Trans-European transport network: Community guidelines

In adopting the report by Mr Wilhelm Ernst Piecyk, the European Parliament approved the Commission proposal. The EP's amendments introduced new provisions aimed, in particular, at calling for environmental impact studies (protection of nature and the countryside) during the implementation of projects of common interest. They also stressed the importance of safeguarding the improvement, coherence and interoperability of the trans-European transport network, the creation of sustainable jobs in proportion to the level of investment, the safety of sea transport, and the air traffic control system. Furthermore, the European Parliament added several projects to the 14 priority projects to supplement the maps of the various networks: - Road network: the EP added over 15 new projects concerning Belgium, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Finland, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom in particular; - Rail network: in particular, the EP included the following in the network: the Antwerp-Ruhr rail link with links to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge; a series of projects in Germany and the United Kingdom; a Madrid-Valencia-Barcelona high-speed train link; two rail lines in Sicily; improvement of the Berlin-Moscow line; a Porto-Vigo high-speed link; a project for a piggyback link across the Central Pyrenees; the Dunkerque-Channel Tunnel link; - Inland waterways: the EP called for the map for Italy to include the network between Veneto and the Po plain, and added the Igoumenitsa-Patras-Cyprus-North Africa network; - Combined transport: the EP added projects relating to the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland; - Ports: the EP added projects concerning Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Madeira; - Airports: the EP called for the port of Antwerp to be classed as a seaport, for Stansted Airport to be included, and for Shannon Airport to be granted the status of a Community connecting point. �