Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions concerning the Progress of exploratory talks regarding cooperation in the field of transport with the neighbouring countries
Date: 2008-03-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Central and Eastern Europe, EU Member State, EU relations, European neighbourhood policy, Mediterranean third countries, Middle East, Northern Europe, Switzerland, USSR, air transport, common transport policy, cross-border cooperation, maritime transport, satellite navigation, trans-European network, transport network

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 5.3.2008 
COM(2008) 125 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE 
REGIONS 

concerning the 

Progress of exploratory talks regarding cooperation in the field of transport with the 
neighbouring countries 

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   EN 

 
 
 
  
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE 
REGIONS 

concerning the 

Progress of exploratory talks regarding cooperation in the field of transport with the 
neighbouring countries 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

4. 

4.1. 

4.2. 

4.3. 

4.4. 

4.5. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Organisation of the exploratory talks........................................................................... 4 

Preliminary conclusions of the first round of talks ...................................................... 5 

Strong support to the Commission's approach............................................................. 5 

Adjustments to the approach........................................................................................ 6 

State-of-play, achievements and next steps ................................................................. 6 

Pan-European Corridors/Areas .................................................................................... 6 

Motorways of the Seas ................................................................................................. 7 

Northern Axis............................................................................................................... 7 

Central Axis ................................................................................................................. 8 

South Eastern Axis....................................................................................................... 8 

4.5.1.  Western Balkan core regional transport network......................................................... 8 

4.5.2  Branches to Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia ................................................. 9 

4.6. 

4.7. 

5. 

Traceca Corridor .......................................................................................................... 9 

Mediterranean Axes and regional transport action plan ............................................ 10 

Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 10 

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1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Commission  Communication  on  Strengthening  the  European  Neighbourhood  Policy1 
(ENP) highlighted the key aspects of the thematic/sectoral dimension of the ENP and the need 
to  enhance  multilateral  dialogue  with  the  partner  countries  on  themes  such  as  energy, 
transport,  environment,  or  border  management.  It  also  raised  the  idea  of  multilateral 
agreements  in  energy  and  transport  fields  and  the  need  to  streamline  the  different  on-going 
initiatives. In particular, the importance of bringing closer together policy dialogue and actual 
transport  corridor  development  was  stressed.  This  message  was  further  developed  in  the 
recent  Communication2  on  A  Strong  European  Neighbourhood  Policy  in  which  the 
Commission urged the Member States and ENP partners to cooperate closely to complete the 
extension of major trans-European transport axes to neighbouring countries. 

As  highlighted  in  the  Commission  Communication  on  the  Western  Balkans3,  the  European 
perspective  is  a  driving  force  for  reform  throughout  the  region  and  hence  a  major  factor 
contributing towards stability and progress. Following the completion of the EU’s most recent 
enlargement,  the  Western  Balkans  are  entirely  contiguous  with  the  territory  of  the  EU 
Member  states,  making  the  coordinated  development  of  the  transport  sector  one  of  the  key 
issues. 

In  addition,  the  EU-Russia  strategic  partnership  through  the  Partnership  and  Cooperation 
Agreement and the Road Maps for the Four Common Spaces adopted at the Moscow Summit 
in  May  2005  foresaw  promoting  the  complementarily  of  transport  sectors  and  gradual 
integration  of  transport  networks,  removing  technical  and  administrative  bottlenecks  and 
ensuring  transport  infrastructures  and  interoperability  by  way  of  approximating  respective 
legislation.  

The  Commission  Communication  on  Guidelines  for  transport  in  Europe  and  neighbouring 
regions4  outlined  the  first  steps  of  a  comprehensive  policy  for  closer  integration  of  the  EU 
transport system with the neighbouring countries. The policy focuses on five main transport 
axes  used  for  international  trade  and  on  the  relevant  standards  and  legislation  (called 
“horizontal  measures”)  affecting  the  use  of  these  routes  by  all  transport  modes5.  Over  time 
this  approach  may  to  lead  to  the  approximation  of  rules  and  regulations  for  the  transport 
sector  as  a  whole  and  thus  create  an  effective  transport  market  involving  the  EU  and  its 
neighbours. The impact could be expected to be particularly significant in countries where, for 
political reasons, there has been relatively little cooperation in the transport sector. 

