At a meeting of the Working Party on Intermodal Transport on Monday, 22 May, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU proposed new compromises regarding the revision of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) rules. Interinstitutional negotiations have been in progress since mid-April, ever since the European Parliament defined its position (see EUROPE 13161/1).
According to the document to which EUROPE had access, the proposed compromises concern around ten articles. These compromises are based on the text of the EU Council’s general approach.
The first compromises concern how certain terms are defined. In the term ‘active modes’, the European Parliament wanted to include “a combination of electric motor and human power”, whereas the EU Council had added “electric auxiliary propulsion”. The Presidency therefore proposed that ‘active modes’ be defined as “the transport of people or goods, through non-motorised means, based on human physical activity, including vehicles with electric auxiliary propulsion”.
For the phrase ‘ICT systems for transport’, the Presidency likewise proposed aligning with the European Parliament’s position by including “space-based technologies, enabling [...] the data and information needed to manage infrastructure, mobility and traffic on the trans-European transport network effectively [to be processed, stored, and exchanged]”.
Finally, the Presidency suggested merging the proposals from each of the institutions concerning the definition of the term ‘project authorising decision’. According to this proposal, this phrase characterises “the decision or a set of decisions, which may be of an administrative nature, taken simultaneously or successively by an authority or by authorities of a Member State [...] that determine whether or not a project promoter is entitled to implement the project on the geographical area concerned on the core, extended core or comprehensive network, without prejudice to any decision taken in the context of an administrative or judicial appeal procedure”.
With regard to Article 5, the text specifies that the TEN-T shall be planned, developed, and operated in a resource-efficient manner. Nevertheless, this development depends on certain factors that were not mentioned in the original proposal and that the Presidency suggested adding based on suggestions made by the institutional negotiators. Not only will the resilience of the TEN-T and its infrastructure be taken into consideration in relation to climate change, natural hazards, and man-made disasters, but it will also take geopolitical context into account.
At the EU Council’s request, it has been suggested that, when planning and developing the TEN-T, Member States be able to adapt the detailed route of sections according to “the particular circumstances in the various parts of the Union, such as topographical features of the regions concerned and environmental considerations”.
Finally, the Presidency proposed including maintenance in the scope of projects of [common] interest, which is in line with the European Parliament’s wishes.
Read the document: https://aeur.eu/f/70w (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)