European Parliament resolution on the report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions entitled Trans-European Networks - 1998 Annual Report pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial assistance in the field of Trans-European-Networks (COM(1999) 410 - C5-0010/2000 - 2000/2004(COS))
Date: 2000-05-04
Institutions: Committee on Culture and Education, European Parliament
Subjects: EU financial instrument, common transport policy, energy transport, intra-EU transport, telecommunications, trans-European network

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7. Trans-European Networks 1998

A5-0076/2000

European Parliament resolution on the report from the Commission to the Council, the European
Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions entitled
‘Trans-European Networks ) 1998 Annual Report’ pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation (EC)
No 2236/95 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial assistance in the
field of Trans-European-Networks (COM(1999) 410 ) C5-0010/2000 ) 2000/2004(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission Report entitled ‘Trans-European Networks (cid:1) 1998 Annual Report’

(COM(1999) 410 (cid:1) C5-0010/2000),

(cid:1) having regard to its resolutions of 9 February 1999 on the Commission report ‘Trans-European Trans-
port Network: Report on progress and implementation of the 14 Essen projects, 1998’ (1) and 13 Jan-
uary 1999 on the Commission Communication on public-private partnerships in trans-European
transport network projects (2),

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and the

opinion of the Committee on Budgets (A5-0076/2000),

A. whereas the development of an efficient and environmentally sustainable transport infrastructure cov-
ering the whole of the EU territory is vital to bring about mobility of persons and goods, strengthen
economic and social cohesion, and guarantee the competitiveness of European industry,

B. pointing to the importance of a policy on trans-European transport networks (TEN-T) to promote

sustainable economic development and revitalise employment,

C. whereas the 14 projects approved by the Essen European Council of 9 and 10 December 1994, as set
out in Annex III to European Parliament and Council Decision No 1692/96/EC on Community guide-
lines for the development of the TEN-T, are an essential outward sign of the EU’s real commitment to
implementing a proper policy in this area; whereas almost two thirds of the financial resources avail-
able for 1998 were used for these projects;

D. whereas, all the modes of transport must be utilised in a more integrated way, to enable the intrinsic
advantages of each individual mode to be exploited more effectively; whereas combined transport and
the most environment-friendly modes should likewise be promoted,

E. whereas the EU budget resources fall markedly short of the needs and challenges that have to be met

in order to set up a TEN-T,

F. whereas unless a greater share of the cost is borne by funding from national, regional, and local public
bodies, as well as from the private sector, no significant progress will be possible within any reason-
able time span,

G. whereas the launch of public-private partnerships (PPP) can and must be a key means of bringing the
TEN-T into being, since it will increase the financial viability and profitability of the projects and
enable the respective construction costs to be monitored more closely,

H. highlighting the need for PPP as a key factor in the development of the TENs network, and at the
same time noting the importance of other factors such as environmental issues in this respect,

(1) OJ C 150, 28.5.1999, p. 36.
(2) OJ C 104, 14.4.1999, p. 67.

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1.
Notes the Commission’s 1998 Annual Report on the activities carried out under Regulation (EC)
No 2236/95 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial assistance in the field of
trans-European networks; notes that the Report contains information on the contributions provided from
the different sources of Community funding to develop the TEN-T and indicates what progress has been
achieved in certain specific projects;

2.
Considers it necessary to increase the budgetary resources, which at present are decidedly inadequate,
allocated for the development of a TEN-T which takes account of commercial, social, ecological and
macroeconomic criteria, to compensate for the reduction suffered in the 1990s as a result of the restric-
tions applied by the Member States in order to achieve the objectives for economic and monetary union;

3.
Calls on the Commission likewise to specify in its future annual reports what funding has been
provided by national, regional, and local public bodies, and by the private sector, with a view to setting
up the TEN-T; therefore calls on the Member States, regional and local authorities and the private sector to
forward all the relevant information required to the Commission in good time;

Expresses its disquiet at the fact that 7 out of the 14 Essen projects are still facing difficulties to the
4.
extent that their funding is not totally guaranteed and no timetables have been drawn up for their imple-
mentation;

Calls on the Commission to propose support measures and incentives to boost the above-mentioned
5.
seven priority projects and, working in tandem with the Member States involved in the projects, to lay
down a timetable for their completion;

Considers it essential for the Member States to honour the commitments endorsed by the Heads of
6.
State or Government at the Essen European Council of 9 and 10 December 1994 regarding the 14 specific
TEN-T projects;

