Compromise needed to develop transport infrastructure - Main contents

“The Hungarian Presidency strives to reach a major political compromise on the development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), at the Informal Meeting of Transport Ministers, to take place in Gödöllo, on 7 and 8 February 2011,” said Pál Völner, State Secretary for Infrastructure of the Ministry for National Development, at a press conference in Budapest.

The European Union plans to spend a total of eight billion euros, between 2007 and 2013, to develop transport networks, including 30 priority routes within the TEN-T. In addition, member states may use some 43 billion euros, of the Cohesion Fund, for infrastructure development. Nevertheless, the European Commission is not satisfied with the progress of the TEN-T, and the priority projects. Radical and comprehensive changes need to be apparent in terms of both resources and routes.

The Commission first summarised its proposals in a Green Paper, in 2009. Later, ministerial and expert talks brought about the current idea, that the TEN-T should be a dual layer network, consisting of a ‘core network’ and a comprehensive network of the existing priority routes.

Ambiguous future

According to the Commission’s proposal, the vast majority of support, would go to core network routes selected on the basis of new and objective indicators, whereas their funding would incorporate both TEN-T resources and dedicated cohesion funds. The new approach, would also entail a re-distribution of resources, which would be seriously dis-advantageous for many countries, pointed out Mr Völner. Member states with few routes of the core network or with at least a part of such routes, already renewed, could lose significant amounts of development funds. These changes would have a highly negative impact on countries who have recently joined the EU, and who are less developed in terms of infrastructure. They would not be able to use parts of the cohesion funds that was initially put at their disposal. This is because the money would go to a dedicated TEN-T fund, with less developed countries “competing” with more developed ones.

Compromise as Goal

At the informal meeting of Ministers for Transport, acting chairman, Pál Völner said, “The Hungarian Presidency will bear in mind the opinion of the Commission, but cohesion and competitiveness must not be set against each other.” The Minister of State added, “the Presidency is preparing to reach a compromise and a common policy approach, at the informal meeting in Gödöllo, so that the Commission will involve member states, including Central European countries, in the TEN-T review procedure, before the draft law is published in the summer to help avoid a bad scenario.

Inland shipping on the agenda

The Hungarian Presidency handles the issue of inland shipping, in particular the proper integration of river freight transportation in the European logistics chain, as a fundamental part of a competitive transport policy. Experts will hold a high-level conference on inland shipping, in Esztergom during April. The agenda will include the financing of inland shipping. There will be talks on the Danube Region Strategy, and in parts, which contribute to job creation, and to the interconnection of the region’s transport systems.

Railway transport legislative package

A re-cast of the first railway transport legislative package, is of high priority for the Hungarian Presidency. The draft would include the competitive conditions of the railway market, and the funding of improvements, and would require member states to present their five-year strategies on railway infrastructure development within two years. The Presidency would like to create a general approach before the Council’s meeting in June, which would determine the amount of money member states must spend on railway development.

From Eurovignette to the single sky

The Hungarian Presidency wants to enforce the “polluter pays” principle, in the eurovignette directive. The goal is to reach a second reading agreement, that would incorporate the costs of environmental pollution and social costs of congestion and noise in European tolls, in proportion to road use. The implementation of the Single European Sky, is a priority for the Hungarian Presidency. The Commission’s initiative would align regulations on the European Union airspace.