Brussels, 21/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Council on Thursday 17 December, EU transport ministers failed to adopt conclusions on the European Commission's communication on a sustainable future for transport. This communication, brought forward in June of this year, takes stock of current transport policy and sets out the broad thrust before a new White Paper on transport is drafted. Although, in general terms, the Council agreed with the challenges for the future picked up by the Commission (see EUROPE 9984), no way forward could be found, for example, on the inclusion in the text of a reference to “modal shift” from road to rail, a previously preferred option. In a shift of stance, several delegations no longer wanted this policy to be continued, as it could harm the road transport sector. The conclusions, which the Presidency drew under its own responsibility, encourage the Commission to further promote an integrated, multimodal transport system, particularly through the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy, the Marco Polo programme (to encourage intermodal freight transport) and the Naiades Action Programme, which promotes inland waterway transport. The Presidency also encourages the Commission to take the necessary measures to mitigate present regional differences in transport flows within the EU and acknowledges the need to make better use of all forms of transport, while taking account of their energy efficiency and their environmental impact. The Presidency also recognises the importance of proper funding for the sector, from Community and other sources, in order to ensure an effective implementation of transport infrastructure projects. (A.By./transl.rt)