COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions The Marco Polo programme - Results and outlook
Date: 2013-05-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, combined transport, inland waterway transport, international road transport, maritime transport, rail transport, transport economics, transport planning, transport statistics

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 14.5.2013  
SWD(2013) 174 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the document 

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions  

The Marco Polo programme - Results and outlook 

{COM(2013) 278 final} 

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COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the document 

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions  

The Marco Polo programme - Results and outlook 

1. 

STATISTICAL DATA ON RESULTS ACHIEVED BY THE MARCO POLO PROGRAMME 

a. Overall statistics 

Table 1: Marco Polo I and II: calls for proposals 2003-2012 

Year 

Number of 
proposals 

No of Contracts  Available budget  Committed funds 

Paid funds 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

Total 

92 

62 

63 

48 

55 

46 

70 

101 

50 

54 

587 

13 

12 

15 

15 

20 

28 

21 

30 

18 

- 

1721 

15.0 

20.4 

30.7 

35.7 

58.0 

59.0 

66.3 

64 

56.9 

- 

406 

13.0 

20.4 

21.4 

18.9 

45.4 

34.4 

61.9 

52.2 

33.6 

- 

7.3 

12.3 

12.8 

9.4 

19.9 

11.5 

18.0 

14.3 

n.a. 

- 

301.2 

105.5 

Source: EACI data 

Figures representing the payments for Marco Polo II relate to projects that are still on-going 
and will increase over time. 

b. Effectiveness 

The  effectiveness  of  the  programme  is  measured  in  terms  of  realised  modal  shift/traffic 
avoidance  (for  modal  shift,  catalyst,  motorways  of  the  sea  and  traffic  avoidance  actions). 
Common learning actions do not have a direct modal shift objective and therefore may not be 
evaluated on the basis of transport shifted off the road. 

Table 2: Marco Polo I: total modal shift by call (Millions of tonne – kilometres) 

1 

The significant difference between the numbers of proposals received and contracts signed may be explained by the fact that only 
limited number of project applications complied with  the criteria and conditions set by the programme. In addition, there were 
also projects withdrawn by the applicants during contract negotiations.  

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2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

Total 

Overall target (Mtkm) 

12,000 

12,000 

12,000 

12,000 

48,000 

Expected (Mtkm) 

12,396 

14,382 

Achieved (Mtkm) 

% expected/achieved 

Source: EACI data 

7,253 

58.51 

6,143 

42,7 

9,535 

4,952 

51.9 

11,401 

47,714 

3,554 

31.20 

21,903 

45,9 

Table 3: Marco Polo II: total modal shift at November 2012 by call (Millions of tonne – kilometres) 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

Total 

Overall target (Mtkm) 

A substantial part of 20,500 Mtkm shifted annually 

Expected (Mtkm) 

27,835 

16,334 

15,685 

14,150 

13,700 

87,704 

Achieved at November 
2012 (Mtkm) 

Source: EACI data 

10,020 

3,381 

2,825 

3,270 

n.a. 

19,500 

Figures for Marco Polo II relate to projects that are still on-going and will increase over time. 
Figures  for  traffic  avoidance  actions  are  the  tonne-kilometres  equivalent  of  vehicle-
kilometres. 

c. Road freight transport in the EU 

Table 4: Road freight transport in the EU in billions of tonne-kilometres 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

Total (billion tkm) 

1,625 

1,742 

1,794 

1,848 

1,914 

1,881 

1690 

1756 

International  (billion 
tkm) 

486 

547 

565 

601 

622 

611 

537 

579 

Source: EU transport in figures. Statistical Pocketbooks 2012: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/facts-fundings/statistics/pocketbook-2012_en.htm 

d. Environmental benefits 

The achieved modal shift can be transformed into monetary terms on the basis of external cost 
coefficients provided for environmental impacts (air quality, noise, climate change) and socio-
economic impacts (accidents, congestion). 
Table 5: Marco Polo I: achieved environmental benefits2 by year (including proxies3) 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

Total 

Environmental 
achieved (millions €) 

benefits 

127.7 

114.1 

118.53 

73.736 

434.05 

Source: EACI data/Marco Polo Calculator of external costs coefficients 

2 
3 

The values produced by the calculator can be regarded only as indicative. 
Direct data on achieved environmental benefits are used where available. Where figures are not directly available, the statistics 
are proxied by the proportional achievement of modal shift.  

