The European Parliament adopted the report by Etelka BARSI-PATAKY (EPP-ED, HU) on Keep Europe moving - Sustainable mobility for our continent.

MEPs stress the importance of strengthened cooperation at European, national, regional and local levels, which should include the effective implementation of common rules and more efficient ways of enforcement; also stresses the need for pragmatic and cooperative interconnection of transport and other policy areas such as energy, environment and innovation; proposes that transport policy should be fully integrated into the Lisbon Strategy and taken into account in the assessment and recommendations put forward each year by the Member States in their national plans in order to measure and compare progress.

The Parliament notes that Community funds for financing trans-European transport projects remain limited, and the added value of the TEN-T programme cannot be attained unless the entire network is completed. It emphasises the financing of infrastructures (especially where congestion problems are significant), the cross border sections and transport hubs; considers that priority investment progress is slower than expected. It emphasises that the key TEN-T projects − supervised by their coordinators − need to be selected according to their financial feasibility and in particular according to the financial willingness of the Member States concerned and their regions, and furthermore according to their level of operational feasibility and the degree of progress made in their technical planning. The Commission is called upon to make proposals about the possible extension of new alternative and innovative ways of financing − taking into account also the report on the future of the European Union's own resources − and also extra resources for transport and the related research during the review of the EU 7-year budget in 2008.

While continuing the accomplishment of the TEN-T projects, points out that the conventional measures are reaching their limits. The Parliament therefore emphasises the potential of intelligent transport systems, technological innovations, investments in telematics in order to enhance traffic efficiency, reduce congestion, and improve safety and environmental performance. It points out that the benefits of intelligent systems and technological innovations (SESAR, ERTMS, RIS, Galileo, etc) should be realised; emphasises that the main task - both of the Community and of industry - is to support the market for new innovative solutions, and to create an appropriate legal and technical environment, including facilitated applications of the new technologies through public procurement.

The importance of the "Motorways of the Sea" projects has been emphasised as has the wish for the Galileo Programme and ERTMS to be sped up. Parliament notes that in different markets modal shift is essential for reducing the environmental impact of transport, and a modest modal shift can reduce road congestion; points out that shifts to more environmental modes, such as rail, bus and coach, carpooling and car-sharing, walking and cycling, maritime transport or inland navigation should be achieved, and emphasis should be put on those transport modes whose level of participation is often still low, meaning that they have vast potential.

In addition, the Parliament emphasises that priority should be given, when implementing the Seventh Framework Programme, to projects and programmes concerning intelligent transport systems and logistics, including road safety, urban transport and clean-engine technology; calls for EU-wide quality and interoperability standards for bio fuels to be ensured; underlines the need for the energy efficiency road plan; emphasises the importance of the Green Paper on urban transport, and hopes that specific means will be provided to help urban public transport move towards modal integration, developing traffic management systems, and creating conditions enabling users to be rewarded for their decision to make use of alternatives; underlines the importance of taking further measures in favour of sustainable transport in mountainous as well as densely populated areas, following the signature, by the Transport Council on 11 December 2006, of the Transport Protocol to the Alpine Convention; suggests that a Green Paper on European tourism be submitted and that a specific impact assessment of legislation which has a clear influence on European tourism be carried out.

The Parliament looks forward to the Commission proposing, in 2008, a generally applicable, transparent and comprehensible model for the assessment of all external costs to serve as the basis for future calculations of infrastructure charges.

MEPs deplore the conditions under which the Union's transport policy is being implemented by the Council and call strongly for decisions to be taken more quickly under the legislative procedure and for swifter and better coordinated transposition into national law. The Commission is called on to do all in its power to achieve this goal.

The Parliament fully agrees that Community legislation − in line with the principle of better regulation and the principle of subsidiarity − should focus on new areas such as urban transport, where legislation is necessary and policy measures should be taken at EU level only where it would bring clear added value.

The Committee on Transport and Tourism adopted an initiative report by Etelka BARSI-PATAKY (EPP-ED, HU) on Keep Europe moving - Sustainable mobility for our continent. In so doing, the Parliamentary committee stresses the need for pragmatic and cooperative interconnection in the field of transport and in other national or Community policy areas such as energy, environment and innovation. It emphasises that these policies must incorporate the requirements of climate protection as well. It considers that only an integrated approach could achieve positive results in reducing casualties and emissions and improving safety and environment, as it was laid down for example by CARS 21. Moreover, it points out the out the importance of providing targeted information for citizens in their capacity as transport users and to encourage them to behave more responsibly; proposes that transport policy should be fully integrated into the Lisbon Strategy and taken into account in the assessment and recommendations put forward each year by the Member States in their national plans in order to measure and compare progress.

On the other hand, it deplores the conditions under which the Union’s transport policy is being implemented by the Council and calls strongly for decisions to be taken more quickly under the legislative procedure and for swifter and better coordinated transposal into national law. It calls on the Commission to do all in its power to achieve this goal.

