Brussels, 25/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Danish Presidency of the Council of Ministers held a conference on the financing of transport infrastructure in Europe, in Copenhagen on 24-25 May. The EU is in the process of adopting specific instruments for this purpose, such as the Connecting Europe Facility and, more recently, project bonds for major works. The conference above all provided an opportunity to debate different financing models, including those of France, the Netherlands and Denmark. Denmark described its investment programme of €21 billion over this decade, using a state guarantee model. The state is the guarantor for projects carried out by state companies. Lending rates are, therefore, low and repayment is through road tolls and rail taxes paid by users. “In this model, the state remains highly involved in the project, while at the same time avoiding a burdening of the state budget”, said Danish Transport Minister Henrik Dam Kristensen, opening the conference. (MD/transl.rt)