In  the  Communication,  the  Commission  announced  a  two-step  approach  to  implement  the 
policy.  In  the  first  phase,  exploratory  talks  would  be  held  with  the  neighbouring  countries 
with  the  aim  of  assessing  their  interest  and  commitment  to  strengthen  the  existing 
coordination frameworks. The talks should aim at ensuring that the format and content of the 
cooperation structure meets the needs and expectations of the parties concerned in the most 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 

COM(2006) 726, 4.12.2006. 
COM(2007) 774, 5.12.2007. 
Adopted on 5 March 2008. 
COM(2007) 32, 31.1.2007. 
The  basis  for  the  policy  development  was  prepared  by  the  High  Level  Group  chaired  by  former 
Commission Vice President Loyola de Palacio, see the report Networks for peace and development, at 
http://ec.europa.eu/ten/transport/external_dimension/index_en.htm. 

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efficient  manner.  As  a  second  step,  and  following  the  outcome  of  the  exploratory  talks,  the 
Commission would make concrete recommendations and/or proposal to implement the policy 
and the coordination framework(s).  

In June 2007, the EU Council of Transport Ministers welcomed both the further extension of 
the  axis  approach  and  the  emphasis  placed  on  the  horizontal  measures;  and  it  requested  the 
Commission  to  put  forward  proposals  for  practical  implementation  of  this  approach  and  for 
strengthening the organisational structure and the coordination framework of the axes. 

The  exploratory  talks  were  launched  in  spring  2007  and  the  first  round  of  discussions  has 
taken  place  with  all  the  neighbouring  countries  and  regions.  The  talks  are  progressing  well 
and  this  Communication  reports  on  these  talks  and  outlines  the  preliminary  conclusions.  In 
the  Western  Balkan  region  the  talks  have  already  been  successfully  concluded.  The 
Commission  is  therefore  proposing  to  the  Council  along  this  Communication  negotiating 
guidelines for a treaty establishing a Transport Community in South East Europe.  

2. 

ORGANISATION OF THE EXPLORATORY TALKS 

The exploratory talks, launched in spring 2007, and a first round  of meetings has been held 
with all the neighbouring countries, the Pan-European Corridors/Areas as well as with several 
stakeholders.  The  following  key  meetings  have  taken  place  in  addition  to  several  working 
level meetings: 

–  A series of meetings with the Pan-European Corridors/Areas have taken place in the course 
of  the  year,  including  two  meetings  of  the  Corridor  Chairs  and  Secretaries,  the  first  in 
January and the second in October 2007. 

–  The working group on “Transport strategies, infrastructure and public-private partnerships” 
under  the  EU-Russia  transport  dialogue  has  met  twice,  in  Moscow  in  October  and  in 
Brussels in January 2008. The ad hoc working group on logistics problems, set up to study 
the  situation  at  the  EU-Russia  border  and  make  recommendations  on  how  to  improve 
throughput,  completed  its  work  in  June  2007  under  the  German  EU  Presidency  and 
transmitted its report to the Commission and the Russian Ministry of Transport. These are 
now  to  be  implemented  by  the  permanent  working  groups  under  the  dialogue.  In  this 
respected, the infrastructure upgrade and procedural measures recommended will feed into 
the development of the Northern Axis and the horizontal issues. 

–  Several fruitful negotiating rounds have been organised since March 2007 in Brussels and 
in  Kiev  on  a  new  enhanced  agreement  with  Ukraine,  which  is  to  be  the  successor  to  the 
Partnership and Co-operation Agreement.  