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Table 6: Marco Polo II: achieved environmental benefits4 by year at November 2012 (including proxies5) 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

Total 

benefits 
Environmental 
achieved 
Mid-
November  2012  (millions 
€) 

at 

234,3 

73,5 

61,76 

35,51 

405 

Source: EACI data/Marco Polo Calculator of external costs coefficients 

Figures for Marco Polo II relate to projects that are still on-going and will increase over time. 

e. Efficiency 

The  efficiency  is  measured  as  the  ratio  of  outputs  (tkm  achieved  for  projects  with  a  modal 
shift  objective)  to  inputs  (the  committed  or  paid  budget).  The  tables  below  present  data  on 
average modal shift (tonne-kilometres of cargo) by call, realised by one euro of subsidy. 
Table  7:  Marco  Polo  I  —  efficiency  actually  achieved  by  selected  projects6,  by  call  (paid 
funds, projects with the modal shift/traffic avoidance objective) 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

Total  

Efficiency achieved (tkm / 
€) 

1030 7 

522 

397 

517 

597 

Source EACI data 
Table 8: Marco Polo I — efficiency expected by selected projects8, by call (committed funds, projects with 
the modal shift/traffic avoidance objective) 

2003 

2004 

2005 

2006 

Total 

Efficiency expected (tkm / 
€) 

Source: EACI data 

981 

802 

585 

630 

743 

4 
5 

6 
7 

8 

The values produced by the calculator can be regarded only as indicative. 
Direct data on achieved environmental benefits are used where available. Where figures are not directly available, the statistics 
are proxied by the proportional achievement of modal shift.  
Concerning projects selected under the calls for proposals: 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 
Higher efficiency obtained in 2003 call results from high quantity of modal shift achieved at a relatively low level of payments 
made from the programme (see tables 1 and 2). This may possibly be explained by a large number of applications submitted by 
the industry, which allowed selection of projects generating higher modal shift results. 
Concerning projects selected under the calls for proposals: 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 

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Table 9: Marco Polo II — efficiency expected by the selected projects9, by call (committed funds, projects 
with the modal shift/traffic avoidance objective) 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

Total 

Efficiency 
expected  (tkm  / 
€) 

Source: EACI data 

760 

538 

312 

290 

418 

438 

Figures representing actual efficiency achieved for Marco Polo II are not available at present 
as the programme is still underway. 

2. 

SPECIFIC ISSUES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 14 PARAGRAPH (2A) OF REGULATION (EC) 
NO 1692/200610

a. The impact of the Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 923/2009 of 
the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  16  September  2009  amending 
Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006 establishing the second ‘Marco Polo’ programme 
for 
the 
improve 
environmental performance of the freight transport system (Marco Polo II) 

the  granting  of  Community 

financial  assistance 

to 

The  overall  impact  of  Regulation  1692/2006  is  fully  addressed  in  Chapter  3  "Results 
delivered by the MPI and MPII programmes" of the Communication text11.  

As  the  specific  provisions  introduced  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  923/2009  have  only  been 
applied to the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Calls for Proposals, it is too early to quantify and fully 
address their impact on the programme, because the vast majority of projects are running and 
some have not yet started. However, based on the views expressed by stakeholders, during a 
recent  evaluation  of  the  programme12,  the  new  provisions  may  lead  to  an  increase  in  the 
number of applications for funding and may help to improve the programme's achievements 
in  terms  of  modal  shift.  On  the  other  hand,  the  first  results  of  Calls  2010,  2011  and  2012, 
launched in the difficult economic climate, are rather mixed (101 applications in 2010, 50 in 
2011 and 54 in 2012). Also, no particular impact on the participation in the programme of the 
small  and  medium  enterprises  (representing  around  24  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
beneficiaries13) has been observed so far. 

b. The experience of the Executive Agency for Competition and Innovation with 
programme management 

The operational management of the programme was transferred from the Commission to the 
Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI) in 2008. In addition to Marco 
Polo,  the  Agency  manages  several  others  programmes  and  initiatives:  Intelligent  Energy 

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11 
12 

13 

Concerning projects selected under the calls for proposals: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 
Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the second 'Marco Polo' programme 
for  the  granting  of  Community  financial  assistance  to  improve  the  environmental  performance  of  the  freight  transport  system 
(Marco  Polo  II)  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No  1382/2003,  as  amended  by  Regulation  (EC)  No  923/2009,  OJ  L  328/1, 
24/10/2006 
COM (2012) XXX 
Evaluation of the Marco Polo Programme 2003 – 2010, Europe Economics, April 2011; Evaluation of the Executive Agency for 
Competitiveness and Innovation, Centre for Strategy and Evaluation Services, May 2011  
This figure represents only autonomous SMEs (not linked to other enterprises); source: EACI data 

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Europe  (since  2004),  Enterprise  Europe  Network  (since  2008),  and  Eco-innovation  (since 
2008).  

