WRITTEN QUESTION No. 967/97 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. Via Egnatia
Date: 1997-03-13
Institutions: European Parliament, PAPAYANNAKIS
Subjects: EU financing, EU programme, Greece, cross-border cooperation, frontier region, regional development, road building, road network













EUR-Lex - 91997E0967 - EN






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91997E0967

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 967/97 by Mihail PAPAYANNAKIS to the Commission. Via Egnatia  


Official Journal C 373 , 09/12/1997 P. 0043 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0967/97 by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (13 March 1997)Subject: Via EgnatiaIn its Decision 25382/DE 2352 of 19 July 1996, the Ministry of the National Economy included in the government investment budget (SAE 071/2) the 'Igoumenitsa harbour link', comprising the road linking the harbour with the Via Egnatia, the Via Egnatia flyover intersections towards Preveza and the ring-road, together with the section of the ring-road up to the provincial road towards Graikochori. However, no provision is made for the construction or funding of a road from the Via Egnatia intersection to the Greek-Albanian border (Sagiada), although the distance is only 15 km.Given that:- the Via Egnatia is important for the balanced development of the surrounding region,- this omission reflects the piecemeal and disorganized nature of the project and could prove detrimental to the economic development, of not only Epirus but also Albania,- the Via Egnatia will enhance cooperation, not only between the Balkan countries themselves but between the Balkan countries on the one hand and the countries of the European Union on the other,- under the public investment programme an invitation to tender is being issued for the construction of the Sagiada customs office on the border between Greece and Albania together with a section of the road leading to it,is the Commission, which is providing funding for the project, aware of this omission and what action will it take to ensure that the funding and realization of the 15 km section to the Greek-Albanian border, which is a particularly constructive investment, will be included in a Community programme?Answer given by Mrs Wulf-Mathies on behalf of the Commission (28 April 1997)Connection of the neighbouring countries (particularly Albania and Bulgaria) to the Via Egnatia is one of the priorities of the Community Initiative programme for Greece's external borders.Thus new sections or adjustments to existing sections are planned for five north-south roads (Ioannina-Kakavi; Igoumenitsa-Sagiada-border post; Siatista-Cristallopigi; Serres-Promahonas; Alexandroupolis-Ormenio).Continuation of these major roads in the neighbouring countries is also one of the priorities of the corresponding Phare programme for cross-border cooperation (CBC).With regard to the road from Igoumenitsa via Sagiada to the border post, the Community initiative programme is financing the project concerning the road from Sagiada via Agios Theodoros to the border post (estimated cost DRA 800 million or ECU 2.67 million).In order to ensure the road is suitable to its task, the Monitoring Committee for the Community initiative also examined the Igoumenitsa-Sagiada section but future traffic trends do not seem to warrant changes to the technical standards of the existing road.