Policies

TRANSPORT POLICY

Introduction

Since the start of the current parliamentary term (June 1999 - June 2004), the European Parliament has succeeded in pushing forward the development of a common transport policy. This is mainly due to the fact that since the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force on 1 March 1999, the European Parliament has been an equal partner with the Council of Ministers in the codecision procedure, and has thus been able to play a major role in shaping European legislation.

The EPP-ED Group, which as the largest parliamentary group has always proven itself to be a driving and innovative force, has been instrumental in bringing about this progress.

Objectives

The European Parliament is in broad agreement with the Council of Ministers, as the co-legislator, and the Commission, as the driving force and guardian of the Treaties, on the objectives of a common transport policy. The most important of these is the creation of a sustainable and environmentally compatible transport system.

The European Parliament therefore fully backs the measures set out by the Commission in its White Paper 'European transport policy for 2010: time to decide', published in September 2001. These measures aim to achieve a balance between the modes of transport, to eliminate the current bottlenecks in the trans-European transport network, to place users at the heart of transport policy and to manage the globalisation of transport.

The EPP-ED Group will do everything possible to ensure that as many of these proposals as possible are implemented over the next few years, and at the latest by 2010.

The EPP-ED Group is particularly in favour of an environmentally compatible transport system. In the interests of protecting people and the environment, one of the Group's main objectives is to shift traffic, above all long-distance freight traffic, from road to more environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient modes of transport such as the railways, inland waterways and coastal shipping. In order to achieve the objective of a sustainable and environmentally compatible transport system, the EPP-ED Group takes the view that transport infrastructure users should bear their due share of the costs. Primarily, this involves charging for actual infrastructure costs (construction, maintenance and expansion costs). Charges should only be made for external costs such as those resulting from noise and exhaust fumes on the basis of scientific evidence. Furthermore, increased use of telematics in the transport sector will improve safety and increase the flow of traffic, and potentially make it possible to calculate charges for infrastructure costs more effectively.

Railways

The lack of development of rail transport in Europe is a cause for serious concern, especially in view of the forthcoming enlargement. Whereas the liberalisation measures which came into force following the completion of the internal market have brought benefits to the road and air transport sectors, this has unfortunately not been the case for the rail sector, where there continues to be neither a truly common transport policy, nor a genuine internal market. This is because the Member States, which as a rule are still owners of the national railway companies, organise rail transport on a national basis, and have shied away from the liberalisation of their railway markets. This is particularly unfortunate since the railways, with their obsolete structures, are not competitive and are continuing to lose market share to road transport companies.

Under pressure from the EPP-ED Group, which provided the rapporteur for the amendments to Directive 91/440/EEC on the development of the Community's railways, some progress has been made in recent months towards the gradual liberalisation of the market for cross-border and national freight transport. The EPP-ED Group will do everything possible to ensure that there is now also a rapid liberalisation of the market for cross-border and domestic passenger transport. In addition, the Group believes that the right to apply for train paths should be granted not only to railway companies, but also to other businesses such as shippers and carriers. A further priority for the Group will be to ensure that measures are drawn up on the introduction of uniform standards for railway safety and for the occupational and social conditions of railway workers throughout the EU.

Road transport and road safety

In recent years road transport has increasingly become the preferred form of transport for the carriage of goods and passengers, and the sector is of strategic importance for EU citizens, the market and competitiveness.

This explains the large number of legislative proposals in this sector which have either been adopted or are still being drawn up, and which have been heavily influenced by members of the EPP-ED Group. The majority are aimed at improving working conditions and road safety in the EU, as well as ensuring compliance with the rules which guarantee the functioning of the internal market. They focus in particular on issues such as working time in road transport, driving and rest times for drivers, basic and continuing training for drivers, the introduction of a 'driver's certificate', the installation of tachographs and speed limitation devices and the harmonisation of driving bans for lorries at weekends and on public holidays.

These measures are also a solid basis for the development of a high-quality road freight transport system in an enlarged EU.

The EPP-ED Group is however also aware that existing legislation must still be improved, and, above all, that the best legislation is of little use unless its application is monitored carefully and heavy penalties are imposed for violations. A continuing priority for the Group is therefore that every effort be made to ensure harmonisation of checks and penalties, in order to eliminate practices which prevent fair competition and compliance with minimum regulations for social conditions in road freight transport.

A major concern of the EPP-ED Group is the alarmingly high number of people killed and injured on the roads of the European Union, with 40 000 people dying and 1.7 million being injured every year. The EPP-ED Group, which provided the rapporteur for the European Road Safety Action Programme, will do its utmost to achieve the ambitious goal set by the EU of halving the number of people killed on the roads by 2010. The EPP-ED Group therefore fully supports most of the measures proposed by the Commission, which include:

the gradual introduction of harmonised road signs and traffic signals
the signposting of black spots
the use of new technologies
improvements in active and passive safety measures

Air transport

During the current parliamentary term the EPP-ED Group has played a leading role in shaping European legislation on air transport. It provided the rapporteurs for key legislative proposals such as those on establishing common rules in the field of civil aviation security, the creation of the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency), airport noise, the negotiation and implementation of air service agreements between Member States and third countries and the 2000 communication on the Single European Sky.

