No C 270/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 10. 88 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation for an action programme in the field of transport infra­
structure with a view to the completion of an integrated transport market in 1992 
COM(88) 340 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 23 June 1988) 
(88/C 270/05) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Articles 75 and 
84 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the Commission has defined in the medium 
term programme for transport infrastructure (') the 
policy to implement in the field of transport infra­
structure; 
Whereas the completion of the internal market and a 
common transport policy call for a Community action 
programme aimed at the harmonious development of 
transport networks in the Community; 
Whereas the setting up of rapid and efficient links 
between all regions of the Community is an essential 
condition for reinforcing its economic and social 
cohesion; 
Whereas it is necessary to take account of both the 
interests of u$ers and the demands of environmental 
protection, safety and the rational use of energy; 
Whereas infrastructure projects can have an impact on 
the development of new technologies, the improvement 
of industrial competitiveness and the revival of 
employment; 
Whereas Community action through the structural 
Funds, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the 
other financial instruments can contribute to the building 
of transport infrastructure works of Community interest; 
(') COM(86) 340 of 27. 6. 1986. Whereas specific financial support for transport infra­
structure projects can provide an essential stimulus to the 
promotion and launching of projects of Community 
interest; 
Whereas the application of private-sector capital can 
contribute to the implementation of transport infra­
structure projects; and whereas the 'declaration of 
European interest' procedure, once adopted by the 
Council, would help to channel private-sector capital 
towards major projects of European interest; 
Whereas it is important to ensure that projects are 
properly coordinated and their financing efficiently 
programmed; and whereas it is therefore appropriate for 
financial support to be granted in the framework of a 
programme; 
Whereas it is important to define the scope of such a 
programme, in particular by its direct objectives and the 
measures to be carried out; 
Whereas the value to the Community of the projects to 
be assisted ought to be established on the basis of 
objective criteria; 
Whereas Community assistance is necessary at all stages 
of the projects and especially in their launch phase, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
The Community shall contribute to transport infra­
structure projects of Community interest within the 
framework of the action programme defined below and 
aimed at: 
— the elimination of bottlenecks, 
— the integration of areas which, geographically, are 
either landlocked or situated on the periphery of the 
Community, 
— the reduction of costs associated with transit traffic 
in cooperation with any non-member countries 
concerned, 
r^ to^ Official journal of the European Communities ^ooe^OBB 
— the improvement of links on landBsea routes, 
— the provision of high-quality links between the major 
urban centres, including high-speed rail links. 
The Community^scontributionmay,among other things, 
take the form of a declaration of European interest, 
within the meaning of Article^of council foecision^m 
of Dm on the financing of large-scale infrastructure 
projects of European interest, financial assistance 
through appropriations provided for this purposeinthe 
budget of the European communities and, ^vhere 
applicable,through other financial instruments. 
Theprogramme,^hichshallbelaunched^ithaninte 
grated transport market in vie^v, shall cover the 
follo^ving^ 
— studies and preparatory ^rork to be defined following 
consultation ^ith the Transport Infrastructure 
Committee, 
— construction of acombinedtransport network based 
on the results of the study no^v underlay, 
— development of ne^ telecommunication and telein 
formation technologies to improve the management 
of road traffic and information to car and 
commercial vehicle drivers, 
— improvement of theFaris^adridBarcelonaiisbonD 
PortoDAlgeciras road and rail transit routes, 
— improvement of infrastructure associated ^ith the 
channel tunnel, 
— constructionofahighspeed rail line between Paris, 
London, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, 
— improvement of the ^orth^outh transit link in 
Irelandtoserve theports of Larne, Belfast, foublin 
andR.osslare, 
— modernizationof the l^orth^outhinland^ater^ay 
network between the Netherlands, Belgium and 
France, 
— construction of the Scandinavian link, 
— modernization of the transit routes between southern 
GermanyBItalyDGreece, 
— international links in frontier areas, Ar^c^^ 
The eligibility of transport infrastructure projects for 
financial support shall be assessed on the basis of the 
following criteria^ 
— The benefit of the project to the community, 
assessedby itscontributionto theobjectivessetout 
in Article ID Among the factors ^vhich must be 
included are^ 
— the importance of present or potential intraD 
community internal traffic, 
— the importance of exchanges between the 
community and non^^iember states on the route 
involved in the project, 
— the extent of the projects contributions to the 
creation of an homogenous and balanced network 
within the community framework, geared to 
existing and future transport needs^ 
— The socio-economic return on the projects 
— whether the project is consistent ^ith other 
community measures under the common transport 
policyor other community policies, and^vithother 
national measures given priority in national transport 
infrastructure plans and projects. 
