SEC(2006)0768
EUR-Lex

This Communication from the Commission presents the mid-term review of the European Commission’s 2001 Transport White Paper.

The 2001 White Paper identified as main challenges the imbalance in the development of the different transport modes, congestion on routes and cities, as well as in airspace, and the impact on the environment. Accordingly, the White Paper proposed policies to adjust the balance between the modes, stressed the need to do away with bottlenecks in the trans- European networks. In order to reduce the number of road accidents, it called for an effective policy on infrastructure charging and it argued that the Community should strengthen its position in international organizations. It needs to be taken into account that the White Paper expected a strong economic growth which did not materialise as such.

Since 2001, major legislative proposals were approved and are being put into practice such as the opening-up of rail freight transport to competition, the upgraded social conditions of road transport, the definition of 30 TEN priority projects, the creation of the European Single Sky, the strengthening of aviation passenger rights, the new road charging directive whose distance-based user charges can be channelled to the financing of infrastructure in some cases, the promotion of intermodal transport with the Marco Polo programme and the reinforcement of the legal framework in maritime safety. The EU has also shown its capacity to develop industrial innovation programmes such as Galileo, ERTMS and SESAR. Most of the White Paper measures have been proposed or adopted.

The experience since 2001 as well as further studies and projections suggest that the measures envisaged by the Commission in 2001 will not be sufficient on their own to continue achieving the fundamental objectives of EU policy, in particular to contain the negative environmental and other effects of transport growth whilst facilitating mobility as the quintessential purpose of transport policy. In the enlarged EU, situated in a globalised, rapidly changing world, a broader, more flexible, transport policy toolbox is needed. Solutions may range from European regulations and their uniform application, economic instruments, soft instruments, and technological integration to a geographically differentiated approach, using methods of tailor-made legislation or enhanced cooperation. The Commission will in each specific area rely on consultations with citizens and other stakeholders and on economic, environmental and social impact analysis before moving to concrete proposals.

The Communication discusses transport growth as well as the impacts of transport, stating that its environmental cost is estimated at 1.1% of GDP. It looks at the different forms of transport, and proposes actions for each sector:

Land transport: the Commission proposes to do the following: examine experience in the internal road market and propose improvements to market access rules and rules on access to the profession where needed; address the issue of excessive differences in exise tax levels; implement the rail transport acquis with the help of strong regulatory bodies in the Member States; accelerate efforts to remove technical and operational barriers to international rail activities with the help of the rail industry and the

European Railway Agency; examine a possible programme to promote a rail freight oriented network within a broader transport logistics policy; rail market monitoring including a scoreboard.

Aviation: the internal market needs to be broadened to improve the performance of all segments of the aviation industry such as airport and air navigation services. The Commission proposes to continue to monitor the state aid and competition aspects of restructuring and integration; review the functioning of the internal market and propose adjustments where needed; complete the single sky regulatory framework and implement the modernisation of air traffic management; develop policy measures to contain emissions from air transport services.

Waterborne transport: the development of maritime and coastal transport faces two key challenges.

Firstly, there is as yet no seamless internal shipping market: sea journeys from one Member State to another are considered external due to international regulations. Secondly, the expected growth of sea transport will need to be absorbed through the EU’s ports infrastructure. Actions proposed by the Commission include building on a broad public consultation of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy for a “common European maritime space”; developing a comprehensive European ports policy; and action to reduce pollutant emissions from waterborne transport.

The paper goes on to examine passenger rights, safety, working conditions as well as the implications for energy policy. It discusses the challenges of reducing congestion and increasing accessibility. It considers financing with regard to the 30 TEN priority projects as well as smart charging for the use of infrastructure.

The Commission feels that a European sustainable mobility policy needs to build on a broader range of policy tools achieving shifts to more environmentally friendly modes where appropriate, especially on long distance, in urban areas and on congested corridors. At the same time each transport mode must be optimised. All modes must become more environmentally friendly, safe and energy efficient. Finally, co-modality , i.e. the efficient use of different modes on their own and in combination will result in an optimal and sustainable utilisation of resources. This approach offers the best guarantees to achieve at the same time a high level of both mobility and of environmental protection. The indicative timing for the main actions to be undertaken in the next years is shown in Annex 1 to the paper.

COM(2006)0314
EUR-Lex

The Transport White Paper adopted in 2001 proposed the target of halving the number of road fatalities by 2010. This target was subsequently repeated in the European road safety action programme adopted in 2003. This communication is the midterm review announced in the programme adopted in 2003.

Overall figures for the EU : In 2001, 50 000 people were killed on the roads in the countries which today make up the EU. The joint target proposed in 2001 and updated after enlargement in 2004 is that by 2010 there should be no more than 25 000 fatalities a year. The figures for 2005 show that about 41 600 people were killed on the roads, a fall (albeit too small) of 17.5% over 4 years. At the present rate, road deaths in the EU in 2010 are likely to stand at 32 500, and the target of a maximum of 25 000 will probably not be achieved. The trend over the last ten years shows a fall in 2001, however, that is worth a closer look:

- Between 1994 and 2000, the number of people killed on the roads fell by an average of only 2% a year, while the number of accidents rose very slightly. The technical improvements made to vehicles would seem to be the main reason behind this trend.

- Between 2001 and 2005, the number of people killed on the roads fell by an average of 5% a year, and the number of accidents fell by an average of 4% a year, and 5% between 2003 and 2004; this parallel trend in the major indicators corresponds to the dates of entry into force of voluntary road safety plans in most of the Member States.

In considering the statistics by category of users, vehicles and accident types, it is seen that the trend is not uniform:

- The number of motorcyclists killed as a proportion of total road deaths, a figure which was relatively stable at around 9.5% until 1996, has risen relentlessly in the meantime to 14% in 2003.

