Brussels, 13/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - Without awaiting the White Paper from the Commission on the future of transport in Europe, which should in principal be adopted on 25 July, the President of the EU Transport Council, Isabelle Durant, launched the debate during a seminar on "sustainable transport in the European economy", on Thursday in Brussels, which lead to a list of recommendations that will be presented during the informal Transport and Environment Council, from 14 to 16 September in Louvain.
The aim of this seminar is to clear the way for the informal Council, for the formal debates by the Council on the White Paper in October and the States General of rail freight in November, Isabelle Durant told the press. The Minister had steered the debates towards the indicators and instruments that would enable political leaders to support the economic growth, while limiting that of transport. The President of the Environment Council, Magda Alvoet, called on the EU to set cut-off dates and sector based targets. It requires considering convergence criteria, on the model of what has been done for the single currency, she felt.
If nothing is done, freight transport should rise 38% and passenger transport 24% by 2010, recalled the Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, when presenting the board themes of the White Paper. The long awaited document should be adopted first in the form of a Communication next week and as a whole on 25 July, they indicate in the Commission. Its main aim will be to maintain in 2010 the distribution between the various modes of transport at its 1998 level and to multiply by three the growth of rail transport, recalled the Commissioner. One aim which seem insufficient to the Directorate General for the Environment - which would have, it seems, to delay the adoption of the White Paper. Personally, I find this aim realistic, but I am not certain that it permits to complete the aims of traffic decongestion. Thus I am mitigated, said Mrs Durant to a few journalists. The Minister intends to question the Ministers for Transport and the Environment over the pertinence of this aim during the informal Council in September.
The seminar broached another point in the White Paper, which causes concern in the economic services of the Commission: the idea of limiting transport consumption, by bringing the production centres closer to consumers. Helmut Holzapfel, from the Institute for integrated transport at the University of Kassel, called for this option, by placing emphasis on the increase of demand for transport linked to the growth of production units and subcontracting phenomenon. According to their representatives, Volkswagen or Demler only produce 20% to 30% of the parts in a car produced under their brand, he said. The question must be tackled in its entirety, underlined a Dutch speaker, when underlining that importing a rose from South Africa represents 3 grams of CO2 in terms of transport, but to produce it in a greenhouse in Holland would produce 300 grams of CO2. If the decoupling economic growth from transport growth goes in the direction of the idea of producing more on the ground, that would occur to the detriment of the aims of the single market and in a protectionist logic, said Mrs Durant to the press.
In their recommendations, the participants placed emphasis on a pricing of transports reflecting more clearly their true economic, social and environmental costs, and on a policy of more coherent spatial planning. They underlined, among others, that transport supply must be improved, notably through the revitalisation of the railways. The main instrument in the hands of the Transport Ministers is that of the pricing of access to infrastructures (which is at the heart of the draft White Paper by the Commission) underlined Mrs Durant, when hoping for a convergence between the various EU Councils. Raising the taxation of kerosene, she hoped that the international negotiations would progress during the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, next September. All the members are initially in favour, she assured.
Mrs de Palacio recalls main themes of White Paper
Commissioner Loyola de Palacio presented during the debate the main elements of the White Paper: 1) rebalancing of methods of transport; 2) revitalisation of rail and interoperability; 3) promotion of river and maritime transport; 3) use of river networks and improvement of interface with other modes of transport; 4) fight against congestion; 5) conciliation of development of air transport and aims in terms of the environment; 6) pricing policy integrating economic costs of various forms of transport; 7) harmonisation of profession fuel taxation; 8) affordable pricing for public transport; 9) improvement of safety; 10) enhancing of EU role in international organisations such as International Maritime Organisation (IMO) or International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).