Opinion of the committee of the Regions on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) laying down general rules for the granting of Community aid in the field of trans- European networks
Date: 1994-05-18
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: EU financial instrument, aid system, energy transport, intra-EU transport, telecommunications, transport infrastructure













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51994AR0049

Opinion of the committee of the Regions on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) laying down general rules for the granting of Community aid in the field of trans- European networks  CdR 49/94  


Official Journal C 217 , 06/08/1994 P. 0036 





Opinion on the proposal for a Council Regulation (EC) laying down general rules for the  granting of Community aid in the field of trans-European networks  (1)(94/C 217/12)On 28  March 1994 the Council decided to consult the Committee of the Regions, under the third paragraph  of Article 129d of the European Union Treaty on the  abovementioned proposal. THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONSWhereas Article 3(n) of the Treaty establishing the European Community  considers that, in order to achieve the objectives referred to in Article 2, the activities of the  Community should include encouragement for the establishment of trans-European networks, Whereas Title XII of the Treaty establishing the European Community provides that the Community  shall contribute to the establishment and development of trans-European networks in the areas of  transport, telecommunications and energy, Whereas the Copenhagen European Council of June 1993 included trans-European networks among the  measures to be taken in the short term to promote competitiveness, growth and employment, Whereas the European Commission submitted for approval a White Paper on the medium-term strategies  for growth, competitiveness and employment, one of the principal elements of which is the  development of trans-European networks, Whereas the Brussels European Council of December 1993 approved the White Paper proposed by the  Commission, thereby giving fresh impetus to the implementation of Title XII of the Treaty  establishing the European Community, and also designated a number of priority projects, Whereas the Commission has, in recent years, carried out various initiatives in the form of  projects, guidelines, communications and plans related to trans-European transport,  telecommunications and energy networks, Whereas the budgetary resources available have already been entered for trans-European networks in  the financial perspectives for 1994-98, Whereas the transport Regulation expires at the end of this year, Whereas the use of the appropriations entered in the budget for this purpose (totalling ECU 214  million for 1994 and ECU 2,395 million for the 1994-1999 period) depend on the adoption of the  present Regulation, Whereas in accordance with the provisions of Articles 129d and 198c of the Treaty establishing the  European Community, the Council has decided to consult the Committee of the Regions on the draft  Regulation laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of  trans-European networks  (2), ADOPTEDby a unanimous vote, at its third Plenary Session, held on 17 and 18 May, the following  Opinion prepared by its Rapporteur-General, Mr Joan Lerma. 1.  General comments 1.1.  Regulation laying down general rules for the granting of  Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networksIn accordance with Articles 129d  and 198c of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the Committee wishes, with this  Opinion, to comment upon the Regulation presented by the Commission to the Council on 2 March 1994   (3). In so doing, it would highlight the importance of the construction, interconnection, extension  and modernization of trans-European transport, telecommunications and energy networks (TEN) for the  achievement of the objectives of economic growth, competitiveness and the creation of employment. 1.2.  Subsidiarity and cooperationIn order to reflect the principle of subsidiarity, as defined in  the Union Treaty, and the experience acquired in applying the Structural Funds, and given that one  of the basic principles of Structural Fund reform is that of cooperation, as defined in Article 4  of Council Regulation (EEC) 2081/93 of 20 July 1993, the Committee of the Regions believes that the  appropriate regional and local authorities should be closely associated with the decisions to be  made by the Commission under the Regulation in question. This applies equally to the establishment  of priorities, project approval, evaluation and follow-up, and participation in the follow-up  Committees to be set up. 1.3.  Coordination between development instruments and Community financial aidPromoting economic  and social cohesion requires concerted action by the different Community instruments, in particular  the Structural Funds, the Cohesion Fund and the European Investment Bank. The COR therefore feels  that in approving projects to be financed under the Regulation, the Commission should take account  of their compatibility with regional planning objectives and with measures planned in the action  programmes adopted under the Community Support Framework for each region, so as to ensure maximum  synergy between development instruments and Community aid. 1.4.  Balance between the environment and trans-European networksIt is of great importance, in the  COR's view, that the projects to be subsidized under the Regulation should take account of  assessments by local and/or regional authorities regarding environmental protection and  compatibility with any locally - and/or regionally-driven economic or environmental programmes. 2.  Specific comments 2.1.  Project eligibilityThe Committee of the Regions  considers that Article 2(2) should specify that projects funded by regional and local authorities  are eligible. 