WRITTEN QUESTION P-2469/01

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(3 September 2001)

Subject: Continuation of the Alemagna road link

With reference to the Commission's answer to Question E-0814/01(1):

- does the Commission confirm in principle the statements it made in that reply?

- has there been progress in the signing of the Alpine Convention protocol since the abovementioned reply?

- we hope that the Commission is not intending to concentrate on other projects in the Alpine area despite the fact that there are already priority projects for this region, such as the Brenner Basis Tunnel (point 1 of the 14-point list of trans-European networks), needing to be implemented as soon as possible in order, for example, to deal with the increasing volume of transit traffic on the Brenner route.

(1) OJ C 318 E, 13.11.2001, p. 126.

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(28 September 2001)

The Commission can confirm the statements contained in its reply to Question E-814/01 from Mr Gobbo(1), in particular with regard to the non-inclusion of the Dorsale d'Alemagna road link in the trans-European transport network.

The Commission considers that the issue of whether this link should be included in the network raises the more general question of what is appropriate transport policy in areas such as the Alps, which are traffic bottlenecks and at the same time have a highly sensitive environment. In view of the forecasts for growth in road traffic and the risks this poses to the Alpine valleys and their inhabitants, a highly sensitive issue in some countries of the region such as Austria, the Commission considers that shifting the balance in favour of rail transport is a high priority in the Alps, at least as regards transit and long-distance traffic.

This is why the White Paper on the common transport policy, adopted by the Commission on 12 September 2001(2), devotes particular attention to sensitive areas, particularly in the context of the policy on infrastructure charging and funding and on the trans-European network.

Furthermore, in June 2001, the Heads of State and Government meeting at the Gothenburg European Council called on the Community institutions to adopt revised guidelines on the development of the trans-European transport network, giving priority to the railways, inland waterways, short-sea shipping and intermodal operations. Consequently, the imminent legislative proposal on amending the guidelines is likely to focus primarily on these transport modes.

Consequently, the development of road networks that do not already figure in the Community guidelines adopted by Parliament and the Council in 1996, e.g. the Alemagna link, should be considered on a national basis and in the context of transfrontier cooperation between the countries concerned, since they concern infrastructure close to the Austrian-Italian border.

With regard to other inland transport infrastructure projects in the Alps, the Commission still considers that the absolute priority is to implement and take into service as soon as possible the two railway corridors already identified in the 1996 guidelines, namely the Brenner route and the Lyon-Turin corridor.

Finally, with regard to the Transport Protocol to the Alpine Convention, the Commission has been informed that the proposal for signature it presented at the beginning of 2001 is currently being studied by the Council with a view to possible conclusion of the procedure under the current Belgian Presidency.

(1) OJ C 318 E, 13.11.2001, p. 126.

(2) COM(2001) 370 final.