No C 211/34 Official Journal of the European Communities 8. 8. 83 
3. Improving the management of raw materials 
4. Improving the management of energy resources 
— developing nuclear fission energy 
— controlled thermonuclear fusion 
— developing renewable energy sources 
— rational use of energy 
5. Reinforcing development aid 
6. Improving living and working conditions 
— improving safety and protecting health 
— protecting the environment 
7. Improving the efficacy of the Community's 
scientific and technical potential 
8. Horizontal activities Current proposal 
million 
ECU(') 
80 
1 770 
460 
480 
310 
520 
150 
385 
190 
195 
85 
90 
3 750 % 
2,1 
47,2 
4,0 
10,3 
2,3(2) 
2,4 
100,0 Original proposal 
million 
ECU(') 
80 
1 850 
540 
480 
310 
520 
150 
270 
110 
160 
85 
110 
3 750 % 
2,1 
49,4 
4,0 
7,2 
2,9 
100,0 
(') In ECU at 1982 constant values. 
(;) Corresponds to 5 % by the end of the period. 
Done at Brussels, 1 June 1983. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council resolution on the implementation, in stages, of a 
series of measures in the field of the common policy for inland transport and the 
communication from the Commission to the Council on progress towards a common 
transport policy — inland transport 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the Euro­
pean Communities No C 154 of 13 June 1983, page 1. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 1 March 1983 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal and communica­
tion to the Economic and Social Committee in accordance with Articles 75 and 198 of 
the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
208th plenary session held in Brussels on 1 and 2 June 1983. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
8. 8. 83 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 211/35 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­
pean Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 75 and the first paragraph of Article 198 ther­
eof, 
Having regard to the decision taken by the Council 
on 1 March 1983, requesting the Committee to 
deliver an opinion on the aforementioned propo­
sal ('), 
Having regard to the Committee opinion of 
28 October 1982 (2) on the transport policy of the 
European Community in the 1980s, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau 
on 22 March 1983 in anticipation of the Council's 
request, instructing the Section for Transport and 
Communications under Article 22 of the Rules of 
Procedure to draw up an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Sec­
tion for Transport and Communications at its 150th 
meeting held on 11 May 1983, 
Having regard to the oral report made by the Rap­
porteur, Mr Bos, (Article 29 of the Rules of Proce­
dure), 
Having regard to the discussions on 1 June 1983 
during the 208th plenary session held on 1 and 
2 June 1983, (meeting of 1 June 1983), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
unanimously: 
1. Basic comments 
1.1. The Committee is pleased to note that the 
Commission agrees with it in its analysis of the rea­
sons for the slow progress made to date in the field 
of transport policy. The main reasons are the differ­
ences between national transport markets and inter­
ests due to economic and geographical factors and 
the fact that the efforts to deregulate transport being 
made in some quarters clash with the demands for 
harmonization coming from elsewhere. In addition, 
Member States attach differing degrees of import­
ance to the individual modes of transport (and, in 
particular, road and rail transport) depending on 
whether they are located at the centre or on the 
fringe of the Community. 
(') OJ No C 154, 13.6. 1983, p. 1. 
O OJ No C 326, 13. 12. 1982, p. 9. 1.2. The Commission has also recognized that the 
70 or so more important measures adopted by the 
Council so far cannot be regarded as a coherent 
policy, for the vast majority concern road haulage 
first and foremost and the number dealing with 
inland shipping and the railways is much smaller. 
Furthermore, the focus in the rail sector has been on 
regulating the financial relations between railways 
and governments, with the compensatory payments 
made to railway companies in accordance with EEC 
Regulations Nos 1191/69 and 1192/69 playing an 
important role. Because of the conflicting interests 
and the differences between Member States' initial 
positions and geographical locations the integration 
of transport in the Community was bound sooner or 
later to run into more serious difficulties and come 
to a halt. 
1.3. The rapid establishment of a common trans­
port system is, however, of vital importance for the 
Community and a sine qua non if the Community is 
to become a real common market in the near future. 
Deep-seated changes in the Community's economic 
fabric also make it necessary to review and revise 
the common transport policy for the eighties. 
