Brussels, 28/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - A round table on the mid-term review of the White Paper on European transport policy and rail infrastructure charging systems was organised at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 13 December by the European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM), the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA), the European Rail Freight Customers Platform (ERFCP) and the European Federation for Transport and the Environment (T&E), two days before the vote on the Eurovignette directive (see EUROPE 9090).
The 2001 White Paper aims to boost the competitiveness of transport through new technology and improving the quality and safety of services, promoting inter-modal transport and transferring traffic from road to other forms of transport. Portuguese MEP Luis Queiro (EPP-ED) broadly backed these aims but Monika Heiming, ERFA Secretary General, said that five years after publication, Member States had barely implemented the White Paper, both in terms of the first and second rail packages of EU legislation and in terms of the providing of certificates and licences and setting up regulatory bodies. The obstacles to rail liberalisation, she said, would only put off the arrival of new operators, and the lack of intra-modal competition means that rail has a small share of the total transport market. ERFCP Secretary General Klaus Meyer said the liberalisation of the rail market would require separating off infrastructure managers from rail companies but above all else, Member States had to be convinced about the benefits of opening up the rail market and ensure the criteria for fair competition, ending the traditional rail companies' monopoly. The funding of transport infrastructure is also a crucial issue in terms of ensuring greater fairness between modes of transport. The Eurovignette is an opportunity not to be missed, said T&E Policy Officer Markus Liechti. Claire Pardo, European Officer at the French rail body 'Reseau Ferre de France', used the example of travelling between Lyons in France and Turin in Northern Italy to show that various instruments of the Eurovignette directive, on the different levels of road tolls, for example, would have very little impact on traffic flows. EIM Secretary General Marc Falchi said that short-terms solutions that could be considered include greater harmonisation of tariffs for rail freight on major international routes, long-term commitment by public authorities to funding infrastructure, and better understanding of the real cost of transport infrastructure.