The European Parliament’s Transport Committee (TRAN) discussed on Thursday 3 September a draft own-initiative report on the revision of the guidelines for the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
The completion of the TEN-T is clearly behind schedule - 11 years on average for some ‘mega-projects’ (see EUROPE 12507/18) - and suffers from a lack of interest on the part of many national authorities.
German MEP Jens Gieseke (EPP), the rapporteur, said the trans-European network is “an essential element for the growth and welfare of the Union”.
In order for the network to be ready on time - in 2030 for the main sections, in 2050 for the entire infrastructure - Mr Gieseke first of all expects the Member States to “accept their responsibilities”.
The rapporteur also calls for greater digitalisation of administrative and legal procedures and suggests giving more powers to European coordinators, whose work has, in his view, “not been effective enough so far”.
Insufficient funding. Several MEPs have pointed out the insufficient means allocated to the project. Isabel García Muñoz, shadow rapporteur for the S&D group, was particularly keen to “express her dissatisfaction with the cuts suggested by the Council” (see EUROPE 12532/2) in the share of the post-2020 EU budget devoted to transport.
Jens Gieseke said the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) could be an “effective tool” in financial terms, and called on his colleagues to fight to ensure that transport is “not forgotten”.
“Over the 2014-2020 period, only 24% of the CEF has been released in credits, because the files are not making progress”, deplored Dominique Riquet (Renew Europe, France).
Rail and waterways. Jens Gieseke also wants to see more emphasis on rail and the maritime sector.
This argument is also supported by the GUE/NGL group, which believes that high-quality maritime transport would provide an alternative to road transport.
The ECR group wants the own-initiative report to highlight the lack of a north-south rail corridor. “We need to improve the railway infrastructure in Central Europe”, emphasised Tomasz Piotr Poręba of Poland.
For many, the focus will also need to be on eliminating bottlenecks at the borders and on innovation, including alternative fuels.
For the Greens/EFA group, finally, it is imperative that the TEN-T adheres to the EU climate guidelines. “More specific recommendations are needed on this point”, said Jakop Dalunde of Sweden.
“Excellent report”. Herald Ruijters, from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Transport and Mobility (DG MOVE), welcomed the “excellent and timely report”. The European institution has also launched an evaluation procedure to reform the TEN-T in 2019 and plans to publish its legislative proposal in the second quarter of 2021.
Consult the draft report: https://bit.ly/2Z44N8T (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)