Brussels, 09/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - On 17 January, the European Parliament is to examine the own-initiative report by Paolo Costa (Liberal Group, Italian) on the pricing of transport infrastructures, the question at the heart of the debate on fair competition between road and rail, and the integration of costs linked to safety and the environment in transport pricing. The report is based on the European Commission's 1998 White Paper on the setting in place of a common framework of equitable payments for the use of transport infrastructures, and the reports of work by the High Level Group in this connection published in 1999.
The result of a compromise reached between the Socialist groups and the EPP at the time of demonstrations by hauliers over fuel prices, the draft resolution adopted by the transport committee with 46 votes to 8 (mainly British Conservatives) with one abstention, was largely toned down. The rapporteur himself is expected to propose, in plenary, amendments that will toughen the tone of the resolution. This text is mainly limited to calling on the Commission to present, "as soon as possible", a "general methodology" to ensure that transport users effectively pay the "quantifiable part" of transport costs arising from the use of infrastructures, their quality and their safety. The resolution proposed also leaves great latitude to subsidiarity and notes that it is up to Member States or the relevant regional and local authorities to decide on implementing a transport infrastructure pricing system. The draft resolution's only real innovation is that it proposes to allocate any surplus receipts over and above the costs of construction and maintenance of infrastructure to the reduction of external costs, that is, to the environment and to safety.
The plenary discussion may at least make it possible to specify the directions taken by MEPs on the White Paper on European transport policy, that the European Commission should in principle present in February. This White Paper will integrate part of the recommendations of the High Level Group on infrastructure pricing, which went much further than the proposal of resolution. The High Level Group recommended among other things that environmental costs should be recovered by distance payments taking into account the type, the speed, the method of propulsion and the acoustic characteristics of vehicles.
According to the results of an Infras 2000 study, cited by the rapporteur, in 1995, the external costs of transport in the 15 EU countries, as well as in Switzerland and in Norway, correspond to 7.8% of GDP, and its growth will exceed 42% between 1995 and 2010, while GDP will only increase by 39%.