Brussels, 18/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - 2.4% of the EU budget until the end of the decade is too little, say ten or so European associations representing the interests of all modes of transport. Although this envelope of €23.1 billion is quite large at the end of the day in relation to the current financial framework, it would not allow all the necessary investments to be covered in the 10 multimodal corridors of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). Criticised in relation to the budget adopted by the EU27, the transport sector hopes that the European Parliament will be able to rectify the situation.
In a statement on 18 February, eleven associations together consider that it is “high time for national governments and their leaders to realise that transport is the engine of the European economy. In our view, transport therefore deserves more than a mere 2.4% share of the total budget.” The associations criticise the cut of nearly a third to the European Commission's proposals for the financing of transport infrastructure by the Connecting Europe Facility (from €30 billion to €23.1 billion).
However, the consortium acknowledges that it is pleased that the transport envelope has been raised in relation to the current budget. Nonetheless, €8 billion extra until the end of the decade will not meet the needs of the necessary infrastructure work. “Realistically, the TEN-T core network and the already defined projects of the ten multimodal corridors cannot be fully implemented with such a small envelope. (…) A first come first served basis will prevail over the network logic that the internal market so desperately needs”, the associations regret.
The associations hope that the European Parliament will quickly find an agreement on the budget and will direct it more towards growth. They also support the Parliament's intention to review the budget mid-way and to make it more flexible.
The associations campaigning for an ambitious transport budget include the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP), the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), Inland Navigation Europe (INE), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), logistics along the Danube, Pro Danube International (PDI), the Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG), the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA), the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European Community Association of Ship Brokers and Agents (ECASBA), the Airports Council Europe (ACI Europe), and the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER). (MD/transl.fl)