The rail infrastructure package and sustainable freight transport (T&E 01/04)

Yet transport policy can positively contribute to these community objectives. Social andenvironmental goals can be served and Europe’s economy more effectively benefit from managing transport demand and breaking the link between transport growth and economic growth. Establishing this objective of demand management and “decoupling” should be the principal objective of EU transport policy.

In this report, we undertake a critical assessment of the White Paper by placing transport policy into the wider context of the European treaty and of other major EU commitments on sustainable development. We propose a series of recommendations with the protection of the environmentand citizens’ rights, and the economic efficiency of the sector as underlying principles. These recommendations follow the structure of the Commission White Paper. A detailed assessment of the Commission document can be found in the annex to this report.