Will the core network of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) be able to operate, as agreed, at full capacity by 2030 (see EUROPE 12472/15)? The European Court of Auditors said in a report (10/2020) unveiled on Tuesday 16 June that it is “unlikely”.
The institution reviewed the progress of work on eight cross-border transport ‘mega-projects’ considered essential to establish missing links in the TEN-T: the Rail Baltica axis, the Lyon-Turin link, the Brenner Base Tunnel, the Basque Y, the Seine-Scheldt link, and the A1 in Romania, as well as the Fehmarn Belt rail/road link and the E59 rail link to ports in Poland.
All this at a total cost of EUR 54 billion, of which EUR 7.5 billion is European funding.
Deadlines extended. These “Transport Flagship Infrastructures", the cost of which has already increased by 47% compared to initial estimates, are also lagging behind.
The Court estimated that construction on key parts of the eight projects was, on average, 11 years behind schedule. In total, six of them are not expected to operate at full capacity by 2030.
This is notably the case for the Basque Y, a rail link between Spain and France. As the construction of the connection on the French side is not expected to be scheduled before 2037, the project will be at least 29 years behind schedule when it comes into full operation, Oskar Herics, who is responsible for the report, told the press.
National discrepancies. The implementation of transport network projects is the responsibility of the States, and coordination between them is not always easy.
In particular, the auditors point out that in the area of traffic forecasting, four of the eight projects have not been harmonised across the border.
Moreover, as these forecasts are not always based on rigorous market assessments and reliable assumptions about economic development, they have often proved to be overly optimistic.
Ineffective supervision. The Commission is responsible for supervising the States’ timely completion of the network. While the report indicates that the institution has few legal tools for this purpose, it does refer to “remote” supervision.
It highlights, for example, the lack of a data collection procedure to independently assess the economic viability of construction before EU co-financing is committed.
“For the Rail Baltica axis, our analysis suggests that the economic sustainability of the mixed high-speed line could be at risk”, the Court said.
Referring to the result of a study commissioned in 2017 (see EUROPE 11773/10), a Commission spokesperson said that the Commission remains convinced of the viability of the project and its “strong European added value”.
He added that the institution is working closely with all stakeholders to “make sure that all eight projects are operational by 2030”.
Consult the report: https://bit.ly/2UQ6WTz (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)