–  The  Euro-Mediterranean  Transport  Forum  met  in  May  2007  and  adopted  a  Regional 
Transport Action Plan for the period 2007-2013. As a follow-up, the infrastructure working 
group  met  in  November  2007  to  verify  the  axes  and  to  update  the  list  of  infrastructure 
projects. These meetings led to a high level conference, organised by the Commission with 
the  support  of  the  Portuguese  EU  Presidency,  on  the  Mediterranean  transport  system  in 
Lisbon on 3 December 2007. In this conference, Vice-President Barrot and Ministers from 
the  EU  and  Mediterranean  countries  recognised  the  key  role  of  the  Action  Plan  in 
extending  the  major  axes  of  the  trans-European  transport  networks  and  the  Community 
acquis to the region. 

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–  Several  meetings  have  been  organised  under  the  regional  cooperation  framework 
established by the Traceca multilateral agreement, ranging  from  working group  meetings 
to the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on 13-14 December 2007 in Astana, 
where the exploratory talks were officially opened with the mandate to make proposals to 
the Summit in 2008 on whether/how a future legal and institutional framework for the Axis 
can  be  built  upon  Traceca  structures,  thus  identifying  a  renewed,  long-term  base  for  our 
cooperation. 

3. 

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS OF THE FIRST ROUND OF TALKS 

3.1. 

Strong support to the Commission's approach 

Whilst  further  discussions  are  needed  with  all  the  neighbouring  countries  before  the 
Commission can make concrete proposals on how to strengthen the coordination frameworks, 
a  series  of  preliminary  conclusions  have  already  emerged.  In  general,  the  talks  have 
confirmed the support for the Commission’s approach, as presented in the Communication; in 
particular there is broad agreement on: 

–  The usefulness of the axis approach as the basis for cooperation between the EU and the 

neighbouring countries; 

–  The  need  to  look  beyond  infrastructure  measures  and  to  bring  transport  corridor 

development and overall policy discussion closer together; 

–  The importance of a strong and binding coordination framework that could take the form 

of a more binding MoU or a treaty; 

–  The need to put in place the steering functions of the axes in line with the Commission’s 
proposal (see box), building on the existing regional structures and technical secretariats. 

Ministerial meetings by Axis/region to take strategic decisions concerning modifications 
to the Axis, to participating countries and entities and to the financing of the coordination 
structure. 

Regional  Steering  Group  to  monitor  the  implementation  of  the  Axis  composed  of  a 
high  level  representative  of  each  of  the  countries  concerned  and  with  the  task  to  develop 
master  plans  for  the  axis,  including  identification  of  bottlenecks,  proposals  and 
prioritisation of measures. 

All  the  Regional  Steering  Groups  should  meet  together  regularly  to  ensure  coherent 
implementation  of  the  agreed  measures  as  well  as  to  agree  e.g.  on  common  methods  for 
strategic and project level assessment and monitoring. 

In addition to preparing the Ministerial meetings, the Regional Steering Group should also 
report to the respective sub-committee under the European Neighbourhood and Partnership 
Policy in view of including relevant proposals in the bilateral and regional action plans. 

The Regional Steering Group may decide to set up working groups or task forces involving 
all  or  some  of  the  members  to  look  into  technical  issues  in  more  detail.  It  would  also 
organise Donors’ Conferences and involve social partners and other stakeholders. 

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Permanent  Secretariat  to  provide  administrative  and  technical  support.  The 
Secretariat would follow studies relevant for the Axis, prepare the meetings of the Steering 
Group and the Ministerial meetings and provide the logistics for these meetings. 

The  Steering  Group  and  Secretariat  should  cooperate  with  the  European  Coordinators;  in 
particular those designated for inland waterways and the Motorways of the Sea or the trans-
European transport networks (TEN). 

3.2. 

