Regional stakeholders concerned by slow implementation of EU integrated transport market

The implementation of the 2011 White Paper on transport, presented four years ago by the European Commission, was debated at the Committee of the Regions (CoR) by rapporteur-general Mr Spyros Spyridon (EL/EPP) and key stakeholders. The debate highlighted serious delays in relation to the white paper's goals on reducing oil dependency, multimodal transport and road safety.

Speaking at a stakeholder consultation at the CoR, rapporteur-general Spyros Spyridon (EL/EPP) assured that transport and mobility are key factors to achieve an economic, social and territorial cohesion in all EU Member States. Mr Spyridon agreed on the fact that citizens -and therefore the EU economy- are directly affected by the quality of the transport network. He also pointed out that the aim of the White Paper is to transform the European transport system by promoting independence from oil and creating modern infrastructure and multimodal mobility. "This will allow Europe to remain competitive in the transport industry, in which it always has had great initiative", Mr Spyridon said.

Furthermore, Mr Spyridon pointed out the importance of encouraging a high investment in the transport sector, especially because of its direct impact on important economic sectors such as tourism. "There is a link between a reliable transport system and the competitiveness of our tourism industry", he assured.

Stakeholders raised concern about a number of issues, especially on the progress done so far.

On behalf of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), Executive Director Mr Libor Lochman, assured that the EU is "not close to its target" of investing enough in transport networks and implementing an integrated European transport market. Mr Lode Verkinderen, the Secretary-General of European Road Hauliers Association (UETR), agreed on this point by assuring that there are a number of fields in which no achievements have been made since 2011. In terms of reducing oil dependency, he explained that alternative fuel has not found its way towards a larger implementation. Also, he assured that the EU has not succeeded in reducing CO2 emissions since 2011. To try to do so, Mr Lochman called for an electrification of the European roads and railways.

Ms Graziella Jost, of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), highlighted the importance of further boosting road safety in the EU. She explained that although the EU's fatality figures are much lower than the US', around 500 people are killed every week on European roads. "Therefore, road safety should be boosted, especially in cities, where many of these accidents occur", she said. To that end, Ms Jost called for a reduction of speed limits in residential and school areas. "We want decision-makers to take on their obligation on reducing speed in cities, as this is a threat to vulnerable people such as pedestrians", she said.

In terms of implementing transport policies, Mr Dominik Rowles, of the Local Government Association, pointed out that there is a need of more flexibility in governance policies. He explained that the EU must remain "very light touch" and leave the details of rules and implementation to local and regional authorities. This idea was supported by Mr Nicolas Hauw, of Polis Network, who mentioned the example of sustainable urban mobility plans and said that "we need to leave cities free to decide on such areas".

Furthermore local representatives stressed that the EU is having difficulties in setting up regulation on transport modes. Finally, they recommended enforcing existing targets rather than setting even more ambitious objectives across all 28 member States while implementation lags behind.

The draft opinion will be discussed and adopted at the CoR Plenary Session on 16 and 17 April 2015.