A^c^ 
t. community financial support maybe granted for 
feasibility studies or preparatory ^vork for infrastructure 
projects, for related schemes and for the development of 
apartofthe^vholeof aproject. 
^. The appropriations specifically entered in the 
budget of the European communities to contribute to 
the financing of transport infrastructure projects may 
take the form of subsidies or any other form required by 
the financial structure of the project. 
^5 The share of the specific appropriations in the 
financing ofaproject may not e^ceed^^o of the total 
cost of the project or of that part of the project granted 
assistance. This contribution may be increased to a 
maximum of ^0^ in the case of studies prior to 
construction^vork. 
^. The contributions from all community budget 
sources may not, asageneral rule, exceed ^O^of the 
total cost of the project or of thatpart of the project 
granted assistance, except in cases ^diere higher rates of 
contribution are provided for. 
— improvement of other Alpine transit routes, in 
particular for access to Italy. ^. Aproject may be granted community support only 
if the obligations under community la^v concerning 
public procurement are met in full 
No C 270/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 10. 88 
Article 6 
1. Where the financial instruments referred to in 
Article 2 are used, the rules and the procedures proper to 
each shall be followed. 
2. In respect of the specific appropriations, grant 
applications shall be sent to the Commission through the 
Member States or through any agency or body 
empowered by one or more Member States to undertake 
a project of Community interest. 
Each application shall include the background infor­
mation necessary and in particular: 
— an itemized list of forecast expenditure, 
— a schedule of work and financial commitments, 
— information necessary for the evaluation of the 
Community interest of the project, 
— a non-technical summary of the environmental 
impact assessment carried out in accordance with 
Council Directive 85/337/EEC 0). 
3. The Member States or bodies referred to in 
paragraph 1 shall provide the Commission with any 
further information it considers necessary for assessing a 
project. 
Article 7 
1. Each year, no later than the submission of the 
preliminary draft budget for the following financial year, 
the Commission shall send to Parliament and the 
Council a communication describing the projects in 
respect of which applications have been received in 
accordance with Article 6 and which are eligible, under 
the action programme and in the light of the objectives 
laid down in Article 1, for support from the specific 
appropriations referred to in Article 2 of this Regulation. 
2. The description referred to in paragraph 1 shall 
include at least the following background information: 
— the main grounds for the eligibility of the project 
under Articles 1 and 3; 
— the size and nature of the financial support proposed; 
— the background information set out in Article 6 (2). 
3. Since the requirements of paragraph 1 cannot be 
met in the launching period of the programme, a list of 
projects considered to be eligible is annexed. This list 
was prepared on the basis of this Regulation and takes 
account of the national programmes presented in the consultation. procedure established by Council Decision 
78/174/EEC (2). 
Article 8 
The Commission, following consultation of the 
Transport Infrastructure Committee established by 
Decision 78/174/EEC on the evaluation and technical 
aspects of projects, shall decide on the grant of financial 
support. The financial support shall be granted in 
accordance with Article 5; the amount shall take account 
of the interest of projects as assessed on the criteria set 
out in Article 4. 
Article 9 
1. Where a project which has received financial 
support has not been carried out as planned, or where 
the conditions imposed are not fulfilled, the financial 
support may be reduced or cancelled if the Commission 
so decides after considering the explanations given by 
the beneficiary. 
Any sum paid incorrectly shall be repaid to the 
Community by the beneficiary within 12 months of the 
date of notification of such decision. 
2. Without prejudice to checks carried out by the 
Member States in accordance with national laws, regu­
lations or administrative provisions, and without 
prejudice to the provisions of Article 206 (1) and Article 
209 (c) of the Treaty, on-the-spot checks or enquiries in 
respect of projects receiving financial support shall be 
carried out by the competent authorities of the Member 
State concerned and by representatives of the 
Commission, or other persons authorized for this 
purpose by the latter. The Commission shall determine 
deadlines for the performance of checks and as a 
preliminary inform the Member States in order to receive 
all necessary assistance. 
3. The purpose of these on-the-spot checks or 
enquiries relating to operations receiving financial 
support is to ascertain: 
(a) the conformity of administrative practices with 
Community rules; 
(b) the existence of supporting documents and the fact 
that they correspond; 
(c) the conditions under which operations are executed 
and checked; 
(d) the conformity of the projects carried out with the 
conditions subject to which financial support was 
granted. 
