Brussels, 08/04/2014 (Agence Europe) - In a special report published on Tuesday 8 April, the Court of Auditors of the EU revealed that two thirds of urban transport projects co-funded by the structural funds of the EU were underused. Deficiencies in the design of the projects and inadequate mobility policies are two main contributory factors identified.
Between 2000 and 2013, the EU earmarked €10.7 billion for the co-funding of projects aiming to help municipalities set in place urban transport projects, such as metros, trams and bus services. The Court assessed whether the projects had been implemented in line with the rules, provided services which correspond to the needs of the users and whether take-up of the transport had been as high as anticipated. In 11 cities of five member states (Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Portugal), the Court directly audited the performance of 26 urban public transport projects. The EU funds allocated to urban transport in these five countries (€5.3 billion) represented 50% of the EU's total contribution.
The Court concluded that, in general, infrastructure and mobility services for most projects were implemented in accordance with project specifications. Significant delays affected for urban transport projects (metro in Italy, two metro projects in Portugal, one tramway project in Italy) and three projects had significant cost overruns (two metro projects in Portugal and one in Poland). Once completed, almost all the projects audited met users' needs. However, a comparison between planned use at specific dates and actual use shows that two thirds of the projects were underutilised. This situation implies “underperformance in terms of economic and social benefits, such as reduction of pollution levels and congestion”, said Iliana Ivanova, the Court member responsible for the report. (LC)