Adjustments to the approach 

The  exploratory  talks  have  raised  the  need  to  make  only  some  minor  adjustments  to  the 
approach  initially  proposed  by  the  Commission.  These  concern  mainly  the  geographical  as 
well as the sectoral coverage of the overall exercise: 

–  Cooperation with Switzerland should be pursued under the existing structures, as these are 
already  well  established  in  the  transport  sector.  This  cooperation  is  based  on  bilateral 
relations and agreements between EU and Switzerland and in particular, transport corridors 
through Switzerland that connect Italy with Germany, France and Austria are already part 
of the trans-European transport network policy. 

–  Following the conclusions of the June 2007 Transport Council, the Commission agrees on 
the  usefulness  to  involve  the  Central  Asian  states  in  the  axis  approach,  through  their 
participation  in  the  Traceca  framework,  as  trade  and  thus  transport  connections  need  to 
have a worldwide perspective in an increasingly globalised world.  

–  The  extension  of  the  Single  European  Sky  initiative  to  the  neighbouring  regions  is 
progressing  rapidly  and  the  Commission  is  requesting  negotiating  directives  from  the 
Council  to  develop  a  wider  Common  Aviation  Area  by  2010  through  further 
comprehensive aviation agreements with neighbouring countries. Therefore, it is proposed 
not  to  include  the  aviation  sector  in  the  approach  However,  investments  into  airport 
infrastructure could be looked at as part of potential bottlenecks along the axes. 

–  Similar  progress  has  taken  place  in  developing  the  EU’s  satellite  navigation  system 
Galileo.  The  Commission  therefore  proposes  to  continue  cooperation  under  the  specific 
Galileo  framework  and  not  to  include  it  in  the  coordination  structures  envisaged  for  the 
axes.  

Regarding  the  Council's  request  to  link  up  extension  of  the  major  trans-European  transport 
axes  to  neighbouring  countries  with  African  networks,  the  Commission  stresses  that  it  is 
already  supporting  the  development  of  integrated  trans-African  transport  networks  and 
services,  which  received  renewed  impetus  in  2007  when  the  EU-Africa  Partnership  on 
Infrastructure was launched. 

4. 

STATE-OF-PLAY, ACHIEVEMENTS AND NEXT STEPS 

4.1. 

Pan-European Corridors/Areas 

The meetings with the Pan-European Corridors/Areas have looked at the differences between 
Corridors  inside  and  outside  the  EU  territory,  optimal  geographical  coverage  of  an  axis, 

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necessary  functions  of  an  effective  steering  group  and  the  role  of  horizontal  measures. 
Important  insights  have  been  gained  from  the  Corridor  Chairs’  and  Secretariats’  first-hand 
experience of the strengths and weaknesses of the functioning of the Corridors. 

Whilst  the  Pan-European  Corridor  concept  clearly  has  its  merits,  it  is  equally  clear  that  the 
concept needs to be reviewed. In particular the Commission considers it essential to make a 
clear  distinction  between  the  Corridors  that,  following  enlargement,  are  part  of  the  trans-
European transport network priorities6 and those that connect the EU with the neighbouring 
countries.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  important  to  integrate  the  functions  and  the  valuable 
experience of the Corridors in an appropriate way into the existing regional structures or those 
that will be set up 

4.2.  Motorways of the Seas 

The High Level Group identified the Motorways of the Seas (MoS) as one of the axes on an 
equal footing with the four land corridors. Although there are commonalities in all the MoS, 
there are also clear differences that speak for a differentiated approach. These range from the 
type of bottlenecks, frequency and quality of services to the applicable international law and 
its degree of enforcement. Consequently, the Commission proposes that the MoS be covered 
under the relevant regional structures to be set for the corresponding land axes. In all cases, 
close  cooperation  with  the  European  Coordinator  for  the  Motorways  of  the  Sea  should  be 
assured. 

4.3. 

Northern Axis 

The Northern Axis falls largely under the Northern Dimension (ND) policy of the EU, which 
covers the northern EU Member states, Russia as well as Norway and Iceland. The ND aims 
at addressing the special regional development challenges of northern Europe, including i.a. 
insufficient transport and border crossing facilities. The main regional organisations active in 
the  area  are  the  Council  of  the  Baltic  Sea  States  (CBSS),  the  Barents  Euro  Arctic  Council 
(BEAC), the Arctic Council (AC) and the Nordic Council of Ministers. 

