote environmental sustainability at regional level, and reduce congestion on the existing network”, declared CER’s Executive Director Libor Lochman.
Despite budget constraints, currently all governments allocate long-term investments to infrastructure projects. In this context, “we demand the European political decision-makers to become aware and admit the added value of developing and expanding an efficient and sustainable transport infrastructure as one of the main economic development engines. We ask the Council and the Parliament to support this proposal through all necessary instruments. If not, the proposal for the review of the TEN-T policy will remain a card castle to the detriment of the European economy”.
Freight transport cannot exist without proper infrastructure and an efficient and uninterrupted traffic requires massive investments in sustainable transportation. “When rail investments plans and strategies are developed, ports should be involved, so that their needs and their knowledge about traffic flows can be taken up in the investments. It is for instance important that the quality of the infrastructure and the tracks relate to the demands of the market and the function it has to fulfil, avoiding overinvestment and obliging the user to pay for a quality that is not needed”, explained Isabelle Ryckbost, Director of the European Sea Ports Organisation.
Share on:
