Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the opening of the Mont Blanc Tunnel is a European event, a happy European event, just as the accident in the St. Gotthard Tunnel is a tragic, sad European event. Transport knows no borders. It makes no difference whether you are a member of the European Union or not. We need transport that connects the regions of Europe, but we also need transport that respects the environment. I believe the Commission’s approach is correct in seeing the question of tunnel safety in the overall context not only of transport policy but also of environmental policy. The Commissioner mentioned, for example, the transport protocol to the Alpine Convention. I just wonder – the Council is not here – where the ministers are who signed it because it is high time the governments took action here. Secondly, the Commissioner spoke of a shift from road to rail, where that is possible and worthwhile. Here, too, a number of European governments – the Austrian government among them – have been slow in putting that into effect. The plans are good. But the financial resources must also be made available if the measures in question are to be taken. I also know that in many countries the railways have the capacity to carry more freight than they do at present. The White Paper that was mentioned and which the Vice-President of the Commission has presented, is a very positive and important step in the restructuring of transport policy. Our Group strongly supports it and I hope that the announced presentation of the amendment to the Euro-toll disc directive and the infrastructure costs directive will not be delayed, and that we shall be able to discuss the Euro-toll disc revision very soon. Finally, there has been a lot of talk recently of a fast-track procedure. We have talked about it a great deal and very often, and this is a subject where we really could introduce a fast-track. I am sure it is right that it is not only a question of overriding transport policy but also of the level of safety. We welcome the Commission’s intention of prescribing safety standards here because if the tunnels we travel in are unsafe we are all affected. A number of things have been mentioned. I would like to add that the question of working hours is particularly important for lorry drivers, as is the matter of controls, because it does not matter how good the rules are that we adopt if these things are not enforced. This, too, is a matter for the individual countries to act on. My Group and I are quite clear in our own minds that this is not about pitting one country against another. France, Italy, Germany, Austria and all the other countries of the EU have a right to the free movement of goods. But the people who live in the Alpine regions also have a right to a healthy environment. Some people may laugh or smile at the fact that the UN has designated next year the year of mountains. However, it really is high time special attention were paid to the environmental situation, in the Alps and the Pyrenees in particular. Now, Mr President and Mr Commissioner, I must ask to be excused. I am going to be rude and leave the room now because I am going to Romania on Parliament’s behalf. But we nevertheless endorse these principles of a really environmentally-friendly transport policy.

Political group: PSE