In the Political Declaration, adopted by the Northern Dimension Summit in November 2006, 
it  was  asked  to  examine  the  desirability  of  a  ND  Partnership  on  Transport  and  Logistics, 
which would involve all the countries concerned by the Northern Axis. The suggested role of 
the  Partnership  would  be  to  coordinate  the  financial  resources  of  international  financial 
institutions,  governments  and  the  private  sector  in  large  transport  infrastructure  projects  of 
regional  rather  than  local  importance.  Following  the  ND  Senior  Officials  meeting  in  St. 
Petersburg on 21 November 2007, a working group was set-up to examine the possibilities of 
setting up the new Partnership and to discuss the scope and role of this Partnership also taking 
into  account  the  effective  monitoring  and  implementation  of  the  Northern  Axis  and  the 
Motorways  of  the  Sea  in  the  region.  The  Group  will  deliver  its  report  in  June  2008  for  the 
consideration of the ND Ministerial meeting in autumn 2008. 

Whilst  the  exploratory  talks  have  welcomed  the  setting  up  of  the  working  group,  they  have 
highlighted  the  importance  of  making  the  Partnership  an  integral  part  of  the  coordination 
structures to be set up for the Northern Axis region and of ensuring a fully coherent approach 

6 

The Pan-European Corridors I, IV, V, VI and VII are now mostly in the EU territory. 

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without overlap. The second phase of the talks would need to have a deeper look in particular 
at the following aspects:  

–  The  geographical  scope  of  the  Partnership  in  line  with  the  Northern  Dimension  policy 
objectives and the alignment of the Northern Axis. It has been suggested to invite Belarus 
as an observer to the working group to ensure continuity along all branches of the Axis. 

–  The mandate of the Partnership regarding the type of projects to be considered, taking due 
account  of  the  developments  and  progress  in  other  fora  where  relevant  standards  and 
legislation, including customs (horizontal measures) affecting the logistic processes along 
the Axes are addressed 

–  Whether  the  Partnership  could  fulfil  the  functions  of  the  regional  steering  group  and/or 
secretariat  for  the  Northern  Axis  region  and  how  the  partnership  would  best  fit  in  the 
coordination and monitoring structures to be set up for the Northern Axis region (see box 
in Chapter 3.1). 

4.4. 

Central Axis 

The  enhanced  agreement  currently  under  negotiation  with  Ukraine  aims  to  deepen  political 
co-operation  on  democracy,  human  rights  and  the  rule  of  law,  to  establish  a  deep  and 
comprehensive  free  trade  area,  increase  energy  efficiency  and  security,  environment 
protection and strengthen co-operation on key areas such as transport. The establishment of a 
free trade area, which will be integral part of the agreement, will be negotiated once Ukraine 
has finalised its accession process to the WTO.  

In transport, the focus of the negotiations is on the implementation of the recommendations of 
the  High  Level  Group,  as  endorsed  in  the  Commission  Communication,  as  concerns  the 
Central Axis, Traceca Corridor and deeper approximation of EU legislation. The Commission 
is  pleased  to  note  that  the  talks  are  progressing  well  and  that  concrete  results  are  expected 
during 2008. In the second phase of the negotiations, the details of the institutional structure, 
in particular as regards a multilateral steering group and secretariat, need to be reflected upon. 
The talks should also look at the existing connections from the Central Axis to the Northern 
Axis and the South Eastern Axis as well as how to best integrate the Republic of Moldova in 
the approach. 

4.5. 

South Eastern Axis 

4.5.1.  Western Balkan core regional transport network 

In the Western Balkans, Croatia and former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are candidate 
countries7,  whilst  Albania,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Montenegro,  and  Serbia  as  well  as 
Kosovo8,  are  potential  candidate  countries  for  accession  to  the  EU.  Cooperation  in  the 
transport field and extension of the Community acquis is therefore more advanced than in the 
other regions. 