2.2.  Forms of aidThe COR proposes that when the exceptional form of aid under Article 3(d) is  adopted, the Member States, regional and local authorities and those responsible for the Structural  and Cohesion Funds should be consulted before decisions are taken. 2.3.  Resources and financial participationThe COR would recall that point 6 of the Explanatory  Memorandum urges that access to Community financial instruments be facilitated and private capital  mobilized: private capital should therefore be mentioned in Article 5(3). Article 5 should include a provision to the effect that cumulative Community financial aid for an  investment project may not exceed 75  % of the total investment outlay. 2.4.  Selection criteriaThe conditions set out in Article 6(2)(e) should be amplified, with  explicit reference to the internal integration of Member State territories, integration of  transfrontier areas, and integration of maritime and most remote regions. Similarly, point 4.1 of the Financial Statement should consider the implications of Member State  action for transfrontier regions. These factors are of particular significance for the selection criteria set out in Article 7. The  specific selection criteria set out for transport infrastructure in Article 7 should stress the  importance of the interlinking of strategic land-use planning and transport planning. Member States  and regional and local authorities must ensure that full account is taken of environmental  sustainability criteria when deciding on transport infrastructure. Turning to the selection criteria specifically applicable to telecommunications, contained in  Article 8(a), prominence should be given to interconnection of physical networks between  non-transfrontier regions - now facilitated by satellite links - in the same way as for  transfrontier interconnections. With regard to the selection criteria specifically applicable to energy, set out in Article 9(a),  explicit reference should be made to the diverse nature of electrical energy transmission and  distribution networks in the Member States, in terms of both ownership and geographical spread. 2.5.  Participation of regional and local authoritiesIn the COR's view it is of the utmost  importance that the opinion of the regional and local authorities affected by the projects in  question be sought when applications are assessed. By the same token, Article 11 should specifically provide that applications may be made directly by  the authorities of one or more regions with joint projects: in some Member States, applications to  set up networks are the direct responsibility of regional governments which have, or may have,  projects falling within the ambit of this Regulation. Similarly, it is proposed that the part of Article 12 which specifies the information to be sent  with applications should include any suggestions which regions and local authorities may make on  the projects, since their real impact is more easily assessed by bodies at this level. Article 15(3) on financial control provides that part or all of the financial aid may be suspended.  In addition to consultation of the Member State in such cases, the Committee believes that explicit  mention should be made to consultation of the regional and local authorities concerned with the  project, clearly distinguishing them both from the other bodies concerned. The second indent of point 4.1 of the Regulation's Financial Statement should stipulate that  approval by Member States of master plans and projects of common interest concerning their own  territory must take account of the interests of the regions and local areas affected, with  particular attention to the transfrontier implications of initiatives. 2.6.  CommitteesArticle 13 empowers the Commission to decide on granting financial aid in  accordance with the procedure set out in Article 19(2). Article 19(1) states that the Commission  shall be assisted by the Infrastructure, Energy and Telecommunications Committees  (1). The COR  considers that both Article 13 and Article 19 should provide for regional and local representation  on these Committees. In the event of disagreement between one of the committees referred to in  Article 19 and the Commission, application of the measure should take place within two months. 2.7.  CoordinationThe COR considers that the second paragraph of Article 16 (on coordination)  should state that no clash should occur, and that a synergy should be sought, between actions  financed by the Regional Development and Cohesion Funds and the objectives of financial aid under  the present Regulation. In Point 9.3 of the Financial Statement on monitoring and evaluation, the indicators referred to  for measuring the achievement of the objectives must be consistent, and must be compatible with (i)  those for action by other funds on the same territory, and (ii) those for the objectives which the  regional and local authorities concerned may have formulated for their own action. 2.8.  Information and publicityArticle 18(1) provides that the Commission shall submit a report to  Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions every  two years. It is felt that the report should be annual, as provided in the Regulation establishing  the Cohesion Fund, particularly in view of point 4 of the Explanatory Memorandum of the present  Regulation, which mentions that the proposal is based largely on the legislation relating to the  Cohesion Fund. Equally, the European Parliament should be called upon to debate the report, as  provided in the Cohesion Fund Regulation. The COR recommends that the list of information which the report must comprise also contain an item  on the regional and interregional impact of projects. Done at Brussels, 18 May 1994. The Chairmanof the Committee of the RegionsJacques BLANC(1) OJ No C 89,  26. 3. 1994, p. 8.  (2) Set out in: OJ No L 54, 25. 2. 1978, p. 16; COM(93) 685 final, 19. 1. 1994; COM(93) 347 final,  OJ No C 259, 23. 9. 1993, p. 4.