The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted the own-initiative report by Mathieu Grosch and welcomes the Commission White Paper entitled ‘Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system’. It notes, however, that major goals of the 2001 White Paper were achieved either only in part or not at all, and proposes:
- that, by 2013, the Commission should make specific proposals, based on the report on European road safety 2011-2020 and in keeping with the principle of subsidiarity, to reduce the number of deaths and severe injuries on the roads by 50% by 2020 in relation to 2010. These proposals should pay special attention to the most vulnerable road users and indicate, in each case, the results expected in terms of accident reduction;
- that, by 2014, the Commission should submit a proposal to provide for the internalisation of the external costs of all modes of freight and passenger transport in accordance with their specific nature, whilst avoiding double charging and market distortions. The revenue from this internalisation of external costs should be used to fund investment in safety, research, new technologies, climate protection and noise reduction in the context of sustainable mobility and in infrastructure.
The Commission is also asked to submit:
- a proposal on social and working conditions by 2013, in order to facilitate the creation of a genuinely integrated European transport market and, at the same time, enhance the attractiveness of the sector for workers. This proposal should be based on an in-depth analysis of the current situation with regard to social and working conditions in all transport modes and the degree of harmonisation between the laws of the Member States, and on an assessment of the impact of developments on the transport labour market over the period to 2020. It should increase employment and improve the situation of workers throughout the transport sector and take account of new technologies and logistical services which can be used to improve transport services in general and for disabled people in particular;
- by 2013 a coherent, quantitative analysis of the current situation with regard to the level of infrastructure, the density of the transport network and the quality of transport services in all EU Member States. This will provide an overview of the current situation in the EU27, highlight inequalities in the development of transport infrastructure between the Member States and their regions and outline the way transport infrastructure across all modes is currently funded and future investment priorities.
The committee want the Commission to formulate legal rules to achieve a 20% reduction in emissions of CO2 and other GHGs from transport (by comparison with 1990 reference figures) and the following intermediate goals by 2020 (by comparison with 2010 reference figures), in accordance with the 20-20-20 targets and in cooperation with international partners:
- a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions from road transport,
- a 20% reduction in noise and energy consumption for rail transport,
- a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions from air transport across European airspace,
- an EU-wide uniform 30% reduction in emissions of CO2 and pollutants in shipping, to which the IMO agreements on the Energy Efficiency Design Index and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan will make a contribution.
These goals should be considered priorities, which should be checked every year.
Members highlight the as yet insufficiently explored potential of transport in many areas, and insist on the importance of a single European transport area, with interconnection and interoperability, based on genuinely European management of transport infrastructure and systems achieved by eliminating 'border-effects' between Member States in all transport modes, in order to enhance the competitiveness and attractiveness of the entire EU. They stress the importance of territorial cohesion and, in particular, the accessibility problems facing the outermost regions, islands, landlocked and peripheral regions and good connections between Member States and their neighbouring countries.
Members welcome the Commission's proposal on the 'Connecting Europe Facility' and the Project Bonds Initiative, and urge that:
- Member States commit themselves to eliminating the main known bottlenecks in every transport mode in the European transport area by 2020 and, if necessary, encourage their circumvention by establishing an intermodal infrastructure at the start and end points of a stretch, to prioritise cross-border projects between all the Member States, without neglecting connections to neighbouring countries, and to submit an approved funding plan by 2015;
- the Commission commits itself to increasing the stability of funding of TEN-T projects, in coordination with regional policy;
- the Commission commits itself to supporting alternative funding models and instruments, including project bonds, and to providing for increased use of that revenue to fund TEN-T projects when making proposals to internalise external costs;
- in order to ensure the long-term effectiveness and visibility of EU action in the framework of TEN-T, the definition of priorities must be seen in close connection with the conditions governing the use of regional structural funds and the Member States must be required to guarantee funding for these projects beyond the end of the EU's multiannual programmes;
- project priorities should only be maintained after 2015 if Member States have taken binding budget decisions to ensure the implementation of the projects and that EU co-funding should be based on the ‘use it or lose it’ principle;
- EuroVelo, the European long-distance cycle route network, should be included in the TEN-T network;
The report goes on to call for:
- by 2013, proposals to develop initiatives that promote environmentally friendly public transport, walking and cycling, especially in towns and cities, with the aim of doubling their number of users;
- by 2015, a proposal on urban mobility in which support for projects is made conditional on the submission by local authorities of sustainable mobility plans for efficient passenger and goods logistics chains in urban and built-up areas.
Member States are asked to work towards the establishment of a level playing field between all modes of transport in terms of energy taxation and value added tax.
Lastly, the report makes a series of recommendations on the specific sectors of road transport, shipping, air transport, and rail transport.