Brussels, 12/07/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 12 July, the Finnish Minister of Transport, Susanna Huovinen, presented the committee on transport of the European Parliament with her priorities for the next six months, which include logistics, maritime transport and the European system of satellite radionavigation, Galileo. Finland also intends to make use of its privileged relationship with Russia to try to resolve the issue of surtaxes imposed on European airlines wishing to fly over Siberia.
As she told EUROPE on the sidelines of the informal meeting of transport ministers, which was held in Bregenz in March (EUROPE 9146), logistics will be the priority of priorities of the Finnish Presidency. Work will start on the basis of the Commission communication aiming to improve the logistics of European goods transport, and which is set to lead to an action plan in 2007 (EUROPE 9221). It is Finland's intention to produce conclusions at the Transport Council of 11 and 12 December, the Minister announced, welcoming the fact that "Germany has promised to continue discussions" on this dossier when it takes over the Presidency.
Another priority of the Presidency is the third maritime package, ERIKA III. The Minister indicated that she would "not be able to tackle all seven proposals at the same time" and that she would concentrate on the modified proposed directive on State port checks and on the proposed regulation on liability and compensation for passengers in case of an accident at sea (EUROPE 9074). She did not have to wait long for the MEPs' response: German Social Democrat Willi Piecyk and Belgian Liberal Dirck Sterckx warned that there was no question of the Parliament "slicing up" the package into more manageable chunks. "We want a package", insisted Mr Piecyk. Short sea shipping is also of fundamental importance to Finland, which is to hold a seminar on the subject in Brussels on 26 October. The Presidency also hopes that conclusions on this will be agreed at the Transport Council of 11 and 12 December, the Minister continued.
Finland also intends to support "the swift introduction" of the proposed regulation aiming to ban the transportation of heavy petroleum products by all single-hulled vessels flying the flag of a Member State, which was adopted by written procedure at the end of March, said Ms Huovinen. "I believe that this dossier can be concluded at first reading", in other words "under your Presidency", Mr Piecyk replied.
Several MEPs, including Etelka Barsi-Pataky (EPP-ED, Hungary) and German Green Michael Cramer, tried to sound out the Finnish Minister's intentions concerning the trans-European transport networks (TETN). "Are you going to set priorities" from the 30 priority projects selected in 2004, given the low availability of financial resources, Mr Cramer asked her. He was then curious to know whether "you feel that 350 kilometres under the Alps are more important than the modernisation of 7000 kilometres of segments" going out towards the East? Simply put, will the Presidency give rail the priority over road? No, "the number of priority projects will not be reduced", the President of the Council, who believes that "the list is already a great deal reduced", replied.
Galileo will also be on Finland's agenda. "I really hope to defend this (...) during my Presidency", said the minister, acknowledging the need to "resolve the difficulties involved in sharing the risks" between the public and private sectors, within the framework of negotiations underway on the concession contract for Galileo, between the Commission and the industrial consortium.
The third railway package is also close to Finland's heart. "By the end of 2006, we want to find a solution" to allow us to conclude this dossier at second reading, said the President of the Council.
Ms Huovinen also announced that the Presidency would draft a summary of discussions held by the transport ministers of the EU on the mid-term revision of the White Paper on the European transport policy between now and 2010 (see EUROPE 9217), at the Transport Council of 12 October.
Lastly, it is worth noting that Finland will chair the fourth Verona conference on road safety, on 3 and 4 November.
Here are the main points of the provisional programme of the Finnish Presidency for the Transport Council:
12 October: - exchange of views on the communication on ways of improving the logistics of European goods transport; - guideline debate on the mid-term revision of the White Paper on the European transport policy; - possibly a general orientation on the proposed regulation aiming to reinforce supply chain security (EUROPE 9141); - possibly a general orientation/political agreement on the proposed regulation aiming to extend the competencies of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EUROPE 9074).
11-12 December: - conclusions of the Council on the Commission communication aiming to promote short sea shipping; general orientation on the modified proposed directive concerning State port control and on the proposed regulation on liability and compensation for passengers in case of an accident at sea ("ERIKA III" package); - general orientation on the proposed regulation on double-hulled vessels; - conclusions of the Council on the logistics of goods transport; - decisions on Galileo; - possibly a general orientation on proposals aiming to reinforce road safety (to be presented, in theory, in September by the Commission); - possibly, a general orientation on the third aviation package, to be presented by the Commission in the near future.