Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I should like to congratulate my colleague, Mr Savary, on the excellent reports that he has produced on rail transport, which is a crucial issue for the European Union. It is crucial for the consolidation of the internal market and for more sustainable development, and is an essential factor in improving economic and social cohesion. I would also like to congratulate him because this is a very complex issue that he has addressed with great clarity and depth and also for the open-mindedness and negotiating skills that he has demonstrated in including many of the amendments that were tabled. For a long time, the European Parliament has been advocating a transport policy that promotes rail transport, as it is the form of transport that causes the least pollution, and in many situations it is the most comfortable for passengers and adapts most easily to long distance goods transport. What we have seen, however, is exactly the opposite: the volume of rail transport of passengers and goods has been steadily decreasing, as has the number of people working in companies in those areas which nevertheless, still stands at around one million. There are two fundamental reasons for this situation. Firstly, there are still borders between the fifteen Member States as far as rail transport is concerned, as well as the applicable national legislation in each country. Secondly, rail transport is considered to be a great deal more expensive than road transport. As to this second aspect, some measures have already been adopted, with the construction and management of transport infrastructures themselves being separated in most countries of the European Union. If the manufacturers and owners of cars and lorries were directly responsible for paying for infrastructures and their maintenance – as is the case in the rail sector – we would certainly not have made as rapid progress in this area as we have. The amendments that have now been tabled to establish rules for cross-border interoperability in the European Union clearly show the direction we should take in this matter. The interest demonstrated by the Portuguese Presidency in taking these dossiers forward as quickly as possible gives us hope that, with the contribution of the European Parliament, this situation will finally change, to the benefit of rail transport. With regard to the high-speed rail system, I shall just highlight two aspects, which I think are crucial: the interconnection and interoperability of high-speed infrastructures with rolling stock and additional services are crucial for facilitating the mobility of persons and goods and for promoting a high-speed trans-European rail system that is efficient and able to respond to the needs of the public. The other aspect that I would like to highlight concerns the need to standardise the professional qualifications, training programmes and working conditions of those working in this sector. In conclusion, I must emphasise that we Socialists feel that economic and social cohesion is one of the European Union’s fundamental aims, and that, in the rail transport sector, support must be provided for Europe’s northern and southern peripheral regions and for specific and historical cases where costs of adaptation are very high but are absolutely essential, because their different track gauges have to be changed. This is the case in Spain and Portugal, where the aim of providing a high-speed rail service, particularly on an Atlantic line, is a legitimate ambition of the governments and citizens of those countries

Political group: PSE