With the capacity to commit greater human resources, the agency has proven to deliver added 
value  to  the  implementation  process  of  Marco  Polo.  The  externalisation  has  allowed 
communication efforts to be stepped up, improved promotion of the programme and provided 
applicants with increased assistance.14 

c.  The  need  to  differentiate  between  transport  modes  with  regard  to  the 
conditions  for  funding  on  the  basis  of  safety,  environmental  performance  and 
energy efficiency 

The Marco Polo calculator, which is used to estimate the environmental benefits of the actions 
financed under the programme, includes external cost values for several modes of transport. 

Given that emissions factors differ by mode (or sub-mode) of transport, and that a key aim of 
the  Marco  Polo  programme  is  to  reduce  road  congestion  and  to  improve  the  environmental 
performance of freight transport, it makes perfect sense that the calculator of environmental 
costs incorporates appropriate coefficients for each mode and relevant sub-mode. In a policy 
designed to limit the impact of the freight transport sector on the environment, including such 
differentiation is critical. 

In  the  Marco  Polo  programme,  the  environmental  benefits  and  other  external  cost  savings 
expected  to  be  achieved  by  moving  cargo  from  roads  to  short  sea  shipping,  rail  and  inland 
waterways,  already  form  a  part  of  the  criteria  for  evaluation  and  selection  of  project 
proposals.  

There are, however, certain difficulties with conditioning the funding for particular modes on 
the basis of safety, environmental performance and energy efficiency under the current design 
of the programme.  

First  of  all,  this  policy  may  lead  to  increased  complexity  of  the  programme,  creating 
additional administrative barriers for the applicants.  

Secondly, this approach would require further improvements in the methodology to estimate 
the carbon footprint and other external costs of transport which would be accepted and used at 
the EU level, and which would take into account state of the art technological progress within 
the modes.  

The current calculator represents a compromise between the level of differentiation of specific 
cost coefficients and user-friendliness for the applicants; as a result the produced results can 
only be regarded as indicative. 

d. The effectiveness of traffic avoidance actions 

It should be noted that traffic avoidance actions, aimed at reducing traffic on European roads, 
are  different  in  concept  to  the  other  action  types,  although  the  planned  traffic  mitigation  is 
very  much  in  line  with  the  modal  shift  objective.  Examples  of  actions  include  cutting  the 
journey  distance, increasing loads or reducing  the  number  of  empty  runs.  The  measurement 
used to evaluate traffic avoidance actions is also different than the one used for other action 
types: vehicle-kilometres15 rather than tonne-kilometres. 

14 
15 

Evaluation of the Marco Polo Programme 2003 – 2010, Europe Economics, April 2011 
Means  the  movement  of  a  truck,  loaded  or  empty,  over  a  distance  of  one  kilometre.  The  vehicle  kilometres  (vkm)  can  be 
converted in tonne kilometres (tkm) where 1 vkm equals 20 tkm. 

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However,  at  this  point,  it  is  too  early  to  fully  assess  the  effectiveness  of  traffic  avoidance 
actions. At mid-August 2012, only four such actions have received funding: two in 2009, one 
in 2010 and one in the 2011 call. Data on the success of these projects are therefore, limited.  

Traffic avoidance actions aim to make the supply chain more efficient by integrating transport 
into the production process, to avoid a large percentage of freight transport by road. There is 
significant potential that such projects will achieve high efficiency gains, however, according 
to  the  rules  of  the  programme,  an  EU  grant  cannot  exceed  the  cumulative  deficit  over  the 
duration of the action16, i.e. projects which are supposed to generate a profit in this period are 
practically  excluded  from  funding.  This  may  be  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  low  number  of 
traffic avoidance projects. 

e. The need to set up demand-driven assistance at the application stage, taking 
into account the needs of small and micro transport enterprises 

Since  becoming  responsible  for  operational  management  of  the  Marco  Polo  programme, 
EACI  has  provided  increased  assistance  to  applicants  by  setting-up  two  new  functional 
mailboxes  and  a  help  desk  with  a  dedicated  phone  number  to  answer  queries  about  the 
programme. During the two-to-three months of the open call period, between 900 and 1,000 
requests are managed by EACI's helpdesk, providing responses in less than 24 hours. During 
out-of-call periods there are two-to-four requests daily.  

