The Third Pan-European Transport Conference in Helsinki (June 1997) brought together representatives of the governments and parliaments of the countries of Europe (East and West), the institutions of the European Union and other invited countries, together with intergovernmental organisations and bodies. It adopted a final declaration which defines a set of principles and objectives, the overall objective being "to promote sustainable, efficient transport systems which meet the economic, social, environmental and safety needs of European citizens, help reduce regional disparities and enable European business to compete effectively in world markets".
Considering the results of the conference, the rapporteur once again stresses the role of a pan-European transport policy as a unique opportunity to seek Europe wide solutions to the transport problems of the continent. Therefore, the Commission is called on to undertake an assessment of the implementation in the EU and in the member states of the findings of this conference and to draw conclusions from that assessment. The Commission should also take account of the forthocming accession of new member states, particularly with regard to the ongoing revision and adaptation of the Trans-European Networks guidelines af five-yearly intervals.