12 Trans-European Transport Network
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9582/10
COM(10) 212
| Commission Working Document: Consultation on the future Trans-European Transport Network policy
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| Legal base | —
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| Document originated | 4 May 2010
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| Deposited in Parliament | 25 May 2010
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| Department | Transport
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 2 June 2010
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Not known
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
12.1 In 1996 the EU adopted Guidelines for the development of
a Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) — defined as
road, rail, inland waterways, motorways of the sea, seaports,
inland waterway ports, airports and traffic management and navigation
systems. The Guidelines provided that the TEN-T, should be a single
multimodal network, with corridors of common interest and integration
of land, sea and air transport infrastructure networks. They identified
14 priority axes deemed to be of European significance in supporting
trans-national trade and cohesion. In 2004 the Guidelines were
revised — changes made included:
- extension of the deadline for completing the TEN-T to 2020;
- extension of priority axes from 14 to 30 (the
United Kingdom is involved in five of these); and
- the possibility of coordinators (termed European
coordinators) to be appointed for cross-border priority axes.
12.2 Responsibility for implementing the network
rests with Member States. TEN-T projects are mainly financed by
them and to a lesser extent by private investors. The EU also
provides support, primarily through instruments adopted under
the Trans-European Networks Finance Regulation, as well as from
the Cohesion and European Regional Development Funds, and other
non-financial instruments, such as coordination initiatives.
12.3 In February 2009 the Commission published a
Green Paper with which it sought to open a debate questioning
not only whether the objectives of the 2004 Guidelines had been
achieved, but whether or not those objectives were still sufficient
to meet future TEN-T challenges.[52]
The Commission published the responses to the Green Paper in July
2009[53] and set up a
number of working groups involving external experts to develop
the policy review.
The document
12.4 The expert working groups have reported to the
Commission[54] and on
the basis of these reports the Commission has launched a further
consultation in this Working Document. This consultation focuses
on three main areas:
- methodology for TEN-T planning
— this develops thinking on a dual layer planning approach,
involving a core network of nodes and links of the highest strategic
and economic importance covering all modes of transport as the
top layer. Underlying this will be a comprehensive network based
on the current network but enhanced to take account of changes
in national planning, include missing links and nodes, and removing
dead ends;
- TEN-T implementation —
this looks at how to make the TEN-T policy more effective by having
a more coherent approach to network planning and the available
means for implementing the network. It also considers prioritising
funding for projects with the highest European value and developing
the role of the European coordinators to improve delivery of complex
cross border projects; and
- the legal and institutional
framework of the TEN-T policy review — this looks at ways
of improving the legislative and institutional framework to deliver
the policy more effectively.
The Commission calls for responses by 15 September
2010.
The Government's view
12.5 The Minister of State, Department for Transport
(Mrs Theresa Villiers), noting that the consultation is not a
proposal for legislation, says that there are no policy implications
at this stage. She continues that the Government is still formulating
its position on the latest stage of the Policy Review, in order
to respond by the consultation deadline. But she comments that
whilst the proposed methodology is more complicated than recommended
in the UK's initial response it could still deliver a more effective
and focussed programme that will deliver benefits to Europe as
a whole.
Conclusion
12.6 The future direction of the TEN-T policy,
and associated legislation and finance, is important and we will
wish to scrutinise in due course the outcome of the Commission's
consultations. Meanwhile before considering further this present
document, which remains under scrutiny, we wish to see the Government's
response to it.
52 (30421) 6135/09: see HC 19-viii (2008-09), chapter
5 (25 February 2009) and HC 19-xix (2008-09), chapter 11 (10 June
2009). Back
53
See http://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/consultations/doc/2009-07-31_summary_report_green_paper_on_future_ten-t_networks.pdf.
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54
See http://ec.europa.eu/transport/infrastructure/tent_policy_review/expert_groups/expert_groups_en.htm.
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