- In overall terms, the number of motorcyclists killed rose by 5.6% between 2000 and 2003, while the total number of people killed on the roads fell by 12% over the same period. Some figures are alarming: in Italy, Belgium, Sweden and the United Kingdom the numbers of motorcyclists killed on the roads rose by 40%, 39%, 21% and 15%, respectively. In France there has been a significant reversal of the trend: an increase of 10% between 2000 and 2002 followed by a fall of 8% in 2003 compared with 2002.

-Young people between 18 and 25 are a high-risk group: these people represent 10% of the population as a whole but accounted for 21% of all fatalities in 2003, with four-fifths of those killed being male.

- Pedestrians over 65 years of age account for about 27% of all pedestrians killed, more than their percentage of the population as a whole (18%).

- Lorries are involved in 6% of all accidents but 16% of fatal accidents, confirmation of the most serious nature of these accidents. However, the number of lorries involved in accidents is falling faster than the overall accident rate.

- Accidents outside built-up areas (but not on motorways) are the most serious: they represent only 28% of all accidents, but account for 60% of all road accident victims.

- Accidents in built-up areas account for 67% of all accidents and 31% of all road accident victims.

- Motorways account for 5% of accidents and 9% of fatalities.

The road safety performance of the new Member States following the most recent enlargement is not as good as the average situation in the EU before 2004. While some of these countries saw dramatic improvements in the early 1990s, their situation since 2001 has basically been the same as that of several of the EU-15 Member States. The problems are not specific to the enlargement countries. They are the same everywhere, but with different degrees of progress over time.

Analysis of recent trends shows that in terms of changes in the number of people killed between 2001 and 2004, nine Member States (Germany, Estonia, , France, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden) have reduced at a faster rate than the average for the 25 (-14%); in eight other Member States (Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Austria, Finland, and the United Kingdom) there has been limited progress (a fall of at least 5%, but less than the average rate); in six others (Czech Republic, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia), progress has been very slow or there has been a slight backward trend (a maximum rate of progress of 5%, more or less, compared with the figures for 2001); the situation has got worse in Cyprus and Lithuania. These figures must nevertheless be treated with caution, especially in the very small Member States where a small number of serious accidents greatly affect the national result.

The paper goes on to discuss the new road safety plans and community action since 2001. The full list of legislation adopted since 2001, the list of proposals still at the interinstitutional negotiation stage and a selection of European projects and studies are given in a Commission staff working paper which contains accident statistics (Part 1), summaries by Member States (Part 2), an overview of EU legislation on road safety (Part 3), a selection of projects financed by the Commission in this area (Part 4), and some examples of the commitments entered into by citizens in the framework of the European Road Safety Charter (Part 5).

The Commission considers that in overall terms, road safety is improving in the EU. Faster progress is being made than in the past, but it is patchy and there is still a lot of room for further improvement.

Constructive action is being taken in all the relevant areas: infrastructure, behaviour, vehicles. The European Union and the Member States as well as all the other parties vested with “shared responsibility” must do more in order to achieve the ambitious common objective. In light of this, the Commission will give consideration to additional measures within the framework of the mid term review of the Transport White Paper.

COM(2006)0074
EUR-Lex

ACT : Commission Decision 2003/425/EC setting up a group of experts to advise the Commission on a strategy for dealing with accidents in the transport sector

CONTENT : the Commission has decided to set up this Group of Experts since it considers that independent technical investigations of transport accidents and incidents improve safety by identifying the causes of such accidents and thereby preventing them from occurring. Such investigations into the causes of accidents must not be linked to compensation for damages or determination of liability. Therefore, they should be independent of investigations conducted by the judicial authorities, insurance companies, industry, operators and regulators, or any other party whose interests could conflict with the task entrusted to the investigating body or entity. The Group will advise the Commission on the need to improve existing legislation, and, where necessary, on the need to propose new initiatives for all modes of transport, including transport of energy (oil and gas pipelines), but excluding the occupational health and safety aspects.

The main points of the Decision are as follows:

- Composition: the Group of Experts will be composed of qualified individuals competent to consider matters relating to transport safety issues, in particular independent technical accidents investigations in all modes of transport, including the transport of energy (oil and gas pipelines). The Group will have 12 members and be chaired by a representative of the Commission.

- Appointment: The members of the Group will be appointed individually by the Commission on the basis of objective criteria of proven competence and experience. They will have a two-year renewable mandate with one possibility of renewal by a Commission decision. When their mandate lapses, members of the Group remain in office until such time as they are replaced or their mandate renewed.

- Terms of office, working groups and additional experts: the Group will meet in plenary session twice a year at the Commission headquarters on invitation by the Commission. The Group of Experts may set up ad hoc working groups. The Chairman may decide to invite other experts to address particular matters, at the request of a member or on his or her own initiative. The members of the Group of Experts and any experts invited will have their travel and subsistence expenses reimbursed in accordance with the provisions in force within the Commission.

- Confidentiality: the members of the Group of Experts must not divulge any information they obtain through their work in the Group or its working groups.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: The Decision will take effect on 12/06/2003.

32003D0425
OJ L 144 12.06.2003, p. 0010-0011

COM(2003)0311
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T5-0054/2003
OJ C 043 19.02.2004, p. 0072-0250 E

T5-0054/2003

A5-0444/2002

A5-0444/2002

CES0869/2002
OJ C 241 07.10.2002, p. 0168

2420

CDR0054/2001
OJ C 192 12.08.2002, p. 0008

COM(2002)0018
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2374

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COM(2001)0370

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COM(2001)0370