The resolution notes that Community funds for financing trans-European transport projects remain limited, and the added value of the TEN-T programme cannot be attained unless the entire network is completed, emphasises the financing of infrastructures (especially where congestion problems are significant), the cross border sections and transport hubs. It considers that priority investment progress is slower than expected and emphasises that the key TEN-T projects need to be selected according to their financial feasibility and in particular according to the financial willingness of the Member States concerned and their regions, and furthermore by their level of operational feasibility and of the progress of their technical planning. It highlights that the role of the EIB, which must, however, be made compatible with the wider involvement of the European banking and financial system in infrastructure and transport projects. It is noted that there is a there is a significant risk to European economic growth from continued financial inaction as regards infrastructure, therefore the committee calls on the Commission to make proposals about the possible extension of new alternative and innovative ways of financing – taking into account also the report on the future of the European Union’s own resources – and also extra resources for transport and the related researches too during the review of the European 7-year budget in 2008.

While continuing the accomplishment of the TEN-T projects, points out that the conventional measures are reaching their limits. The committee therefore emphasises the potential of intelligent transport systems, technological innovations, investments in telematics in order to enhance traffic efficiency, reduce congestion, and improve safety and environmental performance. It points out that the benefits of intelligent systems and technological innovations (SESAR, ERTMS, RIS, Galileo, etc) should be realised; emphasises that the main task - both of the Community and of industry - is to support the market for new innovative solutions, and to create an appropriate legal and technical environment, including facilitated applications of the new technologies through public procurement.

The importance of the "Motorways of the see" projects has been emphasised as has the wish for the Galileo Programme and ERTMS to be sped up.

In addition, the Parliamentary committee:

looks forward to a generally applicable, transparent and comprehensible model by the Commission in 2008 for the assessment of all external costs to serve as the basis for future calculations of infrastructure charges, which model shall be accompanied by an impact analysis of the internalisation of external costs for all modes of transport and a strategy for the implementation of the model for all modes of transport; calls on the Commission to increase its efforts to fully implement Directive 2004/52/EC on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems in the Community and asks the Commission to come up with a report on the implementation of this Directive before the end of 2007; calls for a feasibility study - in line with the report on the future of the EU’s own resources - to be carried out so as to provide secure and lasting funding; emphasises that priority should be given, when implementing the Seventh Framework Programme, to projects and programmes concerning intelligent transport systems and logistics, including road safety, urban transport and clean-engine technology; calls for EU-wide quality and interoperability standards for bio fuels to be ensured; underlines the need for the energy efficiency road plan; emphasises the importance of the Green Paper on urban transport, and hopes that specific means will be provided to help urban public transport move towards modal integration, developing traffic management systems, and creating conditions enabling users to be rewarded for their decision to make use of alternatives; underlines the importance of taking further measures in favour of sustainable transport in mountainous as well as densely populated areas, following the signature, by the Transport Council on 11 December 2006, of the Transport Protocol to the Alpine Convention; suggests that a Green Paper on European tourism be submitted and that a specific impact assessment of legislation which has a clear influence on European tourism be carried out;

The committee fully agrees that Community legislation - in line with the principle of Better Regulation and the principle of subsidiarity - should focus on new areas such as urban transport. European legislation should focus on fields where it is necessary and policy measures should be taken at EU-level only where it would bring clear added value. The Commission and the Member States are called upon to ensure the implementation and enforcement of the existing European transport legislation, further calls are made on the Commission to carry out regular monitoring to observe the effectiveness of measures seeking to achieve the objectives set and, where necessary, to make corrective changes.

Lastly the Commission is called upon to immediately start work on a well-prepared European transport policy after 2010, which can meet the new challenges in a sustainable manner.

On the basis of a Presidency questionnaire, the Council held a public exchange of views on sustainable transport policy and climate protection.

The debate was conducted in the light of the European Council meeting of 8 and 9 March, which focused among other points on reducing energy consumption and strengthening climate protection.

The intention of the exchange of views was to gather opinions of Transport Ministers on concrete actions for reducing energy consumption and emissions in all transport modes. In general, Ministers underlined that transport should play an active role in questions related to energy efficiency and climate protection.

The debate focused first of all on the consumer side and on how consumers can be stimulated to change their driving behaviour in a more environmentally friendly way. In discussing means to promote a more environmentally friendly transport behaviour, several proposals were brought forward. It was recognised that consumers should be better informed, in particular by using awareness raising campaigns, promoting eco driving and labelling energy efficient cars and environmentally-friendly fuels, such as alternative fuels. Furthermore, Ministers underlined the effectiveness of financial incentives for using cleaner vehicles or fuels.

The Council addressed the development of energy consumption emissions in maritime transport , inland navigation and rail transport. While highlighting their energy efficiency compared to road transport, Ministers underlined the need to further improve the environmental performance of these modes of transport. Concrete measures that were put forward included stimulating technological innovations, devising quality standards for fuels and engines and establishing emission norms, where needed taking due account of the international context.

The Presidency intends to organise a follow-up to this discussion on sustainable transport and climate protection at the TTE Council in June.

PURPOSE: a mid-term review of the European Commission’s 2001 Transport White Paper based on the sustainable mobility of Europe.

