Regulation 2013/1315 - Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network - Main contents

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 on guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

The regulation:

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  sets out guidelines for developing a trans-European transport network (TEN-T) consisting of the comprehensive network and of the core network, the latter being established on the basis of the comprehensive network;
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  identifies projects of common interest and specifies the requirements to be complied with in managing the TEN-T infrastructure;
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  lays down rules regarding measures to implement the TEN-T – implementing projects of common interest depends on their degree of maturity, compliance with European Union (EU) and national legal procedures, and the availability of financial resources, without prejudging the financial commitment of an EU Member State or of the EU;
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  The annexes to the regulation have been amended several times by means of delegated acts adopted by the European Commission.

KEY POINTS

The guidelines:

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  set out a long-term strategy for the development of a complete TEN-T consisting of infrastructure for railways, maritime and air transport, roads, inland waterways and railroad terminals;
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  cover the technical standards, along with the requirements for interoperability of infrastructures;
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  define priorities for the development of the TEN-T.

The regulation replaces guidelines that were originally agreed to in 1996 and introduces a network with a dual-layer structure consisting of a comprehensive network and a core network. The aim is to complete the latter network by 2030, while the former has a binding deadline of 2050.

Core and comprehensive transport networks

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  The comprehensive network will ensure the accessibility and connectivity of all regions in the EU.
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  The core network will consist of those parts of the comprehensive network that are of the highest strategic importance for achieving the objectives for the development of the TEN-T, linking the most strategically important urban and other nodes (e.g. ports, airports and border-crossing points).
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  Both parts of the network include all of the transport modes and their interconnections.

Development of the network

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  The guidelines enable projects of common European interest to be defined to develop the network.
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  These projects will create new transport infrastructure and upgrade existing transport infrastructure.
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  Further measures will promote the resource-efficient use of the network.
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  EU funding is available for these projects under the Connecting Europe Facility, under Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 (see summary).

Examples of types of problems being tackled

The aim is to tackle the main problems that are encountered:

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  missing links, in particular at cross-border sections;
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  infrastructure disparities between and within the Member States;
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  insufficient multimodal connections (connections between different modes of transport);
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  overly high levels of greenhouse gas emissions from transport and inadequate interoperability (compatibility of different transport-related systems).

Annexes

The regulation is complemented by three annexes.

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  Annex I. Maps of the comprehensive and core networks.
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  Annex II. List of nodes of the core and comprehensive networks.
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  Annex III. Indicative maps of the TEN-T extended to specific neighbouring countries.

Delegated acts amending Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013

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  Delegated Regulation (EU) No 473/2014 supplements Annex III with new indicative maps further to a high-level agreement between the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine), concerning the lines of the railway and road networks, as well as ports, airports and railroad terminals.
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  Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/758 adapts Annex III to:

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    a high-level agreement between the EU and the western Balkans countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro,North Macedonia and Serbia) – the agreement concerns the lines of the railway and road networks, as well as ports and airports;
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    a high-level agreement between the EU and Iceland and Norway, taking into account a limited number of adjustments on the road, port and airport network maps to more accurately reflect the alignment of the indicative TEN-T, according to the TEN-T methodology.

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  Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/849 amends the maps in Annex I and the list in Annex II to reflect:

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    the need to include in the comprehensive network the logistic platforms, railroad terminals, inland ports, maritime ports and airports for which the latest 2-year average of traffic volume exceeds the relevant threshold;
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    progress in completing the network requiring an adjustment in the maps for road, railway and inland waterway infrastructure.

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  Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/254 adapts the indicative comprehensive network maps, and in particular the identification of the indicative core network in Annex III, to allow the EU to better target its cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries concerned.

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 21 December 2013.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

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  Trans-European transport network (TEN-T) (European Commission)
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  TENtec public portal (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU (OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, pp. 1–128)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility and repealing Regulations (EU) No 1316/2013 and (EU) No 283/2014 (OJ L 249, 14.7.2021, pp. 38–81)

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  This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

last update 06.09.2021

This summary has been adopted from EUR-Lex.