T&E’s Priorities for the 2006 Austrian Presidency of the EU

On 1 January 2006, Austria will take over the presidency of the EU, leading the European Council and the Council of Ministers.

During the six-months that follow, Austria will have the opportunity to lead European decision-making on several critically important transport policy areas that will have a major impact on the future of the European economy, our environment and our citizens’ health.

Major policy developments will include:

• A review of progress five years after Europe’s 2001 Common Transport Policy was published;
• A final agreement on European regulation of lorry tolls;
• An agreement on the next EU budget period 2007-13 which will include multi-billion Euro funding for Trans-European Transport Network infrastructure projects;
• Key decisions to be taken on emissions standards for new cars (EURO 5) and a future European strategy for reducing CO2 emissions from new cars
• Key decisions to be taken on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the aviation sector – the fastest growing transport mode

In this short briefing, T&E, a federation of some 40 non-governmental organisations working in the field of sustainable transport, presents its demands and recommendations for the ten most important transport and environment policy areas covered by the six months of the Austrian presidency.