Brussels, 02/08/2006 (Agence Europe) - The fourth call for proposals for the Marco Polo programme which aims to shift part of road transport to other forms of less polluting transport was published in the Official Journal C175 of 27 July. Companies wishing to take part have until 11 October to present projects in the hope of receiving Community subsidies for four years. The call for proposals is open for: - modal shift actions (to shift freight from the road to short sea shipping, rail, inland waterways or a combination of modes of transport; - common learning actions to improve cooperation and optimise working methods and procedures between actors in the freight transport chain; - and highly innovative catalyst actions aimed at overcoming structural barriers in the freight transport market in the EU. Only projects capable of demonstrating sustainable non-road freight transport services after EU support has ended will be selected, a press release states. The budget for this fourth call for proposals is €35 million. (Information: http: //europa.eu/transport/marcopolo/guide_proposers/index_en.htm).