The high usage rate of the helpdesk by applicants suggests that it is a useful service value and, 
in particular, can help SMEs to understand the detail of application procedures.  

The Agency also organises annual information days in order to promote the annual calls for 
proposals,  provide  detailed  information  on  specific  rules  and  explain  the  application 
procedure under the programme, attracting stakeholders from the transport sector and beyond. 
At  these  events,  dedicated  bilateral  meetings  are  arranged  with  potential  applicants,  giving 
them  the  opportunity  to  obtain  assistance  from  the  project  officers  and  to  consult  them 
directly on their ideas for proposals. 

Overall,  it  is  considered  that  the  demand-driven  assistance  provided  by  EACI  at  the 
application stage is appropriate in the context of the current Marco Polo programme. 

f. Recognition of economic recession as an exceptional reason for extending the 
duration of actions 

Since  2008  a  significant  drop  in  transport  volumes  has  been  observed  at  both  national  and 
international levels.  

Table 11: Performance of freight transport in the EU in billions of tonnes-kilometre 

2000 

2005 

2006 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

Road 

SSS 

Rail 

IWW 

1,519 

1,794 

1,848 

1,914 

1,881 

1,690 

1,756 

1,314 

1,461 

1,505 

1,532 

1,498 

1,336 

1,415 

404 

134 

413 

139 

435 

138 

448 

145 

440 

145 

361 

130 

390 

147 

Source: EU energy and transport in figures: Statistical Pocketbook 2012 

16 

The EU grant is calculated on the basis of three elements: 2 € for every 500tkm/2000m³km/25 vkm shifted off the road; 35% of 
all  eligible  costs  of  the  action  and  the  cumulative  deficit  over  the  funding  period.  The  lowest  value  of  these  three,  sets  the 
maximum level for a subsidy. 

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As multimodal  transport solutions  are more complex and difficult to implement  than  a pure 
road transportation system, the programme has been particularly sensitive to the effects of the 
economic downturn.  

This  situation  has  made  it  more  difficult  for  recipients  of  Marco  Polo  funding  to  meet  the 
forecast modal shift volumes, thereby providing a rationale to extend the duration of projects. 

The  changes  brought  to  Regulation  1692/2006  have  foreseen  the  possibility  for  such 
extension: Common learning actions may be extended by up to 26 months, if positive results 
are achieved during the first 12 months of operation, while other actions may be extended by 
up  to  6  months  in  the  event  of  extraordinary  implementation  delays,  for  example  due  to  an 
exceptional economic downturn. Indeed, in specific market cases, contract suspensions for 6 
months  have  already  been  accepted  to  recover  temporarily  difficult  situations  faced  by  the 
beneficiary. 

Therefore, the Marco Polo beneficiaries already have at their disposal a tool to enable more 
flexibility during this period of economic recession. 

g. Lowering of the eligibility thresholds for product-specific actions 

It  is  still  too  early  to  conduct  a  full  assessment  of  the  impact  of  lowering  the  eligibility 
thresholds  introduced  by  Regulation  923/2009.  The  first  operational  results  for  the  calls  of 
2010 and 2011, where the new rules applied, are mixed and do not show any general trend so 
far, on whether lower thresholds attracted a larger number of lower tkm/volume proposals. 

Table 12: The impact of lowering the eligibility thresholds in Marco Polo II following changes provided by 
Regulation 923/2009 

Year  Number of proposals 

Average value of grants requested 
by selected proposals (millions €) 

Average  volumes  of  modal 
shift 
-  selected  projects 
(billions tkm) 

2007 

2008 

2009 

2010 

2011 

2012 

55 

46 

70 

101 

50 

54 

2.25 

1.21 

3.01 

1.72 

1.87 

2,25 

1.55 

0.63 

0.84 

0.53 

0.76 

n.a 

Source: EACI data 
Based on a survey which was undertaken during an evaluation of the programme17, the views 
of the participants on the potential impact and rationale of lowering the eligibility thresholds 
were  also  mixed.  Whilst  it  was  recognised  that  this  action  would  facilitate  participation  for 
SMEs  and  result  in  more  applications,  it  was  also  indicated  that  higher  thresholds  can 
encourage collaboration between companies. 

