By Anne-France White - 12th September 2006
Success or failure for vital EU transport infrastructure projects lies in the hands of national governments, Jacques Barrot said on Wednesday.
The European commission vice-president has given a progress report on 30 priority trans-European transport network (TEN-T) projects to be completed by 2020.
The projects, set up in 2004, were trailed by EU leaders at a June 2006 summit as future examples of a "Europe of results".
“[The EU’s budget contribution to TEN-T] is a lot less than we had hoped,” Barrot said. “Everything now depends on the member states’ will to kick-start the construction projects, especially on the major bottlenecks.”
Former European commissioners Loyola de Palacio, Karel Van Miert, Etienne Davignon, Péter Balázs, Pavel Telicka and Karel Vinck are among six high-profile euro-politicians monitoring progress.
TEN-T, which was launched in 1996, aims to connect all the member states by developing improved transport networks, particularly on key rail routes for freight and passengers.
But several of the major projects are being delayed due to a lack of funds and conflicting priorities between governments.
The six coordinators were named in July 2005 in order to provide a strong political push on railways axes where progress is particularly slow.
These “priority projects” include the construction of rail links between Berlin and Palermo and between Warsaw and Helsinki.
One key sticking-point with the member states is the huge investment involved: the cost of the priority projects alone is estimated at €225bn by 2020.
But the commission says the investment would generate additional economic growth of 0.23 per cent of GDP, as well as saving 8 billion euro per year through the reduction of road congestion and improved rail performance.
The EU budget’s contribution to the project has been set at €8bn euro for 2007-13, with a maximum EU funding rate of 20 per cent.
Barrot had initially asked for €20bn of EU money for the project, but this was rejected by the member states.
The new report by the coordinators recommends concentrating the EU funding on the cross-border sections – in which the member states are less inclined to invest – as well as on certain major transport bottlenecks.
It also argues that interoperability is key: coordinator Karel Vinck noted on September 13 that there are currently 23 different railway systems across the EU.
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