Calls on the Commission, together with the governments of Germany, Austria and Italy, to develop a
7.
four-sided funding and execution plan, taking into account the use of private and public resources from all
three countries and the European Union for the Brenner base-level tunnel, in order to ensure that this
priority trans-European project can be carried out as soon as possible;

8.
Calls on the Commission, in accordance with the objectives and priorities set out in Articles 2(g) and
5(b) of Decision No 1692/96/EC, to accord greater importance in the forthcoming revision of the TENs
guidelines to improving access from Europe’s island,
landlocked and peripheral regions to the central
regions, concentrating particularly on the promotion of sustainable transport links;

9.
Considers that the Commission overlooked the guidelines set for budget line B5-700 in Budget 1998,
according to which commitment appropriations used for the 14 priority projects were not to exceed 50 %;
therefore urges the Commission to follow closely the budgetary guidelines set for TEN projects;

Points out that, to finance the TEN-T, a package of integrated measures (partnerships between the
10.
public and private sectors,
long-term funding arrangements, venture capital sources, etc.) needs to be
deployed in order to press ahead with implementation of the network; calls on the Commission and the
European Investment Bank, therefore, to act together with National Governments in implementing the
TENs packages through the use of loan guarantees and other financial investments; in this regard, views
the use of 47 % of TENs resources on Feasibility Studies and related matters as unacceptably high and calls
in future years for this proportion to be progressively reduced to a ceiling of 30 % of available funds
(to be achieved within three years), the resources thus freed to be made available in the form of matching
grants and loans to enable key priority elements of the programme to progress more speedily;

11. Welcomes the revision of Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 (European Parliament and Council Regula-
tion (EC) No 1655/1999) aimed at securing as high a contribution as possible from the private sector,
paving the way for PPP and tapping venture capital to finance TEN projects; points also to the importance
of multi-annual indicative programmes for given projects;

Draws attention to the fact that recourse to private funding for the TEN-T should not be an obstacle

12.
to the development of communications in areas which currently have a lower per-capita income;

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13.
Calls on the Commission to assess the impact of TEN-T investment on the economy, employment
and the environment and to provide appropriate justifications for all funding from the Community budget;

Draws attention to the principle of efficient use of infrastructure and encourages the use of alter-
14.
natives to new investment in physical infrastructure, to be achieved through better use of existing infra-
structure and, where necessary, its modernisation and renovation; considers that the advantages of new
technologies and intelligent transport system applications, such as telematics for road users and new sig-
nalling for rail networks, will lead to better use being made of both existing facilities and new projects, and
will thus further the aim of reducing congestion, accidents, and pollution and make transport easier to
manage;

15.
Calls on the Member States and the Commission to endeavour to make legislation on public con-
tracts for infrastructure projects clear and flexible, since legal certainty is a fundamental precondition for
the private sector’s participation in the execution of the TEN-T;

16.
Expresses concern at the fact that, if the revision of the TEN-T guidelines were to concentrate on
existing bottlenecks, as announced by the Commission in its work programme for the year 2000, the
revision would essentially concern the central regions of the Union, which are those mainly affected by
congestion problems and would assign only secondary importance to the situation of the peripheral and
outermost regions;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European

17.
Investment Bank, and the governments of the Member States.

8. European airline industry

A5-0075/2000

European Parliament resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council, the
European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions )
The European Airline Industry: from Single Market to World-wide Challenges (COM(1999) 182 )
C5-0110/1999 ) 1999/2113(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Communication from the Commission (COM(1999) 182 (cid:1) C5-0110/1999),

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission communication ‘Air transport and the environment: towards meet-

ing the challenges of sustainable development’ (COM(1999) 640),

(cid:1) having regard to its resolution of 15 April 1999 on the Commission White Paper entitled ‘Fair remu-
neration for infrastructure use: a phased approach to the common infrastructure charging framework
in the EU’ (COM(1998) 466) (1), and 30 January 1997 on the Commission’s Green Paper: ‘Towards fair
and efficient pricing in transport (cid:1) Policy options for internalising the external costs of transport in
the European Union’ (COM(1995) 691) (2),

(cid:1) having regard to its resolutions of 19 February 1998 on the impact of the third package of liberal-
isation measures in air transport (3), 17 July 1997 on a Community aviation safety improvement strat-
egy (4) and 17 January 1997 on air traffic management: freeing Europe’s airspace (5),

(1) OJ C 219, 30.7.1999, p. 460.
(2) OJ C 55, 24.2.1997, p. 41.
(3) OJ C 80, 16.3.1998, p. 240.
(4) OJ C 286, 22.9.1997, p. 251.
(5) OJ C 33, 3.2.1997, p. 124.