The European Parliament adopted the report by Etelka BARSI-PATAKY (EPP-ED, HU) on Keep Europe moving - Sustainable mobility for our continent.
MEPs stress the importance of strengthened cooperation at European, national, regional and local levels, which should include the effective implementation of common rules and more efficient ways of enforcement; also stresses the need for pragmatic and cooperative interconnection of transport and other policy areas such as energy, environment and innovation; proposes that transport policy should be fully integrated into the Lisbon Strategy and taken into account in the assessment and recommendations put forward each year by the Member States in their national plans in order to measure and compare progress.
The Parliament notes that Community funds for financing trans-European transport projects remain limited, and the added value of the TEN-T programme cannot be attained unless the entire network is completed. It emphasises the financing of infrastructures (especially where congestion problems are significant), the cross border sections and transport hubs; considers that priority investment progress is slower than expected. It emphasises that the key TEN-T projects − supervised by their coordinators − need to be selected according to their financial feasibility and in particular according to the financial willingness of the Member States concerned and their regions, and furthermore according to their level of operational feasibility and the degree of progress made in their technical planning. The Commission is called upon to make proposals about the possible extension of new alternative and innovative ways of financing − taking into account also the report on the future of the European Union's own resources − and also extra resources for transport and the related research during the review of the EU 7-year budget in 2008.
While continuing the accomplishment of the TEN-T projects, points out that the conventional measures are reaching their limits. The Parliament therefore emphasises the potential of intelligent transport systems, technological innovations, investments in telematics in order to enhance traffic efficiency, reduce congestion, and improve safety and environmental performance. It points out that the benefits of intelligent systems and technological innovations (SESAR, ERTMS, RIS, Galileo, etc) should be realised; emphasises that the main task - both of the Community and of industry - is to support the market for new innovative solutions, and to create an appropriate legal and technical environment, including facilitated applications of the new technologies through public procurement.
The importance of the "Motorways of the Sea" projects has been emphasised as has the wish for the Galileo Programme and ERTMS to be sped up. Parliament notes that in different markets modal shift is essential for reducing the environmental impact of transport, and a modest modal shift can reduce road congestion; points out that shifts to more environmental modes, such as rail, bus and coach, carpooling and car-sharing, walking and cycling, maritime transport or inland navigation should be achieved, and emphasis should be put on those transport modes whose level of participation is often still low, meaning that they have vast potential.
In addition, the Parliament emphasises that priority should be given, when implementing the Seventh Framework Programme, to projects and programmes concerning intelligent transport systems and logistics, including road safety, urban transport and clean-engine technology; calls for EU-wide quality and interoperability standards for bio fuels to be ensured; underlines the need for the energy efficiency road plan; emphasises the importance of the Green Paper on urban transport, and hopes that specific means will be provided to help urban public transport move towards modal integration, developing traffic management systems, and creating conditions enabling users to be rewarded for their decision to make use of alternatives; underlines the importance of taking further measures in favour of sustainable transport in mountainous as well as densely populated areas, following the signature, by the Transport Council on 11 December 2006, of the Transport Protocol to the Alpine Convention; suggests that a Green Paper on European tourism be submitted and that a specific impact assessment of legislation which has a clear influence on European tourism be carried out.
The Parliament looks forward to the Commission proposing, in 2008, a generally applicable, transparent and comprehensible model for the assessment of all external costs to serve as the basis for future calculations of infrastructure charges.
MEPs deplore the conditions under which the Union's transport policy is being implemented by the Council and call strongly for decisions to be taken more quickly under the legislative procedure and for swifter and better coordinated transposition into national law. The Commission is called on to do all in its power to achieve this goal.
The Parliament fully agrees that Community legislation − in line with the principle of better regulation and the principle of subsidiarity − should focus on new areas such as urban transport, where legislation is necessary and policy measures should be taken at EU level only where it would bring clear added value.