12-13 April Transport Informal

Date: 18/04/1996

EU transport ministers, meeting in Rome, expressed general support for the Commission's request for an additional 1 billion ecu in funding for the Trans-European Networks. Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock claimed there was still enough money available in EU coffers, despite recent problems in the agricultural sector. Ministers adopted a Commission proposal to establish a working group to look into ways of attracting private financing for TENs. This will bring together politicians, technicians, administrators and financial experts to look at the obstacles on a project-by-project basis. Ministers also expressed their determination to find a rapid compromise with the Parliament in the dispute over TENs guidelines under the conciliation procedure, which begins on 24 April.

KINNOCK told ministers he would prepare a White Paper for July outlining a new strategy for railway development, which should allow a comprehensive action plan to be drawn up by early 1997 at the latest. This will concentrate on the separation of infrastructure and operations and the question of charges for infrastructure use; the clarification of financial relations between the railways and the state; how to strengthen EU rules - perhaps through the generalisation of public service contracts - to encourage efficiency and transparency; a study on railway financing, especially questions of debt and capital structure, considering how to try to rationalise financial management and keep subsidies under control; and a study on how to liberalise the railway sector to attract new capital and management. The Commission suggested that ministers might consider liberalising public procurement services, technical harmonisation for conventional rail and increased research and development efforts.

A LONG debate was held on ways to transfer more traffic from road to rail. Kinnock pointed to data showing that by 2010, freight traffic would increase by about 70&percent;, with road haulage accounting for much of the increase, boosting its overall share of total freight traffic from 70&percent; in 1992 to 84&percent; in 2010. The Commissioner said rail had lost half of its market share between 1970 and 1992. Kinnock stressed that the system of differential road pricing suggested in his Green Paper on fair and efficient pricing in transport was only part of a comprehensive policy to rebalance traffic flows without penalising the road sector.

MINISTERS also looked at the relationship between transport policies and the environment and at ways to harmonise transport conditions across the Union.