Brussels, 14/07/2011 (Agence Europe) - It comes as no surprise that the main undertaking of the Polish Presidency of the Council of Ministers the EU in the field of transport will be a review of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). This was announced on Tuesday 12 July by Cezary Grabarczyk, the Polish minister responsible for infrastructure, to members of the European Parliament transport and tourism committee.
The Polish Presidency would like a balanced review of the TEN-T so that it can help find a crisis exit strategy for the EU. The Presidency will therefore have three months to obtain a common position from member states and a general approach would be adopted at the Transport Council on 12 December. Mathieu Grosch (EPP, Belgium) said that this above all involved “reducing the number of projects and expanding their portfolio”. Saïd El Khadraoui (S&D, Belgium), said it would require promoting projects that had added European value and that the principle of “use it or lose it” had to apply to any funding granted.
Particular attention will be paid to co-operation with third countries and this determination can also be explained by Poland's own border situation. This goal of rapprochement with the neighbouring regions was also present in the Commission's communication on cooperation with neighbouring countries in the transport field. A common position on this subject is therefore expected to be adopted during the Transport Council on 6 October.
Maritime. The Polish Presidency is seeking to tackle the social maritime agenda, particularly revision of the directive on training seafarers. This is a priority question for Socialists and Conservatives alike at the EP. Grabarczyk said that he intended to improve the way in which the European maritime agency worked by changing the way it is managed. Maritime decisions are therefore expected at the December Council.
Air Transport. The Presidency will not be ignoring the raft of proposals on airports that the Commission will be presenting in the autumn. It will, nonetheless, focus on baggage handling on the ground. European ministers are also expected to adopt conclusions at the December Council on the funding and management of the SESAR implementation phase for modernising air traffic control in Europe. Still in the field of cooperation with neighbouring countries, Poland will be seeking to push forward negotiations on the Eastern Partnership, which includes countries such as Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Moldova.
Land transport. The Polish minister was optimistic with regard to railway transport. This followed a preparatory meeting with rapporteur Debora Serracchiani (S&D, Italy) on the final results of the discussions on the recasting of the Railway package to make the market more competitive,
In the context of road transport, the Presidency is eager to take into account the well-being of drivers. It supports further improvement to digital tachographs, driving and rest times. MEPs pointed out that this was above all a question of applying the rules in force.
Overall, MEPs were interested in enhancing collaboration with the Presidency on the basis of this programme. Some of them even described the programme as courageous, whilst others, such as Saïd El Khadraoui expressed doubts about the ability to reach this goal by the end of the year. In addition to the Transport Council on 6 October and 12 December, the Polish Presidency will be organising an informal Council of European ministers on non-budget funding sources for infrastructure. (Cor./transl.fl)