Brussels, 21/02/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 26 February, the European Parliament transport committee is due to resume discussion on the draft report by Helmut Markov (GUE/NGL, Germany) on the proposal for a directive on the management of road infrastructure safety (see EUROPE 9280). A week before voting, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has called on MEPs to back joint minimum standards in road safety, as proposed in the future directive. In a press release published on 19 February, the ETSC said that more than 3,200 people are killed every year on motorways - 8% of all road fatalities. Stressing the need for uniform safety rules, the ETSC noted that the level of motorway fatalities varies considerably from one country to another. A recent report shows the differences: in Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, fewer than two people are killed per billion kilometres, while in Sweden, France, Ireland, Germany and Finland, the figure is almost twice as high. Slovenian and Hungarian motorways are the most dangerous, with more than eight deaths for the same distance covered. The directive, brought forward by the European Commission, seeks to establish joint minimum guidelines for road network designers, for inspections, for road maintenance and for the training of safety inspectors. These arrangements would only apply to roads and motorways which form part of the trans-European transport network. Last July, the European Parliament decided to send the proposal for a directive back to the transport committee for reconsideration (see EUROPE 9461 and 9465). The Council rejected the text's being compulsory. (A.By.)