Brussels, 08/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Members of the European Parliament transport and tourism committee have looked at the guidelines for review of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), as proposed by the European Commission last year. At a public hearing prior to their negotiation on the matter, they above all questioned the Commission about the methodology used for drawing the maps of the basic networks (by 2030) and central networks (by 2050) for mobility in Europe, and also extended reflection to specific technical features and to the role of corridor platform coordinators.
Kallas does not want maps changed. Siim Kallas, European Transport Commissioner, urged MEPs not to start making great changes to the Commission's proposal (after the Council has already reached what Kallas sees as a first valid approach). Based on the premise that MEPs will be overwhelmed by requests from local authorities or pressure groups to modify maps, he urged them not to take these requests into account, as member states have already been involved in drawing up the maps. He urged them to reject such demands, saying they must defend the map as it is at present and allow the map to take on concrete substance.
Methodology and funding. Addressing MEPs, the director of the Commission Directorate General for Transport (DG MOVE), Mathieu Ruete, went over the method applied by his services when establishing the TEN-T maps. In answer to the first concerns raised by MEPs on the degree of mapping flexibility, Ruete said that, if one realises the need for a change of direction, then there are review clauses. But, it is necessary to pay attention to what is to be revised as the stability of the network must be ensured, and “we must be able to adapt to change”. The question of funding was also at the heart of the concerns voiced by MEPs, but rapporteur Ismail Ertug (S&D, Germany) concluded it was necessary to be realistic about member states' funding capacity, and ambitions must remain realistic.
Technical specifications and coordinators. The hearing also allowed experts to take the floor on technical specifications for rail transport and inland navigation (Libor Lochman, of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies, and Hilde Bollen, of the office for promoting inland navigation in Flanders), as well as the role of corridor platform coordinators (Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, the coordinator for Corridor 6). The co-rapporteur on TEN-T review, Georgios Koumoutsakis (EPP, Greece), said that the first debate with experts established a “basis for mutual understanding” on these points which are the “cornerstones” for TEN-T guidelines. (MD/transl.jl)