4. The Commission may suspend payment of aid in 
respect of an operation if a check reveals irregularities or 
a substantial change in the nature of conditions of the 
project for which the Commission's approval has not 
been sought. 
(') OJ No L 175, 5. 7. 1985, p. 40. O OJ No L 54, 25. 2. 1978, p. 16. 
19. 10. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 270/9 
Article 10 Article 11 
The Commission will send to the Council and to This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its 
Parliament before 31 December 1991 a report on the publication in the Official Journal of the European 
experience gained in the action programme. Communities. 
Before 31 December 1992, on the basis of this report, 
the Council will decide, on a proposal from the 
Commission, the continuation of the transport infra- It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable 
structure programme from 1 January 1993. in all Member States. 
ANNEX 
SCHEMES CONSIDERED TO MERIT INCLUSION IN THE LAUNCHING PHASE OF THE 
ACTION PROGRAMME IN 1988 AND 1989 
Action: Combined transport network 
1. Rail projects: Widening of the loading gauge, United Kingdom/Benelux/Italy, tunnels: 
— Belgian frontier-Dijon 
— Amberieu-Modane 
Action: Improvement of road and rail transit routes Paris-Madrid-Barcelona-Lisbon-Porto-Algeciras 
2. (Rail projects) Modernization of the Lisbon-Porto line ('Linha do Norte') 
3. Construction of a new line, Lisbon-Evora-Elvas (Madrid) 
4. Construction of a Guadarrama tunnel and approaches for a new north access to Madrid ('Accesso 
Norte') 
5. Construction of a new Zaragoza-Lerida section on the Madrid-Barcelona line, 
6. Construction of a new line Madrid-Cordoba-Sevilla (Algerciras), 
7. (Road projects) Works for a new two-lane dual carriageway, Lisbon/Porto-Coimbra-Vilar Formoso 
8. Modernization of the Lisbon-Evora-Elvas road 
9. Completion of the Madrid-Burgos expressway 
10. Completion of the Madrid-Zaragoza expressway 
11. Completion of the Madrid-Lisbon expressway 
12. Modernization of the N 620, Burgos-Portuguese border 
13. Completion of the Madrid-Sevilla-Algerciras expressway. 
Action: Improvement of infrastructure associated with the Channel tunnel 
14. (Rail projects) New fast rail links between Paris and London connected with the Channel tunnel, on 
the sections: 
— Channel tunnel-London 
— Channel tunnel-Paris 
15. (Road projects) Completion of a motorway link from the tunnel exit to Rouen 
16. Expressway, Channel tunnel-Belgian frontier 
17. New motorway (E 40), French border-Veurne 
18. M 2 motorway London-Dover, provision of additional capacity 
19. Completion of the M 20 motorway Dover-London, sections: 
— Maidstone by-pass 
— Folkestone-Dover (A 20). 
No C 270/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 19. 10. 88 
Action: Construction of a high-speed railway line, London-Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam-Cologne 
20. (Rail) Construction of new or up-graded facilities for high-speed trains, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, 
Cologne 
Action: Improvement of the North-South transit route in Ireland 
(Road) 
21. — Dublin ring road 
22. — Balbriggan by-pass 
Action: Modernization of the North-South inland waterways network between the Netherlands, Belgium 
and France 
23. (Waterways) Improvement and widening of the Zuid-Beveland canal 
Action: Construction of the 'Scandinavian link' 
24. (Rail/road) Sjelland-Fynnen fixed link 
25. (Road) Completion of the small 'h' motorway 
Action: Modernization of the transit route Southern Germany/Italy-Greece 
26. (Rail) Doubling and up-grading of the N-S rail line in Greece: Idomeni-Thessaloniki-Alexandro-
polis/Athens 
27. Modernization of the line in Greece: Athens-Patrai 
28. (Road) Completion of the Evzoni-Athens motorway 
29. Completion of the Athens-Korintos-Patrai motorway 
Action: International links in frontier regions 
30. (Road) Motorway connection Germany-The Netherlands around Venlo. 
Sections: 
— BAB 61-Venlo (Venlo-Tegelen) 
— Boxmeer-Venlo 
31. Completion of the motorway Borne-German frontier 
32. Modernization of Pyrenean crossings 
Action: Alpine links to Italy 
33. (Rail) Works on Brenner pass route