PURPOSE: to set out an agenda
for the EU’s freight transport system.
CONTENT: freight transport is
fundamental to the EU’s competitiveness. Well organised freight transport
contributes to sustainable and energy efficient operations and strengthens
cohesion by enabling businesses across the EU to reach peripheral regions.
The mid-term review of the 2001 White Paper on transport forecast a 50%
growth of freight transport in terms of tkm between 2000 and 2020. This alone
raises a number of important challenges including:
- road congestion, which
negatively affects costs, time and fuel consumption;
- the need to reduce pollutant
emissions and noise;
- a high dependency on imported
fossil fuels;
- the needs to offer high
safety and security standards; and
- the need to recruit well
qualified and well trained staff.
To address these challenges, the
European Commission is launching, simultaneously, a series of policy
initiatives that coincide with last year’s mid-term review of the 2001 White
Paper on transport. They are:
- The Fright Logistics Plan:
This sets out a series of actions to promote freight and traffic
management in a sustainable manner, the simplification of administrative
processes, and a review of loading standards with a view to reviewing
Directive 96/53/EC on vehicle dimensions and weights.
- A Communication of
freight-oriented rail networks: This report examines ways in which
to make rail freight more competitive by, in particular, ensuring lower
transit times and increasing rail’s reliability and responsiveness to
customer requirements.
- A Communication on a European
Ports Policy (seeINI/2008/2007):
This report provides a vision and a toolbox for enhancing the
performance of ports as essential hubs in Europe’s overall transport
system.
- A Commission staff working
paper “Towards a European maritime transport space without barriers”:
This paper will kick-start a consultation process on allowing short sea
shipping to benefit fully from the EU’s internal market.
- A staff working paper on “Motorways
of the Sea”: This describes progress made in developing the
Motorways of the Sea and sets out future quality elements.
Particular attention is given
to:
- “Green” corridors: It
is essential that various transport modes, as well as the corridors
themselves, are combined allowing freight transport to offer seamless
door-to-door services. “Green” corridors should be characterised by a
low human and environmental impact. Indeed, rail and waterborne
transport modes will be essential components of these green corridors.
- Infrastructure, means of
transport and freight management: Present and future strategies will
focus on the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) and the
development of strategically significant trans-national corridors. Other
elements include the efficient use of available facilities. The removal
of operational and commercial barriers that currently obstruct access to
the infrastructure will also be sought.
- Simplification:
Particular attention will be given to the use of multi-modal transport chains
and a single interface point for administrative requirements in freight.
- Quality: Rail, in
particular, will need to improve its performance and waterborne
transport modes requires enhancement.
To improve the efficiency and
sustainability of freight transport, the authorities have to create the
appropriate framework conditions and support the trend towards co-modality
and sustainability. This includes adopting appropriate legislative measures,
mandating technical standardisation, providing political and financial
support and encouraging the promotion of best practices.
The set of policy initiatives
introduced in this report point the way to a European freight transport
policy that is based on co-modality, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS),
green corridors and user orientation.
- Co-modality: this
requires improving the efficiency, inter-operability and
inter-connectivity of rail, maritime, inland waterway transport, air,
road transport and related hubs in order to arrive at a fully integrated
transport system offering a door-to-door service.
- Intelligent Transport
Systems: this offers a means with which to improve transport and
cargo management and increase the utilisation of the available
infrastructure.