Although 86% of the 2014-20 budget for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has already been used, of which around (95% of which has benefited nine corridors), the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR), calls on the Commission and member states to immediately attribute the remaining funds to the peripheral regions, in a policy position adopted at its General Assembly on Thursday 3 November.
Shortly before the adoption of the text by the General Assembly, the president of the regional council of the Pays de la Loire and Atlantic Arc at the CPMR, Bruno Retailleau, said that “the CEF is not only underfunded but also badly guided”. He told EUROPE on the sidelines of the session that the challenge is substantial: “there is no growth without the infrastructure to underpin mobility”. Digital expansion has not changed the situation and goods still have to be transported physically, he added. Consequently, Retailleau believes it vital for the peripheral regions to be better connected to the centre, which for now continues to fully benefit from the CEF.
The imbalance has already been criticised on several occasions by the CPMR (see EUROPE 11516). As the organisation states, the budget planned for the 2014-20 period for the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) through the CEF, in addition to having been focused on the centre and main corridors, has been crippled by €2.2 billion by the Junker Plan. Following three calls for proposals (see EUROPE 11575), there is no more than €3 billion remaining, “which is not much”, commented Retailleau.
On the initiative of Renaud Muselier (EPP, France), the European Parliament is expected to adopt a written declaration in three months' time encouraging the European Commission to rebalance the mechanism at both geographic and budgetary levels. The CPMR has indicated that by the middle of 2017 it will develop a position on what kinds of instruments to promote for the post-2020 period in the field of transport infrastructure.
Motorways of the sea. Another major social concern for the CPMR involves the motorways of the sea, which are also suffering from a blindspot with regard to territorial accessibility. Here, the regions are calling for corrective measures, so that next year’s detailed implementation plan (DIP) includes the criteria needed for better integration of the peripheral regions. Finally, the CPMR is urging the Commission to put forward a proposal as soon as possible for a European instrument to replace the old Marco Polo mechanism abandoned in 2013 (see EUROPE 10889). This will be used to support maritime transport services. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)