Brussels, 03/02/2005 (Agence Europe) - In a press release, Michael Cramer, German Green, sharply criticised the position of the transport committee on the temporary commission's financial perspectives for 2007-13, chaired by president Borrell and for which German Christian Democrat, Reimer Böge is the rapporteur. The document, which calls for funding for the 30 priority Trans-European Transport Network (TEN) projects, was approved despite the Greens/EFA voting against. Most members of the transport committee strove to treat the 30 projects in the same way, without defining any priority and that result was “a catalogue of national egotism”, protested Mr Cramer, who also explained that the Greens wanted railway networks between new and old Member States to be made a priority. Cramer said that he did not understand why the project for the bridge on the Messine straits was treated in the same way, when not even 25% of Sicilian railway lines were electrified.
Paoulo Costa (ALDE, Italy), president of the transport committee, estimated that if 30 TEN projects were to be carried out, Member States should be authorised to go over the 3% budget deficit threshold laid down in the Stability Pact but only “if the additional deficit (over 3%) were transferred to the European Union which uses it to increase European co-funding of TEN on the basis of allocation criteria in favour of the European interest”.