Brussels, 03/02/2011 (Agence Europe) - On 1 February, Siim Kallas addressed the European Parliament's special committee on the policy challenges and budgetary resources for a sustainable European Union after 2013. The commissioner said that the future Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) should be devised in a way that “maintains and develops European competitiveness, whilst facilitating genuine EU integration”. The commissioner did not have any comment to make on the special financing fund but indicated that European funding should particularly help towards “the most important projects”. He explained that current funding requirements for modernisation of transport infrastructure have been estimated at around €1.3 trillion for the 2007-2013 period. In order to complete the TEN-T network, €500 billion investment would be needed. According to Kallas, there was also a need for €1 billion investment in TEN-T, which meant around 18,000 new jobs being created. In addition to funding for TEN-T, €43 billion over a seven-year period (2007-2013) will come from structural and cohesion funds, explained the commissioner. He did, however, regret that these funds are not “in our hands” (contrary to the TEN-T budget, the allocation of cohesion or structural funds depends on decisions taken at regional level). (A.By./transl.fl)