CONTENT: the EU’s transport policy is based on sustainability. Its objectives are to provide Europeans with an efficient and effective transport infrastructure. Effective transport systems are essential to Europe’s prosperity. It also impacts upon Europe’s economy, social development and environment. Currently, transport accounts for 7% of European GDP and 5% of employment. The mobility of both goods and persons is an essential component of Europe’s competitiveness. It is also an essential right.

Some of the main challenges facing the European transport infrastructure are:

- an imbalance between the different transport modes;

- on-going congestion problems (both on roads and in airspace); and

- the environmentally damaging effects of transport.

Since 2001, the year that the White Paper on Transport was published, a number of legislative proposals have been approved and are being put in to practice, which should help alleviate some of the challenges identified above.

The largest share of intra-EU transport remains the road which accounts for 44% of freight and around 85% of passenger transport. Demand factors, such as a reduction in heavy bulk transport and the increasing importance of door-to-door and just-in-time service has contributed to the strong sustained growth of road transport. The share carried by rail and air is 10% and 6% respectively. One of the main structural trends is the fact that rail freight transport has halted its relative decline since 2001 and is on a growth path in a number of Member States.

Another salient trend is the strong and sustained dynamism of air and waterborne transport. Air transport dominates the long-distance passenger transport market. Maritime transport accounts for 39% of internal goods transported.

Although a major contributor to growth, transport is associated with a number of costs. Its environmental cost alone is estimated to stand at 1.1% of GDP. Further, air quality standards in many cities are not being met and infrastructure developments need to be designed, which take account of nature protection and planning restrictions. Road congestion has increased and is costing the EU about 1% of GDP. Attention must also be paid to noise pollution.

Safety, on the other hand, has improved considerably. Road fatalities have declined by more than 17% since 2001 – although not in all of the Member States. Road remains the most dangerous mode of transport accounting for 41 600 deaths and more than 1.7 million injuries. The Commission urges all actors to step up their efforts to improve road safety.

The Communication notes that transport policy is closely intertwined with energy policy – for example, lowering CO2 emissions and reducing EU import dependency on fossil fuels. Yet, transport accounts for some 71% of all oil consumption in the EU of which 60% is used by road transport users; 9% is used by air transport users. Rail transport utilises some 75% of electricity and 25% of fossil fuels. The Paper points out that the EU is committed to promoting energy efficiency at an EU level. To do so the EU supports voluntary agreements, further research, the use of new engines, the use of intelligent vehicle energy management systems and the promotion of alternative fuels including biofuels and hydrogen.

In terms of optimising infrastructure, the EU wishes to address two challenges. Firstly, reducing congestion and secondly, increasing accessibility. To realise these objectives the Commission will encourage and co-ordinate investment in new or improved intelligent infrastructure in order to eliminate bottlenecks and prepare for the introduction of co-operative systems which allow co-modal transport solutions and to connect peripheral regions and the outermost regions of the EU with the mainland.

As far as financing of the 30 TEN priority projects is concerned the Communication notes that the total cost in 2004 amounted to EUR 250 billion. The public financing capacities of the Member States, however, remain limited and the level of investment in infrastructure transport, at a national level has fallen in recent years accounting for less than 1% of GDP. In view of this the Commission proposes that limited resources should focus on the critical cross-border crossing sections and other main bottlenecks on priority projects. It also urges the Member States to optimise the use of the EU Structural and Cohesion Funds to support the financing of transport infrastructure.

The Communication also discusses the matter of “Smart Charging”. Charging for the use of infrastructure is increasingly common in the EU – such as the London congestion charge. The EU has just adopted a new road charging framework Directive which introduced modulated tolling for lorries operating on the trans-European network. In accordance with the road charging Directive, the Commission is committed to introducing, no later than June 2008, a generally applicable, transparent and comprehensive model for the assessment of all external costs. This should serve as a basis for future calculations of infrastructure charges and will be accompanied with an impact analysis of the internalisation of external costs for all modes of transport.

In terms of intelligent transport systems the EU is forging ahead with a number of related issues including “The Intelligent Car Initiative”, the eSafety Forum, SESAR (introducing modern technologies to air traffic management with the European Single Sky), ERTMS (intelligent systems for the rail sector) and RIS, River Information Services, which is already being deployed on the main European corridors. Much of these systems will be dependant on Galileo navigation signals.

The Communication concludes by noting that 1992 was the completion date of the Internal Market. For transport this was very much the starting date. Some 15 years on and the liberalised internal transport market and Europe-wide mobility has become a reality. The transport industry has strengthened considerably and the Union is in a good position to maintain or develop its global positioning.

The mid-term review argues for a comprehensive, holistic approach to transport policy. The Commission argues for greater complementary action at a national, regional and local level. A European sustainable mobility policy needs to be built on a broad range of policy tools and most importantly needs to shift into a more environmentally friendly gear. The policy directions outlined in this Communication will be refined on the basis of a public consultation and in-depth assessments before specific measures are decided upon. They will also be adjusted over time to take account of shifting times and experience gained.

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.