Members of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee (‘TRAN’) debated on Tuesday 15 March the challenges and issues involved in revising and adapting the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) in 2030 and beyond (see EUROPE 12875/11).
“There is a common denominator: unlike other proposals before us, we have a natural evolution of the whole project that is supported by everyone. These solid foundations will allow us to find a quick solution while resolving some of the issues raised”, said Barbara Thaler (EPP, Austria), following the intervention of several experts from the mobility sector.
“However”, she added, “the current regulation only gives the Commission limited powers to ensure that Member States put in place the necessary measures” to achieve the objectives set by both the TEN-T review and the ‘Fit for 55’ package (see EUROPE 12759/2).
“The EPP does not want to flip the table; we would like the Commission to have more relevant contacts with the Member States”, she said.
From the Renew Europe group, French MEP Dominique Riquet agrees with this analysis. “We are getting a late start. The initiative lies with the Member States, who make choices on the map and prioritise short-term considerations for the voters. We have difficulty coordinating across borders”, he said.
To counter this, Mr Riquet also called for certain European funding mechanisms to be made conditional on the progress of TEN-T projects.
In addition to strengthening the role of the TEN-T coordinator, the French MEP also stressed the importance of rail transport. In this area, he said, “budgets are largely insufficient and there are still problems with the choices made”.
“Multimodality will be the key to the future. It is important to focus on rail”, added Mario Furore (NI, Italy).
In addition, some of the MEPs’ discussions also focused on the maritime and inland waterway section of the TEN-T review and adaptation. Some MEPs, like Elsi Katainen (Renew Europe, Finland), called for “added value for ports, without thinking only in terms of volume”. Others, such as Colm Markey (EPP, Ireland), suggested that criteria including offshore wind should be included in the question of port capacity.
As a reminder, the European Commission plans to complete the core network by 2030 and the extended TEN-T by 2040, with the completion of the overall TEN-T slated for 2050. “Many Member States are seeing their financial capacity impaired. There is also the question of the security context and any problems that arise. We will have to work miracles”, concluded Dominique Riquet. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)