Annex: United Kingdom Government Response
to the European Commission TEN-T Green Paper Review: Summary of
Views
"The UK welcomes the opportunity to contribute
to the EC Commission's consultation on the Trans-European Network
Green Paper — TEN-T review.
"The UK considers that the EU added value of
the TEN-T programme in its current form is uneven — and
generally lacking in the existing comprehensive network.
"Taking into account the urgent need to stimulate
economic growth as well as the need to address the climate change
challenges the United Kingdom calls for a fundamental review of
the TEN-T programme and recommends that:
- The objectives of the TEN-T
programme need to be clarified and more focused on both scope
and outcome; any TEN-T funding from the EU budget must be better
focused on priority projects, and combined with EIB loan and private
finance as a general rule;
- The existing TEN-T maps would need to be reviewed.
No further "priority corridors" should be set up without
a compelling case for EU value-added;
- Fundamentally, TEN-T needs to be better focused
on projects that provide genuine EU value added and value for
money; Only those transport corridors and transport components
(such as major ports or airports) that are of strategic interest
to a number of Member States, should be part of the TEN-T network;
- In order to obtain a true network effect, the
network needs to be fully integrated and multimodal and promote
sustainable modes of transport; The peripheral needs of the Community
should also be taken into account;
- The review should also address sound financial
management, project scoping and TEN-T management which have been
inadequate in many cases; For instance, the UK would wish to see
a clear definition on what defines the
TEN-T network as complete.
"The UK has recently set out its latest strategic
thinking in the Delivering a Sustainable Transport Strategy
report.[47] Similar
considerations have been conducted at regional level, for instance,
in Northern Ireland the Regional Strategic Transport Network
Transport Plan[48]
outlines the key transport network and alongside the Regional
Transportation Strategy[49]
sets out the long-term transportation strategy for the Region.
"We shall stand ready to work closely with the
EC Commission and Member States on the future definition and scope
of the TEN-T policy and programme."
…
"Which of these options is the most suitable?
"From a principled perspective
the UK view is that:
— Option
1, the current structure, has proven to have limited EU value
added and looks like an unsustainable model for the future.
— Option 2, priority projects connected
into a priority network would be our preferred option as it offers
simplicity, clarity and a more focused output approach. The true
network effect assumed in the Green Paper under option 3 would
be more clearly achieved here since the integration into wider
priority network would allow for a more comprehensive view of
the TEN-T network.
— Option 3 would be our second preferred
option provided that the definition of the "conceptual pillar"
is clear. Special attention would need to be paid to the delivery
under this option; the ambiguity and complexity of the so-called
double layer approach could limit its European added value."
47 http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/transportstrategy/pdfsustaintranssystem.pdf.
Back
48
http://www.drdni.gov.uk/rts_main_doc-2.pdf Back
49
http://www.drdni.gov.uk/rstn_tp-2.pdf Back
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