WRITTEN QUESTION P-1264/02

by Luigi Vinci (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(24 April 2002)

Subject: Reopening of Mont Blanc tunnel

The Commission's intention to reopen the Mont Blanc tunnel to international heavy goods traffic is sure to lead to various types of nuisance and pollution. The approach which it is encouraging runs contrary to the general interest in Europe as a whole and this decision is completely at odds with various policy decisions taken recently by the European Union.

How can the decision to reopen the Mont Blanc tunnel to some 6 000 lorries per day be compatible with the EU environmental commitments, such as:

- the decision to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, imposing an 8 % reduction in CO2 emissions in the European Union;

- the Treaty of Amsterdam, which established sustainable development as a priority objective;

- the sustainable development strategy adopted by the Heads of State and Government in Göteborg in June 2001, which advocates that environmental concerns be incorporated into all EU policies.

No serious argument can serve to justify the gradual choking to death of the alpine valleys by road traffic, as 30 % of lorries run empty, road transport is unacceptably cheap, rail alternatives are largely under-utilised and inland waterways and sea transport are underdeveloped.

How does the Commission expect to cope with the prospect, referred to in its White Paper, of goods traffic through the Alps doubling by 2020?

Joint answerto Written Questions P-1264/02 and E-1276/02given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(5 June 2002)

The reopening of the Mont Blanc tunnel will restore a key link between France and Italy and reduce the environmental risks and pollution caused by the lorries currently diverted through the Maurienne and Susa valleys, where the local population bears the full brunt. Far stricter conditions will be imposed on traffic than those in force at the time of the tragic fire in 1999. They will provide a means of automatically limiting the number of heavy goods vehicles on the Mont Blanc route, balancing traffic more evenly between the Mont Blanc and Fréjus tunnels and improving safety.

However, this reopening is, by no means, a long-term solution, which must instead take the form of a consistent package of measures, as described in the White Paper European transport policy for 2010: time to decide(1), designed, amongst other things, to provide a lasting solution to the problem of transit traffic across the Alps.

Accordingly, the Commission considers that the absolute priority of controlling road traffic flows in the Alpine region implies greater use of more environment-friendly modes, particularly rail. This alternative depends on a number of conditions. Better targeted use of the existing railway infrastructure is, as the Honourable Member stresses, essential as a first step but will not suffice, given the current situation of the railways. They will not be able to offer a competitive alternative to intra-European road freight without substantial improvements in quality of service. This is why, at the start of this year, the Commission submitted a communication entitled Towards an integrated European railway area(2) containing a second package of proposals on rail transport to help to attain this ambitious objective.

Beyond that, looking at infrastructure, the Commission is providing both political and financial support for constructing and bringing into service as soon as possible the two trans-Alpine rail links already mentioned in the guidelines for the trans-European transport network, i.e. the Lyon-Turin and Brenner lines. With this in mind, the Commission has also proposed raising the level of funding for cross-border rail projects in such sensitive environments as the Alps(3).

In the White Paper the Commission also proposes the establishment of a new Community framework for charging for use of infrastructure in order to reflect more fully the external costs of the individual modes and to make a decisive contribution to better regulation of traffic flows across the Alps. At the same time these new rules should raise extra revenue to help fund trans-Alpine rail crossings.

The Commission also considers that greater use of transport by sea and inland waterway must be encouraged so that they, in turn, can contribute to reducing transit traffic crossing the Alps. First, however, any such shift to more environment-friendly modes will require improvements in quality of service at ports, particularly on the Mediterranean Sea. The new Marco Polo programme to support intermodal schemes must therefore contribute, amongst other things, to improving the performance of short-sea shipping in order to turn it into a credible competitor against road transport.

This package of measures is, therefore, compatible with the sustainable development strategy which the Commission considers one of its top priorities, as amply illustrated in the White Paper on transport policy.

(1) COM(2001) 370 final.

(2) COM(2002) 18 final.

(3) OJ C 75 E, 26.3.2002.