WRITTEN QUESTION E-3983/97 by Kenneth Coates (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (14 January 1998)

Subject: Passenger rail services between Britain and continental Europe

What, if any, European funding has gone to support Eurostar rail services? What is the Commission's view of the long delay in introducing, and recent reports of the possible abandonment of, direct Eurostar services between the East Midlands and the North of England and continental Europe?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-3982/97 and E-3983/97 given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (23 February 1998)

The Community has provided support for the development of the Channel Tunnel and its associated rail links in the United Kingdom and France through numerous financial instruments since 1982.

In 1983, the Community provided 0.4 MECU towards the costs of the preliminary evaluation studies of the Eurotunnel project. In 1987, the European investment bank (EIB) advanced a loan to Eurotunnel of 1.400 MECU towards the costs of the project itself. It has since lent a further 254.4 MECU.

In the United Kingdom the development of the high speed train link between London and the tunnel was identified as a priority project under the Trans-European Networks provisions of the EC Treaty. To support the necessary preparatory works, including those on the existing London-Folkestone route, the Community has granted Union Railways (now wholly owned by London and Continental Railways plc) a total of just over 121 MECU to date, as follows:

>TABLE>

In the period 1989-97, the Community allocated 139.65 MECU to the development of the Paris-Brussels-Koln-Amsterdam-London (PBKAL) High Speed Train Link, and 0.5 MECU towards the development of the same link in France.

The EIB also has lent over 1900 MECU towards the development of the links to the tunnel. These loans comprise 118.9 MECU in 1996 to European Passenger Services Ltd (also now owned by London and Continental Railways plc), towards the first phase of the new high speed link between London and the Channel tunnel; 884 MECU in 1990-1994 to Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) for the TGV Nord; and 928.5 MECU in 1993-1997 to Société nationale des Chemins de fer belges (SNCB) for the construction of the line from the French border to Brussels.

In February 1991, the Commission decided, in accordance with the unanimous Council assent, to give the tunnel project a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) loan of up to 285 MECU, towards the use of European steel in the project. Following that decision, some 240 MECU (GBP 197 million) has now been advanced to Eurotunnel for the project. The ECSC has also contributed, in 1991 and 1992, 115 MECU to the financing of the TGV Nord (France) and 40 MECU to the financing of the TGV French border-Brussels (Belgium).

Unlike transport infrastructure, transport services are not eligible for support from Community funds and no resources have therefore been provided to support Eurostar rail services. The Commission does, however, anticipate adequate through-services to be provided on the Trans-European Network rail infrastructure which is being developed with Community financial support, as detailed above.