Brussels, 23/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The transport industry is standing shoulder to shoulder against any EU budget cuts in infrastructure. Some 20 associations representing the interests of the transport sector, covering all modes, are arguing for the Connecting Europe Facility to have a budget of €32 billion in the next financial programming period, whereas the member states want to slim the budget of the Union down. These interest groups have rallied together, and in some cases put aside their differences of opinion, to bring pressure to bear on the Parliament and particularly on the Council, to ensure that transport infrastructure is not sidelined in the budgetary forecasts.
In a letter to these institutions on 23 April, the associations share their concerns over the scant €32 billion to support investments in the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), even though these have been valued at €250 billion by the Commission. The consortium firmly opposed the idea that this €32 billion could be reduced even further during the budgetary negotiations, on the eve of the General Affairs Council of this 24 April.
These organisations, representing cyclists (ECF), sailors (EBA), road users (IRU) and chambers of commerce (EUROCHAMBRES), to name but a few, stressed that their industries provide work for no fewer than 10 million people and account for 5% of GDP.
The consortium stresses that it understands “the budgetary constraints all governments face at the moment”, but stresses that “transport infrastructure investments pay off in the long run”. These interest groups are therefore urging the Council and Parliament to support this proposed Connecting Europe Facility by all necessary means, “if not, the proposed review of the trans-European transport network policy remains a sand castle, to the detriment of Europe's economy”. (MD/transl.fl)