1.4. For this reason, the Economic and Social 
Committee made a call in its aforementioned opi­
nion for a new overall blueprint coupled with prag­
matism and purposeful action by the Council. These 
points have been taken up by the Commission in 
the communication which precedes its draft resolu­
tion, and a detailed appraisal of their substance will 
be made at a later stage. The Commission, too, is 
now of the view that the time has now come for it to 
update its 1961 and 1973 communications for the 
eighties. 
1.5. In this connection the Committee notes with 
interest the views voiced by the Commission in 
Chapter 5 of its communication, which deals with 
the future formulation and implementation of the 
common transport policy and summarizes the 
guidelines for a common transport policy as follows 
in the first sub-chapter (3): 
— the common transport policy should attach 
importance to increasing the productivity and 
cost-effectiveness of the transport system, espe­
cially through the reduction of physical bottle­
necks or regulatory constraints on the market, 
— it must seek to avoid a drifting apart of national 
transport policies. The degree of integration 
(3) OJ No C 154, 13.6. 1983. 
No C 211/36 Official Journal of the European Communities 8.8.83 
already achieved must be maintained, improved 
and if required adapted to changed conditions, 
— it must be concentrated at Community level on 
those measures which cannot be dealt with at a 
lower level, 
— it must take account of the geographical and 
economic diversity of Member States and the 
differing interests and policies stemming there­
from, with a common transport policy not 
necessarily being the same as a uniform trans­
port policy, 
— it must take account of the threats to the inter­
nal organization of the market from external 
sources. 
1.6. Another new departure in the Commission's 
communication is that the Commission now makes 
the same distinction as the Committee between dif­
ferent decision-making levels in transport. Thus, it 
recognizes that some transport matters are the pres­
erve of the national authorities, while others, e.g. 
certain infrastructure measures, can only be solved 
satisfactorily at Community level. 
1.7. A further important aspect is the new 
approach to rail policy. The Committee reserves the 
right to refer back to this point in detail at a later 
date. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. The Committee notes that the draft resolution 
which is the subject of the Council's referral cannot 
be viewed in isolation from the preceding communi­
cation and its annexes. 
2.2. Whereas the communication deals with a new 
approach to Community transport policy or rather 
the further development of the 1961 and 1973 blue­
prints, the annexes contain a package of measures 
and a work programme which is initially confined to 
the period 1983-1985. 
2.3. Annex A indicates the proposals which the 
Commission is planning to submit in the light of its 
Done at Brussels, 1 June 1983. 'new' blueprint. The ESC must be consulted on each 
of these proposals. 
2.4. The Council's work programme for 1983-1985 
is set out in Annex B in six-monthly blocks. The 
Committee has already delivered opinions on the 
measures to be adopted in 1983. The topics in the 
programmes for 1984 and 1985 all appear roughly 
six months earlier in the lists of proposals in 
Annex A on which the ESC still has to be consulted. 
2.5. Finally, Annex C indicates the Commission 
proposals pending at the Council. A number of pro­
posals affecting all transport modes are in the pro­
cess of being revised. Here, too, the Committee will 
be given the chance to comment in detail. 
3. Conclusions 
3.1. In conclusion, the Committee approves the 
Commission's draft resolution in so far as its adop­
tion will oblige the Council to take the long overdue 
decision on the implementation of a common trans­
port policy and to adopt the appropriate measures. 
The Committee calls on the Council to make every 
effort to adhere closely to the work programme that 
has been sketched out. It thinks that the Community 
is currently in need of proof of a political will, 
which may serve as a catalyst. The Council's work 
programme for 1983 already contains such propo­
sals. The importance for the future of the common 
transport policy of the Council making progress in 
these areas at long last should not be underesti­
mated. 
3.2. The Committee considers that the communi­
cation and its annexes certainly deserve to be exam­
ined in depth and commented on in greater detail, 
because together they form something of a policy 
blueprint. However, because of the short time avail­
able, it could not go into details in this opinion, 
which is why it refers the reader to its opinion of 
28 October 1982. 
The Chariman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois CEYRAC