Mr President, intermodality is still in its infancy. Not even 8% of our freight is transported by several different modes of transport. Yet the distances travelled on average have been increasing since as early as 1970, a trend which favours the use of more than one mode of transport. Freight is growing out of all proportion too, and is expected to increase by 70% over the next ten years. It is surprising that there is no breakthrough in intermodal transport in the offing. Perhaps the pressure on the transporters and the shippers is not yet so great as to bring about this breakthrough. But that being the case, a few warnings are in order for the relevant sectors. Firstly, the road network will not be able to cope with the 70% increase, not in the urban or regional distribution, and not in terms of long distance transport either. To depend exclusively on road transport must therefore be deemed a sin of reckless faith, which used to be a mortal sin. Secondly, environmental considerations will play an increasingly important part over the next ten years. Driving a lorry through certain parts of Europe will meet with increasing opposition. The people will put up increasingly stubborn resistance to transport violations of their environment. We have already seen this in the failure of the directive that sought to harmonise bans on weekend driving. So there is no question of our being able to opt for intermodality. We are being forced into it. Now if you take that as your point of departure, none of this is really going to make any headway. Of course the sectors must apply themselves more effectively, and come up with some more innovative ideas, but then the government must get down to work too, and simplify and streamline procedures, for example. The trans-European water networks must be brought to fruition quickly and as a matter of priority. Everyone talks about rail transport, but water transport – where there really is still room for growth – no longer seems to feature at all in the European or national lists of priorities. No one coordinates the efforts undertaken by each individual State, when that is surely one of the essential tasks of the European Commission. It is a pity because road transport, in combination with inland navigation could make a substantial difference in north and northeast Europe. But before we reach that point, numerous obstacles still have to be cleared away in terms of legislation, matters of a technical and practical nature. Incidentally, the same applies to the ancient practice of coastal navigation, which has long allowed itself to be elbowed out, but is now making a powerful comeback under the modern name of short sea shipping, providing everyone pulls together at any rate. If we look at the advances that have been made since the excellent action programme of 1997, then we see a number of positive aspects, for example the task force transport intermodality. The extension of the PACT programme, pilot actions in combined transport, will also spur matters on. In view of the fact that the Union is to undergo enlargement and acquire some new members before long, we must take account of the new situation during the accession negotiations even now. But unfortunately, intermodal transport is still too expensive anyway. This is down to shortcomings in the field of infrastructure, inefficiency in the field of management and information, and innovations that do not make the grade. All the same, we must develop a trans-European transport network in the form of a multi-modal infrastructure network, and the business community and government must join forces at all levels in the process.

Political group: PPE-DE