Europe sets final transport infrastructure plan and budget
The European Parliament gave itsfinal agreement on the European budget envelope for 2014-2020, the Trans-European Network policy and the corresponding financial Regulation (the Connecting Europe Facility).
The European Seaports Organisation (ESPO) welcomes this final Parliament vote. This decision defines the EU’s infrastructure policy for the coming decades and establishes a budget of 23.17 billion earmarked for priority transport projects for the financial period 2014-2020.
ESPO’s Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost said: “This vote is an important step towards establishing a real transport “network”. We fought hard to defend this budget and to have our ports well represented in the network and network corridors. We now look forward to see a fair share of these funds used to improve Europe’s port infrastructure and to better integrate these core nodes in Europe’s transport network. There is a plan, there is a budget. Let us now start looking at the implementation. The core network corridors structures will be powerful instruments. I do hope ports will have their say in the set up and functioning of these corridor structures. Moreover, as ESPO we must also focus on the Motorways of the Sea priority. If well used, it can be an important instrument to increase intra-EU maritime transport and strengthen the cooperation between European ports”.
The new core transport network will be supported by a comprehensive network of routes, feeding into the core network at regional and national level. The comprehensive network, will ensure full coverage of the EU and accessibility of all regions. The aim is to ensure that progressively, and by 2050, the great majority of Europe’s citizens and businesses will be no more than 30 minutes’ travel time from this comprehensive network. Taken as a whole, the new transport network will deliver: safer and less congested travel, smoother and quicker journeys.
The core network will connect:
94 main European ports with rail and road links
- 38 key airports with rail connections into major cities
- 15,000 km of railway line upgraded to high speed
- 35 cross-border projects to reduce bottlenecks
A map of the core TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network) and the nine major corridors
