Carlo Secchi, Coordinator of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), deplored the fact that Member States, notably France, are not prioritising cross-border connection projects, on Wednesday 24 May, during his exchange of views with the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism.
Responsible for the ‘Atlantic Corridor’, Mr Secchi presented a detailed progress report. In his view, the corridor is progressing well overall, but the 2030 deadline is compromised and jeopardised by the delay of some major projects.
Regarding the revision of the TEN-T and rail freight corridors Regulation (see EUROPE 13186/11), Portugal and Spain have reconsidered their plan, including the Spanish cross-border high-speed network. Mr Secchi explained that negotiations are ongoing. “The earlier the TEN-T parameters are implemented along our corridor, the earlier the conditions offering competitive advantages to the rail sector will accelerate the modal shift”, he said.
While the connection between Madrid and Lisbon is progressing well, the connection between Spain and France is still lagging behind. The first phase of the ‘Grand Projet ferroviaire du Sud-Ouest’ (GPSO), which is to link Bordeaux to Toulouse and Dax, is behind schedule. The line through Dax must then pass through the French Basque Country before reaching the Spanish Basque Country.
From a European point of view, the fact that priority is given to Toulouse is indeed worrying, Mr Secchi regretted. French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is due to announce a new roadmap this summer.
In the absence of Iveta Radičová, who is responsible for the ‘Mediterranean Corridor’, Mr Secchi also spoke about the problems associated with it. This corridor is experiencing the same problems on the Lyon-Turin and Marseille-Genoa links.
“We hope that the French government will recognize the importance of cross-border sections and advance its investments so the preparatory work could advance as fast as possible”, the Coordinator implored.
For their part, MEPs asked him how to ensure that these connections are made and how to put pressure on national governments. “We must put Mr Macron on the right track”, argued Isabel Garcia Muñoz (S&D, Spanish).
In response, Mr Secchi conceded that it was not easy to align national and European priorities. “In order to push this, we need rules, legislative basis and money, incentives that are able to overcome the shortage in the funding from the EU”, he concluded. In his view, much more money is needed to show the Member States the way. He and Mrs Radičová are currently working on a joint position paper to this effect. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)