Hence, it is difficult to provide an evidence-based forecast of the potential impact of further 
reducing  eligibility  thresholds  for  product  specific  actions.  However,  a  risk  associated  with 
reduced thresholds is that the likelihood of the Marco Polo programme providing finance to 
micro-projects would increase. If several of such projects were financed in each call, lowering 

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Evaluation of the Marco Polo Programme 2003 – 2010, Europe Economics, April 2011 

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the  eligibility  thresholds  would  have  an  important  impact  on  the  administrative  burden  of 
project  management.  The  beneficiary  may  also find  the  operational  burden  to  be  significant 
relative to the subsidy received. 

h.  The  possibility  of  indicating  targets  for  minimum  funding  thresholds  for 
proposed  actions  in  terms  of  energy  efficiency  and  environmental  benefits  in 
addition to tonne-kilometres shifted 

In principle, setting such targets is an attractive proposition and would further the aims of the 
Marco Polo programme by favouring projects that generate lower emissions and can achieve a 
greater environmental benefit per tkm shifted off the road.  

However, similarly to the analysis made under point 2c, there would be certain difficulties in 
implementing this policy in an equitable manner.  

First  of  all,  due  to  the  existence  of  various  overlapping  targets  and  increased  complexity  of 
the programme (the application procedure in particular), incorporating such targets may lead 
to  confusion  amongst  stakeholders,  discouraging  applications  for  Marco  Polo  funding  and 
creating an additional administrative burden.  

Secondly,  this  approach  would  require  further  improvements  in  the  methodology  for 
estimating the carbon footprint and other external costs of transport, in order to be accepted 
and commonly used at the EU level.  

i.  The  appropriateness  of  including  the  transport  unit  in  the  definition  of  the 
term “Freight” 

The new definition of freight, as introduced by Regulation 923/2009, includes the weight of 
the intermodal transport and the road vehicle where these are shifted off the road, on top of 
modal shift being calculated on the basis of net freight transported.  

• 

• 

• 

• 

Including the transport unit in the calculation of freight that is shifted from the 
road,  in  practical  terms,  increases  the  funding  intensity,  thus  making  the 
programme  more  attractive  for  potential  applicants.  It  may  also  contribute  to 
further  reduction  of  congestion  by  having  less  empty  trucks18  on  the  roads. 
However, this change may also entail side-effects such as: 

an  indirect  reduction  in  the  modal  shift  eligibility  thresholds  (less  net  freight 
may  be  effectively  shifted  from  the  roads  to  meet  the  thresholds),  albeit  this 
can facilitate access to the programme for SMEs;  

a reduction in the efficiency of the programme, which pays the same rates for 
lower net freight shifted;  

by inclusion of the road vehicle to the definition of freight, the programme may 
favour  accompanied  transport  over  un-accompanied  transport,  which  is 
intrinsically less environmentally friendly. 

First operational results for the calls in 2010, 2011 and 2012, where the new rules applied, are 
mixed  and  so  far  do  not  show  any  general  trend  that  inclusion  of  the  transport  unit  in  the 
definition  of  the  term  “Freight”  attracted  more  proposals19.  A  preliminary  qualitative 
assessment based on a survey that was undertaken to evaluate the programme20, indicates that 
the majority of Marco Polo beneficiaries considered this change important, as it may lead to 

18 

19 
20 

According to Road Freight Transport Vademecum, 2010 Report: Market trends and structure of the road haulage sector in the EU 
in 2010, DG MOVE, September 2011, almost 24% of the trucks on the EU roads are running empty 
See also Section 1a and 1g 
Evaluation of the Marco Polo Programme 2003 – 2010, Europe Economics, April 2011 

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reduction of project risk. However, it is too early to conduct a full assessment of the impact of 
the new rules brought in by Regulation 923/2009. 

j. The availability of complete yearly overviews of actions which have been co-
financed 

financial  year  were  published  on 

In accordance with Article 110 of the Financial Regulation21, all grants awarded in the course 
the  dedicated  Marco  Polo  website: 
of  a 
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/marcopolo/index_en.htm,  with  due  observance  of 
the 
requirements of confidentiality and security, thus ensuring the safety of the beneficiaries and 
preserving their commercial interests. 

