PURPOSE: to amend Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility with regard to the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the Union.
PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.
BACKGROUND: a Union funding instrument, the Connecting Europe Facility, was established by Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council. The aim of the Connecting Europe Facility is to enable projects of common interest to be prepared and implemented within the framework of the trans-European networks policy in the sectors of transport, telecommunications and energy.
Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013 sets out a list of nine core network corridors. Those corridors constitute an instrument to facilitate the coordinated implementation of the core network. They should contribute to the cohesion of the core network through improved territorial cooperation, address wider transport policy objectives and facilitate interoperability, modal integration and multimodal operations. Member States are required to participate in core network corridors.
The United Kingdom is part of the North Sea – Mediterranean Core Network Corridor (the ‘NSM corridor’) which includes links between Belfast, Dublin and Cork on the island of Ireland and links in Great Britain from Glasgow and Edinburgh in the north to Folkestone and Dover in the south. Moreover, United Kingdom sections and nodes are included in the table of ‘pre-identified sections including projects’ of the core network corridors included in Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013.
The United Kingdom submitted notification of its intention to withdraw from the Union. This means that, unless a ratified withdrawal agreement establishes another date, all Union primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the United Kingdom from 30 March 2019, (‘the withdrawal date’). The United Kingdom will then become a third country, a non-member of the Union. If transitional arrangements are not established in a withdrawal agreement, the United Kingdom will no longer be a member of the NSM corridor from 30 March 2019.
Given the degree of integration between the Irish and United Kingdom economies, and Ireland’s location on the geographical edges of the Union, Ireland will be significantly affected by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union. The United Kingdom is a vital transport link between Ireland and the continent.
The Commission proposes to revise the route alignment of the NSM corridor in order to prevent the corridor from being cut into two distinct parts, with Ireland no longer linked to the continental EU.
CONTENT: in order to avoid the North Sea – Mediterranean Core Network Corridor being separated into two distinct and unconnected parts and to ensure connectivity of Ireland with mainland Europe, the North Sea – Mediterranean Core Network Corridor should include maritime links between the Irish core ports and core ports of Belgium and the Netherlands.
The proposed Regulation, by amending Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 1316/2013, would adjust the NSM corridor’s route alignment by adding new maritime links between the Irish core ports of Dublin and Cork and the NSM corridor’s ports in Belgium (Zeebrugge, Antwerp) and the Netherlands (Rotterdam), It would take effect from the date when the CEF Regulation no longer applies to the United Kingdom, and therefore the United Kingdom no longer be part of the NSM corridor.