The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted the report by Georgios KOUMOUTSAKOS (EPP, EL) and Ismail ERTUG (S&D, DE) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network.
The committee recommends that the position of the European Parliament adopted in first reading, following the ordinary legislative procedure, should amend the Commission proposal as follows:
Objectives and priorities: Members propose defining stricter criteria for projects of common interest by better structuring the objectives and the priorities. The trans-European transport network shall contribute to the objectives and priorities laid down in the following four categories:
- efficiency through: (i) the removal of bottlenecks and the bridging of missing links; (ii) seamless connections between transport infrastructure for long-distance traffic on the one hand, and regional and local traffic on the other for both passenger and freight traffic; (iii) the interconnection and interoperability of regional and national transport networks;
- sustainability through: (i) the promotion of sustainable, low carbon and energy-efficient transport with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions from the Union's transport sector by 60% below 1990 levels by 2050; (ii) the reduction of pollution of any kind from transport;
- increasing the benefits for all users through: (i) meeting the mobility and transport needs of its users within the Union and in relations with third countries; (ii) high-quality passenger transport services, which are affordable for and accessible to all citizens, including accessibility for elderly people, persons with reduced mobility and disabled passengers;
- cohesion through: (i) contributing to accessibility and connectivity of all regions of the Union, including remote, outermost, insular, peripheral and mountainous regions.
Eligibility criteria: the report proposes to slightly narrow the eligibility criteria so that the projects of common interest better meet the objectives of the TEN-T. Projects of common interest should be economically viable on the basis of the socio-economic costs and benefits. As regards the cooperation with third countries, the projects should: (i) promote traffic management systems in those countries, which are consistent with Union policy; (ii) promote maritime transport and Motorways of the Sea, excluding financial support to third-country ports; (iii) facilitate inland waterway transport with third countries.
EU added-value: the report stipulates this shall mean the value resulting from the Union's or a Member State's policy choices/financial intervention. It should lead to a significant and measurable improvement of transport connections and transport flows between the Member States as regards sustainability, efficiency competitiveness and cohesion, in line with the TEN-T objectives.
The term ‘socio-economic cost-benefit analysis' has been defined by the Members to mean a quantified ex-ante evaluation on the basis of a harmonised methodology of the value of a project or programme, taking into account all social, economic and environmental benefits and costs, and serving as an indicator of contribution to welfare. Given the long term climate impacts of transport infrastructure, Members propose that climate impact assessments are carried out for new or upgraded infrastructure projects.
Mortorways of the sea: the report suggests updating the motorways of the sea programmes which represent the maritime dimension of the trans-European transport network and shall contribute towards the achievement of a European maritime transport space without barriers.
By two years after the designation of the Coordinator for Motorways of the Sea, the Coordinator shall present a detailed implementation plan for the Motorways of the Sea based on experiences and developments relating to Union maritime transport as well as the forecasted traffic on the Motorways of the Sea. The implementation plan shall also contain clear guidelines for the establishment of new Motorways of the Sea, including with third countries, taking into account the forecasted traffic and its coherence in the core and comprehensive network.
Identification of the core network: according to Members, the definition of the core network shall take into consideration the future geographical framework with a view to the enlargement of the Union and the possible development and completion of the priority corridors. It shall contribute to coping with increasing mobility, with increasing needs for accessible transport for elderly people, persons with reduced mobility and disabled passengers. It should also guarantee territorial cohesion throughout the Union.
Nodes of the core network: the nodes of the core network are set out in Annex II. Members propose that they should include : (i) inland ports, rail/road terminals; (ii) freight and passenger airports.
Coordination of core network corridors: the European Coordinator shall ensure that national infrastructure plans take into account the development of the corridor. It should consult, in cooperation with the Member States concerned, in particular municipal and local authorities, regional authorities where appropriate, and local transport authorities. It should have sufficient resources to actively contribute to compromises between projects requirements and the interests of the affected regional and local authorities and the civil society.
Member States shall ensure that the interests of regional and local authorities as well as of local civil society affected by a project of common interest are appropriately taken into account in the planning and construction phase of a project.
Transparency, monitoring and reporting and internal coordination: the report calls on Member States to inform the Commission continuously and transparently through the interactive geographical and technical information system for the trans-European transport network (TENtec), about the progress made in implementing projects of common interest and the investments made for this purpose.
This shall include detailed statistical data on all relevant financial aid in the form of grants, loans or other financial instruments, used for each project of common interest and for each transport mode in the core as well as in the comprehensive network at Union and at the respective Member State level.
In this context, the forms of financial aid to be taken into account are in particular financial aid in the form of loans and financing instruments provided by the European Investment Bank. The progress report to be prepared by the Commission should contain more detailed data and additional elements. It should reflect and outline the evolving character of the TEN-T as well as provide detailed information on the Commission's internal coordination of all forms of financial aid for TEN-T.