EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/794

(2004/C 78 E/0844)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3229/03

by Raffaele Costa (PPE-DE) and Jas Gawronski (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(31 October 2003)

Subject: Funding for the Turin-Lyon rail link

It would appear that the EU intends not to include the rail link between Turin and Lyon in the 15 projects awarded priority funding, selected from the list of 29 projects previously identified by the European Plan for Growth, which included this railway link.

How can this be possible, given that this action is a strategic project for European integration, and that it has already reached a more advanced stage of planning than a number of the projects that have been selected? It should also to be taken into account that the project meets the five criteria laid down by President Prodi on 17 October 2003 (concerning projects that, Prodi requested, could produce results in the short term, that is, within three years).

These criteria are:

1. readiness,

2. cross-border status serving the single market,

3. ability to produce impact in the context of enlargement,

4. ecological sustainability,

5. technological innovation potential.

The Turin-Lyon project fulfils all five of these criteria.

The President of the EIB recently indicated that the bank would fund projects that were ready to start, that would have a positive economic impact, be profitable (so as to attract private capital) and be capable of satisfying the demands of the countries affected by them, and it would seem that this project fulfils all these criteria. Given that, above all, studies by leading financial institutions (Crédit Agricole, San Paolo, Caisse des Dépôts and Dexia) have indicated that the project can be financed, with 30-35 % private capital, that is, the maximum level allowed for infrastructure projects of this kind, and that postponing funding by a further three years would be a waste of precious time, can the Commission provide information on the matter?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 December 2003)

Project number 6 ‘Lyon-Milan-Venice-Trieste’ has been one of the priorities of the trans-European transport network since the Essen European Council in 1994. The project's added value and its importance for the development of the trans-European transport network were clearly expressed in the Van Miert report published at the end of 2003, and the Commission has reiterated the importance it attaches to the project by including it among the declared projects of European interest and by extending the link in its proposal for a review of the trans-European transport network guidelines (TEN-T) to form the route ‘Lyon-Triest/Koper-Ljubljana-Budapest’.

This is also why the Commission included the cross-border section of the project (the Mont Cenis base tunnel) in the ‘Quick start programme’ of the European Growth Initiative which was adopted on 11 November 2003 at the request of the European Council. This section meets the necessary prerequisites, given the advanced progress made on the particularly difficult geological studies for the construction of this tunnel, its effect on the internal market and its environmental benefits. It is by far the most complex section to be constructed on this strategic route for the trans-European networks. Work on the technical, economic and financial studies and the test galleries is already in progress and is receiving considerable financial support from the Community. EUR 100 million (out of a total estimated cost of EUR 371 million) has already been programmed for the period 2001-2006, and most of this funding has already been paid. It is also possible that, under the TEN budget, the sums allocated to this project may be re-evaluated, within the limits of available Community resources, in the framework of the review of the indicative multiannual programme (IMP), and in line with the Growth Initiative.

With regard to the possibility of private sector participation in this project, the Commission is closely following the studies being carried out by the project promoter which are aimed at establishing a funding plan, including through a public-private partnership (the form of which has not yet been agreed). However, it is still too early to give a final answer regarding the importance of private sector participation, which, in many ways, will depend on choices made regarding the implementation of the project and the operation of the infrastructure, which are still at the discussion stage. Private sector participation will also depend on the adoption of a Commission proposal to amend Directive No 99/62 (1) (Eurovignette Directive), with the aim, among other things, of allowing heavy goods vehicle charges to be increased in sensitive areas to contribute to the funding of the construction of alternative infrastructures of European interest.

(1) Directive 1999/62/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 1999 on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures, OJ L 187, 20.7.1999.