7 

8 

Accession negotiations started with Croatia in 2005. In December 2005, the European Council granted 
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia the status of a candidate country; accession negotiations 
have not started. 
Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999. 

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The Western Balkan countries and the European Commission signed in 2004 a Memorandum 
of  Understanding  (MoU)  for  the  development  of  a  regional  core  transport  network,  which 
would become part of the trans-European networks upon accession. In the 3rd annual meeting 
of Ministers on 4 December 2007, an addendum to the MoU was signed on rail market access 
and opening, which brought the sector a step closer to the implementation of the Community 
rail acquis, including the social dimension. 

To  fully  benefit  from  the  accession  framework,  the  Commission  is  therefore  of  the  opinion 
that cooperation in the Western Balkan region should focus on the core regional network and 
encourages  the  countries  to  speed  up  alignment  of  their  national  legislation  with  the 
Community acquis on transport and other relevant areas. Following the successful completion 
of  the  exploratory  talks,  the  Commission  is  therefore  proposing  along  this  Communication 
negotiating guidelines for a treaty establishing a Transport Community in South East Europe. 
The  objective  of  the  treaty  is  to  establish  an  integrated  market  for  infrastructure  and  land, 
inland  waterways  and  maritime  transport9  and  to  align  relevant  legislation  with  the 
Community acquis in the Western Balkan region. 

4.5.2.  Branches to Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia 

Turkey is also a candidate country and the accession negotiations started in 2005. A transport 
infrastructure  needs  assessment  (“TINA”)  is  being  finalised  as  the  first  step  in  defining  the 
future  trans-European  transport  network  for  Turkey.  These  negotiations  should  of  course 
continue  along  the  timetable  set  for  the  accession  negotiations.  However,  given  Turkey’s 
geostrategic location as a crossroad between the EU, Caucasus and Central Asia on the one 
hand and Middle East on the other, the Commission invites Turkey to be a key player also in 
the axis approach. Without changing the definition of the Axis, it thus proposed to split the 
South-Eastern Axis into two branches, both involving Turkey: the connection from Turkey to 
Caucasus would be covered under the Traceca framework and the branch to Egypt under the 
Euro-Mediterranean  structures,  and  connected  to  the  South  Western  Axis  as  part  of  the 
Mediterranean Axes (see below Chapters 4.6 and 4.7 respectively). 

4.6. 

Traceca Corridor 

Of the five Axes, the Traceca Corridor is the only one where cooperation is organised through 
a  multilateral  agreement  signed  by  the  countries10  concerned.  The  institutions  set  up  in  the 
agreement 
include  an  Inter-Governmental  Commission,  which  consists  of  highest 
governmental authorities or their authorised representatives, usually Deputy Prime Ministers 
responsible  for  Transport,  Ministers  of  Transport  and/or  Foreign  Affairs,  and  a  permanent 
Secretariat.  Several  working  groups  have  been  set  up.  The  Inter-Governmental  Commission 
approved a long term strategy up to 2015 in 2006 and in 2007 it adopted a short-term Action 
Plan to be implemented by 2010. 

The Traceca framework seems to offer a suitable basis on which to build given its strong legal 
basis,  the  set  of  institutions  and  the  focus  of  the  strategy  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Corridor.  However,  the  European  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  institutional  and 
policy dimensions of Traceca need to be strengthened and modernised, in particular to address 

9 
10 

Aviation sector is already covered under the European Common Aviation Agreement. 
The signatories are: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the 
Republic  of  Moldova,  Tajikistan,  Turkey,  Ukraine  and  Uzbekistan  as  well  as  the  EU  Member  states 
Romania, Bulgaria. Pakistan and Iran have applied for membership. 

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in an effective manner both corridor development and overall policy discussion, now covered 
under the Baku process. 