The Group's aviation experts have paid particular attention to the creation of the Single European Sky, an ambitious project which is to be implemented by late 2004. Given that air traffic in the enlarged EU can be expected to double within the next 10 years, a complete reorganisation of air traffic control in Europe is urgently required. The EPP-ED Group believes that the heavily fragmented nature of European airspace not only poses a threat to aviation safety, but also leads to longer flight delays, which encourage fuel wastage and reduce the competitiveness of European airlines.

The Group therefore supports the proposal put forward by the Commission for a framework regulation on the creation of a Single European Sky and the three technical regulations on the provision of air navigation services, the organisation and use of airspace and the interoperability of the European ATM network.

The most problematic issues are those relating to cooperation between civil and military authorities, sovereignty over national airspace, partial liberalisation of the market for providers of air navigation services and the creation of a surveillance, inspection and penalties system. The EPP-ED Group will endeavour to find a rapid and satisfactory solution by consensus with the players involved, as implementation of the Single European Sky will bring significant benefits to airlines, air navigation service providers, the manufacturing industry and consumers, such as improved safety, fewer delays, increased capacity, less damage to the environment and reduced costs.

Maritime transport

In view of the frequent occurrence of tragic shipping disasters (Braer in 1993, Erika in 1999, Express Samina in 2000, Prestige in 2002 and Tricolore in 2002), the EPP-ED Group has successfully urged the Commission to put forward new proposals for improving maritime transport safety, and, thanks to members of the EPP-ED Group, two packages of measures (Erika I and Erika II) have become EU law within a relatively short space of time in EU terms. The measures relate to tightening up inspections for ships entering Community ports or sailing through European waters (port state control), the establishment of more stringent common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations (classification societies), the earlier phasing-in of double-hull oil tankers or equivalent design requirements for single-hull oil tankers, the introduction of a Community monitoring, control and information system for maritime traffic, the setting-up of a European Agency for Maritime Safety and the creation of a compensation fund for maritime and environmental pollution.

The Group will ensure that these suggestions for improvements are actually implemented, and, if necessary, will call on the European Commission to put forward additional proposals after consulting the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) and the ILO (International Labour Organisation). Stricter minimum social rules must be drawn up and a genuine European maritime management system must be created. In addition, the Group aims to halt the trend of flagging out and to ensure that as many ships as possible resume sailing under the flag of an EU Member State, and it has called for measures to be drawn up which make the profession of seafarer more attractive again within the EU. The Group continues to believe that the European Union should become a full member of the IMO, as this is the most suitable way of exercising real influence on important decisions in maritime transport.

Trans-European networks

Effective and quick transport links will have a major influence on the economic competitiveness of the enlarged EU. Nearly half of all freight and passenger traffic uses the trans-European transport networks (TENs), which are of vital importance for the European Union. Existing bottlenecks in transport networks must be eliminated and a rapid solution must be found for the increasing disparity between the modes of transport and the various regions.

The EPP-ED Group is disappointed and concerned at the fact that this cornerstone of European transport policy has to date made only slow progress, with some of the 14 priority projects adopted at the 1994 Essen Summit having either not yet been completed or not yet launched. This is entirely unacceptable, and the national governments concerned should be severely criticised on this account.

The Community transport system can only function at its best if the infrastructure networks for all modes of transport are improved and extended. Only in this way can the transport networks in the new Member States be brought up to a high level, and efficient links to the existing networks of the 15 current Member States be guaranteed. With regard to the funding of construction costs, the group believes that an effective interplay of Community, national, regional, local and private financial resources is urgently required. Other funds, which are used for the building, extension and maintenance of networks, should be raised from fees for infrastructure use.

In addition, the EPP-ED Group backs the Commission proposal to increase the maximum rate of EU funding for TENs from 10 % to 20 % in order to eliminate the main bottlenecks. Increased use should also be made of European Investment Bank funding. As well as integrating the networks of the 10 new Member States into the existing TEN network, the EPP-ED Group believes that priority should next be given to making the necessary plans and preparations for also linking the transport networks of Romania, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia, Russia, Belarus and the Mediterranean countries with those of the European Union.

Conclusion

The EPP-ED Group is well aware of the fact that a re-ordering of priorities in the field of European transport policy is urgently required if a total breakdown of our transport systems over the next few years is to be prevented. It therefore strongly supports the measures which the Commission intends to carry out in the near future. Through its commitment and work, it will endeavour to make a constructive, innovative and effective contribution so that the future development of a common transport policy can have a real chance of success.

During this parliamentary term, the EPP-ED Group has been in a good position to push through its views on transport policy due to its close working relationship, based on mutual trust, with the Transport Commissioner.

Romain Strasser