WRITTEN QUESTION E-0080/01

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(29 January 2001)

Subject: Integration of Galicia into the European high-speed rail network over 2000-2006

On 20 December 2000 the Galician regional government, represented by its President, and the Spanish national government, represented by the Minister for Planning, signed a cooperation agreement, with the participation of the Spanish state rail company RENFE, for construction and modernisation work for an internal high-speed rail network in Galicia and the linking of that network to the European networks of Spain and the European heartland (via Orense/Valladolid) and Portugal (again a high-speed link, connecting the La Coruña-Vigo coastal line to Oporto and Lisbon). The press reports stated that projects will be submitted by the Spanish government with a view to obtaining the necessary Community funding, while the Galician government insisted that the work should fall within the budget period 2000-2006. Yesterday, two weeks later, the Minister for Planning signed another agreement, with the Presidents of the regional governments of Murcia, the Valencian Community, Castile-La Mancha and Madrid, for the construction of a high-speed rail line linking Madrid to Cuenca, Albacete, Alicante, Murcia and Valencia, and it was announced that certain stretches of this line, cofinanced by the EU, will be inaugurated as early as 2005.

Since one year of the period 2000-2006 (concerning the Cohesion Fund and the Structural Funds, pursuant to the budget forecasts of Agenda 2000) has already passed, can the Commission finally state which rail lines within the territory of the Spanish state will be cofinanced by the EU and may be expected to be constructed within this seven-year period? Are the Galician high-speed links, as defined in the agreement signed by the President of the regional government and the national Minister for Planning, included in this EU cofinancing? Will construction work begin on the Galician high-speed network in the first half of 2001, as announced by those authorities? Will the Galician high-speed network use the international gauge?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(2 April 2001)

The selection of the projects to be part-financed by the Structural Funds under operational programmes (OP) is a matter for the national authorities. This selection is notified to the Commission only during programme monitoring and is made after adoption of the corresponding programming complement. At this stage, the Commission is not in a position to express a view on the specific operations to be part-financed under the Galicia OP in 2000-2006.

The initial selection of the projects submitted to the Commission for part-financing under the Cohesion Fund is also a matter exclusively for the Member State. The Spanish Government regularly submits projects to the Commission but has not so far made any request for assistance to part-finance a high-speed train project in Galicia.

In accordance with Council Directive 96/48/EC of 23 July 1996 relating to the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system(1), the loading gauge, track gauge and space between the tracks of planned new high-speed lines must be the same as those used on the European rail network.

(1) OJ L 235, 17.9.1996.