Furthermore, under Article 14 (1) of Regulation (EC) 1692/2006, the Commission informs the 
Programme Committee at least twice a year on the financial execution of the programme and 
gives an update on the status of all actions financed under the programme. 

k. The possibility of ensuring consistency between the programme, the Logistics 
Action  Plan  and  the  TEN-T  by  taking  appropriate measures to coordinate the 
allocation of EU funds, in particular for Motorways of the Sea 

The  Marco  Polo  annual  work  programmes  define  their  political  priorities22  in  line  with 
general  transport  policy  objectives,  including  the  goals  of  the  "Freight  Transport  Logistics 
Action Plan"23 and in coordination with the specific measures and priorities proposed under 
the TEN-T programme. This approach leads to increased consistency in the implementation of 
transport  policy  and  helps  to  explore  complementarity  between  TEN-T  and  Marco  Polo, 
which is particularly important for the Motorways of the Sea concept (financed mainly from 
these two programmes). This enables coordinated, focused actions in this transport policy area 
(for instance the Sustainable Waterborne Transport Toolbox24) and also mitigates the risk of 
overlaps between the programmes. 

Consistency between the Marco Polo and TEN-T programmes with respect to Motorways of 
the Sea is also ensured at an operational level through: 

• 

• 

coordination  activities  between 
the  executive  agencies  responsible  for 
implementation  of  both  programmes  (TEN-T  EA  and  EACI);  for  example 
setting up a Motorways of the Sea one stop helpdesk and a dedicated functional 
mailbox operated by the agencies; 

internal Commission cross-checks (e.g. texts of the work programmes and calls 
for proposals, consultation on projects selected for funding etc.). 

Furthermore,  a  dedicated  Expert  Group  (Focal  Points  and  Short  Sea  Promotion  Centres  for 
Short Sea Shipping and Motorways of the Sea) has been established to assist the Commission 
and coordinate efforts in all matters relating to short sea shipping promotion and facilitation 
of Motorways of the Sea at both national and EU levels.  

21 

22 

23 
24 

Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial regulation applicable to the general budget of 
the European Communities (OJ L 248, 16.9.2002, p.1) as amended 
See  political  priorities  introduced  under  annual  calls  for  proposals:  http://ec.europa.eu/transport/marcopolo/about/in-law/work-
programmes/index_en.htm 
COM(2007) 607 final 
Commission  Staff  Working  Paper  "Pollutant  Emission  Reduction  From  Maritime  Transport  And  The  Sustainable  Waterborne 
Transport Toolbox, SEC(2011) 1052 final 

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Further  synergies  between 
infrastructure  and 
instruments  supporting  both 
sustainable  freight  transport  services  are  foreseen  under  the  common  framework  of  the 
Connecting Europe Facility25 and the new TEN-T Guidelines26. 

transport 

l.  The  possibility  of  making  costs  incurred  in  a  third  country  eligible  if  the 
action is carried out by undertakings from a Member State and the possibility 
of extending the programme to neighbouring countries 

One  of  the  key  aims  of  the  Marco  Polo  programme  is  to  improve  the  environmental 
performance  of  the  European  transport  system  by  reducing  the  external  costs  arising  from 
international freight transport. This goal is primarily achieved by shifting cargo from road to 
other,  more  sustainable  modes  on  routes  between  two  EU  Member  States  or  between  a 
Member State and a close third country27.  

Close third country means any country, which is not a member of the European Union, with a 
common border with the European Union or with a coastline on a closed or semi-closed sea 
neighbouring the European Union28. 

The  programme  is  already  open  to  participation  by  countries  which  are  candidates  for 
accession to the European Union. Participation is governed by the conditions laid down in the 
Association Agreements with those countries, and on the basis of the rules laid down in the 
decision of the Association Council for each country concerned. The programme is also open 
to  participation  by  EFTA  and  EEA  countries  and  close  third  countries,  on  the  basis  of 
supplementary  appropriations  in  accordance  with  procedures  to  be  agreed  with  those 
countries.  Currently,  fully  participating  countries  are:  Norway,  Iceland,  Liechtenstein  and 
Croatia. 