As endorsed in the Inter-Governmental Commission in December 2007, the specific task for 
the  second  phase  of  the  exploratory  talks  would  be  to  see  whether/how  a  future  legal  and 
institutional  framework  can  be  built  upon  Traceca  structures,  thus  identifying  a  renewed, 
long-term base for our cooperation. An optimal way to deal with the Baku process needs also 
to  be  found  given  that  the  renewed  set  of  documents  and  structures  should  be  able  to 
efficiently  serve  both  corridor  (infrastructure)  and  regional  approximation  (horizontal) 
measures. 

4.7.  Mediterranean Axes and regional transport action plan 

Since the launch of the Barcelona process in 1995, the Commission has actively supported the 
development  of  an  integrated  transport  system  in  the  Mediterranean  region.  As  a 
consequence, the region is probably the most advanced in making the extension of the trans-
European transport networks a reality. 

The  relevant  institutions  are  already  in  place,  including  Ministerial  Conferences  to  take 
strategic  decisions,  the  Euro-Mediterranean  Transport  Forum  to  co-ordinate  common 
approaches and to develop an integrated regional transport system and several working groups 
covering  infrastructure  and  horizontal  measures.  The  Regional  Transport  Action  Plan, 
adopted by the Forum in May 2007, goes a long way towards the implementation of the main 
Axes  in  the  region  through  regulatory  reforms  and  a  full  range  of  horizontal  measures.  In 
addition a technical secretariat, CETMO, has been set up covering the Western Mediterranean 
countries; however no similar structure exists in the Eastern Mediterranean region.  

In  the  Lisbon  Conference  on  3  December  2007,  Vice-President  Barrot  congratulated  the 
Ministers  for  their  active  involvement  in  the  development  and  implementation  of  the 
Mediterranean  Axes.  The  Forum  and  the  working  groups  were  invited  to  continue  the 
successful  work  and  to  address  the  few  remaining  aspects  in  the  second  phase  of  the 
exploratory talks. These include effective monitoring of the implementation of the Axes in the 
region,  creating  a  technical  secretariat  for  the  East  Mediterranean  region  and  strengthening 
coordination through an MoU or an international agreement. 

5. 

CONCLUSION 

The first round of the exploratory talks has demonstrated a keen interest of the neighbouring 
countries and other stakeholders to bring closer together the axis approach and broader policy 
dialogue.  The  talks  have  led  to  minor  adjustments  to  the  recommendations  proposed  in  the 
Communication Guidelines for transport in Europe and neighbouring regions to better take 
account  of  recent  progress,  in  particular  in  relation  to  Single  European  Sky  and  Galileo 
initiatives as well as the development of the future trans-European transport networks in the 
Western Balkan region and Turkey. 

The  institutional  set-up  proposed  by  the  Commission  has  also  been  supported  by  the 
neighbouring  countries  and  other  stakeholders.  All  the  neighbouring  countries  and  other 
stakeholders stress the importance of regional cooperation along an Axis and of building on 
existing frameworks. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
In  the  second  phase  of  the  exploratory  talks,  the  following  issues  should  be  addressed  in 
addition to the Axis specific points raised in the preceding chapters: 

– 

– 

– 

Firm  commitment  of  the  neighbouring  countries  to  the  form  of  strengthened 
cooperation should be sought. 

Agreement  with  the  existing  regional  structures  on  new  tasks  ensuring  effective 
monitoring of the Axes should be reached. 

Creation  or  completion  of  regional  structures  for  the  Axes  where  such  do  not 
currently exist should be agreed upon. 

The  Commission  has  already  scheduled  a  series  of  meetings  for  spring  2008.  A  second 
progress  report  on  the  exploratory  talks  will  be  tabled  in  September  2008,  including,  when 
relevant,  a  recommendation  to  the  Council  to  open  negotiations,  and  an  assessment  of  the 
financial needs without prejudicing the multiannual financial framework for the policy areas 
concerned. 

EN 

11 

   EN