Making transport serve Europe
T &E and BirdLife
International position - White Paper on
Transport
Vote on the ‘Izquierdo
Collado’ report
– Tuesday 5 November
The
Commission’s White Paper on the Common Transport Policy (“European
transport policy for 2010: Time to decide”), adopted in
September 2001, is the guiding plan for European transport over the coming
decade. T&E and BirdLife believe the White Paper to be a poor strategic
road-map, as it makes insufficient reference to existing Community goals and
principles. The Common Transport Policy
must reflect the commitments to transport sustainability enshrined in the
Amsterdam Treaty, and reinforced at the Gothenburg European summit in 2001[1]. In addition, policy development should take
full account of previous statements from the European Parliament on sustainable
transport; such as the Parliament’s decision on the TENs mini-review.
1.
The Common Transport Policy
(CTP) should have the right objectives
The CTP White Paper does not
identify the right goals for transport, or the means to achieve them. The CTP should include the following, but
does not:
a)
A headline objective of decoupling transport growth from economic
growth
b)
Policies which maximise the benefits of technology, and which
prioritise modal shift and demand management
c)
A specific requirement for the Community’s economic, social and
environmental objectives – including biodiversity – to be integrated into the
definition of transport policies. Strategic Environmental Assessment should be
fully implemented before the adoption of transport plans to ensure the
achievement of these objectives.
Transport policy can
contribute positively to meeting the wider Community objectives as regards the
environment and environmental integration, laid down in Articles 2 and 6 of the
Treaty. European transport policy needs
to aim to manage transport demand and break the link between transport growth
and economic growth: this will serve social and environmental goals, as well as
benefiting Europe’s economy
2.
Citizens should be at the
heart of transport policy, not only transport users
Transport affects Europeans
in many ways, both when they are travelling and when they are not. Transport policy should serve citizens all
of the time, not only when they are transport users. One way to do this would
be to ensure that transport’s external costs are internalised, thereby ensuring
that all of society benefits.
3.
The CTP should target
established Community objectives, not only congestion and modal split
The Community has a range of
economic, social and environmental objectives.
They are more meaningful than congestion and broader than climate
change. The Community’s environmental
objectives are set out in the 6th Environmental Action Programme. Transport’s
environmental challenges include not only climate change, but also
biodiversity, air pollution, noise, waste, land-take, and habitat loss. EU transport policy needs to reflect the
Community’s broader objectives.
Re-balancing transport modes can only partially contribute to them:
other policies are also needed. Modal
split cannot be an objective in itself.
4.
Halving road deaths requires
real action; including new Community measures
Achieving the praiseworthy
goal of halving the number of road accident deaths will take more measures than
those included in the CTP white paper.
Community action is needed for the most dangerous roads – including
urban roads. The CTP should include
standards for active safety equipment and EU action to combat excessive speed,
such as lower speed limits.
T&E and BirdLife International welcome the Draft Report by
Parliament’s Rapporteur, Juan de Dios Izquierdo Collado MEP, on the
Commission CTP white paper, which generally reflects the above-mentioned
concerns. T&E and BirdLife International have particularly strong views on the following amendments proposed to the report, and would make the following recommendations to MEPs: Support CAmendment
# 27; 46;
111; 190; 223; 253; 259; 266; 271; 277; 291 Oppose DAmendment
# 22; 23;
26; 55; 70; 92; 116; 117; 119; 120; 122; 187; 188; 216; 274; 281 |
T&E
Stephanos Anastasiadis, Policy Officer:
+32-2-502 9909 or Stephanos.Anastasiadis@t-e.nu
BirdLife
Alex Veitch, Energy and Transport Policy
Officer: +44-1767-680 551 or Alex.Veitch@rspb.org.uk
---ends---
[1] See Presidency Conclusions, Göteborg European Council, 15-16 June, 2001, particularly paragraphs 19-32. Paragraph 29 discusses sustainable transport and says, among other things, “Action is needed to bring about a significant decoupling of transport growth and GDP growth.”