Brussels, 23/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - The president of the Committee of the Regions (CoR), Ramon Luis Valcarcel Siso, has expressed his concerns about the involvement of member states in the implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN- T). He was speaking during a meeting on Tuesday 22 July with European Commissioner for Transport Siim Kallas.
The main concern focuses on the Mediterranean corridor and the delays that this could suffer, which could affect the efficiency of the railway connection between the east and west of the EU. It is possible that France will postpone construction of the high-speed line between Montpellier and Perpignan. Thus the president of the CoR is therefore specifically calling on the commissioner for transport to ensure that member states respect their commitments, especially “when it comes to ensuring investment in projects which are needed for the full deployment of strategic European transport networks”. He insisted that member states show that they can ensure coordination, particularly with regard to cross-border projects. The Committee of the Regions has indicated that national plans are in danger of significantly diverging from European goals and creating a level of uncertainty that would undermine the efforts of all stakeholders, including the local and regional authorities. Valcarcel informed the European commissioner that “a change in national investment plans in TEN-T infrastructure can have serious consequences and jeopardise the fulfilment of the objectives set by the EU strategy for infrastructures - the Connecting Europe Facility”. (MD/transl.fl)