According  to  the  rules  of  the  programme,  the  budget  only  finances  costs  arising  on  the 
territories  of  the  European  Union  or  fully  participating  countries.  Legal  or  natural  persons 
established outside these countries cannot be the recipients of European Union funds and their 
costs  are  not  eligible.  This  approach  derives  from  an  assumption  that  the  costs  can  only  be 
justified insofar as they contribute to achieving the programme's objectives. 

m.  The  need  to  take  into  account  the  specific  characteristics  of  the  inland 
waterway sector and its small – and medium – sized enterprises, for example by 
way of a dedicated programme for the inland waterway sector 

Whilst it is a key component of the European transport system, the inland waterway sector is 
characterised by limited volumes and is also limited in scope geographically. The sector has 
accounted for less than four per cent of all freight transport in each year that the Marco Polo 
programme  has  been  in  operation.  The  vast  majority  of  inland  waterways  are  located  in 
northern  Europe,  with  a  comprehensive  network  in  existence  in  one  of  the  most  congested 
regions in the EU (Benelux, France and Germany). The Danube is also a vital link connecting 
the  central  and  South-Eastern  Member  States,  but  is  not  yet  fully  exploited  and  few  inland 
waterways are present in Southern Europe and Scandinavia. 

The current Marco Polo programme has shown that it is possible to take the specificities of 
the inland waterway sector into account within the context of a more general programme. In 
particular, Regulation 923/2009 has introduced a number of measures intended to favour the 
inland waterway sector, such as lowering the eligibility thresholds (for modal shift actions an 

25 

26 
27 
28 

Proposal  for  a  Regulation  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  establishing  the  Connecting  Europe  Facility, 
COM(2011) 665/3 
Proposal for a Regulation on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network, COM(2011) 650/2 
See Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006. 
See Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006. 

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average  13  million  tonne  kilometres  per  year,  or  its  volumetric  equivalent)  and  more 
generally, measures to stimulate the participation of SME's. Furthermore, the inland waterway 
projects could benefit from a specific political priority introduced in the Marco Polo annual 
work programmes since 201029.  

A  dedicated  accompanying  measure  supporting  development  of  the  Inland  Waterway 
transport policy was also financed under 2011 Marco Polo work programme30. 

Present experience with incorporating the specificities of the various transport modes within 
the  existing  Marco  Polo  programme  indicates  that  a  dedicated  programme  for  inland 
waterways would not be justified. Such a specific programme would lead to fragmentation of 
funds  and  support  instruments,  which  would  be  to  the  detriment  of  a  coherent  transport 
policy.  

A consistent set of measures supporting inland waterways as well as other modes of transport 
was introduced under the Commission proposals for the Connecting Europe Facility and the 
new TEN-T Guidelines.  

n.  The  possibility  of  further  adapting  the  programme  to  the  insular  and 
archipelagic Member States 

Since  the  2011  Call  of  proposals,  the  Commission  has  proposed  a  new,  less  restrictive 
interpretation  of  the  eligible  international  routes  for  actions  other  than  Common  learning 
actions. According to the new rules, whilst the route should connect two eligible countries, it 
is  permitted  to  achieve  modal  shift  /  traffic  avoidance  in  only  one  of  these  countries.  This 
approach  enables  insular  and  island-based  Member  States  to  participate  in  the  Marco  Polo 
programme as it allows the modal shift / traffic avoidance to be achieved in another Member 
State. 

However,  in  some  cases  it  is  still  difficult  to  achieve  the  required  quantity  of  modal  shift  / 
traffic avoidance even under the new interpretation of the route. This issue may be addressed 
in future by putting more emphasis on carbon efficiency and reduction of the external costs of 
transport. Such a policy would result in a departure from pure start up aid for modal shift thus 
enabling  funding  of  undertakings  to  simply  switch  to  a  more  energy  efficient  transport  unit 
without changing transport mode (e.g. from a high-emission vessel to a low emission vessel). 

29 

30 

Positively evaluated proposals presented with the objective of shifting freight transport from roads to Inland Waterways only had 
a preference over the rest of successful proposals for up to 10% of the available budget. 
Provision of support services in the field of inland waterway transport focusing on operational support as regards the provision 
and maintenance of relevant IWT information and corresponding tools including market information, harmonised data and data 
services as well as the provision of technical assistance in preparing new initiatives as regards the future development of the IWT 
sector; 

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