TENs report urges improvements in existing EU transport networks

Date: 22/10/1998

By Renée Cordes

TRANSPORT Commissioner Neil Kinnock will next week propose putting greater emphasis on improving existing rail and road networks, while continuing to press for more EU cash to help fund construction projects.

The new focus is expected to be welcomed by EU governments who have repeatedly shot down the European Commission's calls for additional money to invest in the 14 Trans-European Networks (TENs) schemes identified as priority projects.

But the Commission is not abandoning its campaign for extra funding, suggesting that the budget for TENs transport schemes of 1.8 billion ecu between 1995 and 1999 should be more increased to around 5 billion ecu for the next seven-year period.

"It is clearly essential for member states to stick to their plans for increased investment in the TENs, including through public-private partnerships, and find the necessary finance to do so," states Kinnock's draft report, which is due to be approved by the full Commission next Wednesday (28 October).

It suggests, however, that member states should consider "how to shift the focus from infrastructure investment to quality of service" and how to integrate different types of transport "so that travellers are encouraged to use the most effective mix".

Officials say they hope that the report will stimulate a "constructive debate" on the future of the TENs and in particular on the priorities to be set when the guidelines are revised.

Next week's report will be followed by a Commission White Paper proposing changes to the guidelines which is due to be published next summer, with concrete proposals set to be unveiled in 2000.

The shift in emphasis in Kinnock's report has already been welcomed by officials from some member states. "I think it reflects reality," said one. "Nobody has the ability any more for unlimited spending on roads."

The official added that while the TENs programme was very ambitious at the outset, it was now clear that the Commission "did not want to match the scale of ambition with the scale of funds".

Since the TENs initiative was launched, the aim has been for the EU to provide a small proportion of the funding needed for individual projects, with the bulk of the financing provided by individual Union governments or the private sector.

EU funds are released for specific projects every year by a committee of national and Commission representatives. Although the institution has established 'indicative' targets for project investment over several years, these are not binding and make planning difficult.

Total investment in TENs from 1996 to 1997 was 38.4 billion ecu, a fraction of the estimated 307-billion-ecu total cost, according to the draft report. Together, the EU and the European Investment Bank provided 12.6 billion ecu, just under one-third of the whole.

Among the 14 TENs schemes identified by EU leaders as top priority projects at their summit in Essen in 1994 are the 4.2-billion-ecu Oresund road-rail link between Copenhagen and Malmö and the 17.2-billion-ecu high-speed Thalys train link between Paris and London.

A spokesman for Railtrack, a private firm which runs the UK's rail infrastructure, applauded the Commission's new approach.

"We welcome any initiatives in those areas to ensure efficient infrastructure and there needs to be some mechanism for bridging the gap between public and private financing," said Peter Koning, the company's deputy director for European affairs.