1 Acting on a proposal from Karel Van Miert, who has special responsibility for transport policy, the Commission today adopted a communication on the future development of the common transport policy (CTP). It will be forwarded to the other Community institutions and to other interested bodies. The paper sets out the measures necessary to ensure optimum conditions for goods or citizens to move up and down the Community without risk to safety or the environment and without jeopardizing acquired social rights. It is an ambitious, all-embracing approach, encompassing as it does all the modes of transport, their impact, and the economic, tax, technical, research and other options for remedying their shortcomings. The communication looks at the current situation and likely trends and will be the subject of consultation with the political and professional bodies concerned, thus paving the way for a modern transport policy borne of prior discussion and consultation. - - - I - AN OVERALL APPROACH The challenges facing the European transport sector call for the adoption of an ambitious overall strategy. To that end the Commission's White Paper traces an approach aimed not only at satisfying economic and social needs but also at: - improving infrastructure and using it in a more rational way, - enhancing the safety of users, - achieving more equitable working conditions, and - affording better protection of the environment. A modern transport policy should therefore focus on those modes which present the greatest advantages in terms of the environment and energy, such as rail, inland waterways and sea transport. 1 COM(92) 494 Such a strategy entails devising a policy on infrastructure equipments. The Commission is advocating that national networks be interlinked and provided with compatible rolling stock and other equipments. Against that backdrop it is framing a networks policy covering conventional and high- speed rail, inland waterways, sea, air and road transport, and the use of several modes of transport in combination where this redounds to the benefit of the environment and enhances safety. The White Paper argues that users should pay not only for using infrastructure but also for indirect costs such as those pertaining to the environment, safety and social protection measures. Such a policy should not only result in a better balance being struck between the different modes but also help to dispense with transport operations which are no longer economically viable. II - FRESH CHALLENGES - Approaching saturation point A rapidly growing transport market (2.3 % per annum for goods and 3.1 % for passengers between 1970 and 1990). Significant growth in prospect (one third by the end of the century). - Some modes of transport more strechted than others Saturation point has been reached here and there in some modes. Between 1970 and 1990 carriage of goods by road more than doubled, with its share ofintra-Community carriage of goods swelling from 50 % to 70 %. The effects of pollution and noise are making it increasingly difficult for public opinion to countenance the development of certain types of infrastructure. - Funds in short supply A decline in investment in infrastructure (1.5 % of GNP in 1975, down to 1 % in the 1980s). - Regional imbalances Bottlenecks in certain areas and outlying regions not adequately linked to the Community network. - The environment suffers More and more pollution. CO2 from motor vehicles went up 76 % between 1971 and 1989. Fuel consumption could rise 25 % by the year 2000. - Safety Safety leaves a lot to be desired with around 50 000 fatalities a year on Community roads and the risk of accidents notably in connection with the carriage of dangerous goods. - Social problems Increased competition and restructuring. III. THE STEPS TO BE TAKEN 1. Strengthening the single market The Community must first and foremost see to it that the measures adopted to realize its single market (free movement, non- discrimination) are properly applied. It must furthermore ensure compliance with the general provisions of the Treaty, notably those relating to competition in a transport sector, which by dint of being more open, will naturally face more competition. 2. Putting in place a genuinely integrated system The smooth functioning of the various networks and modes of transport is impaired by the fact that they are imperfectly integrated. Not only does this narrow the consumer's choices, it also penalizes firms and hampers the free movement of people. Such drawbacks are felt most keenly in the Community's peripheral regions. Against this new backdrop of "sustainable mobility", the Commission is proposing a raft of measures designed to iron out the disparities between modes of transport while safeguarding fair competition and ensuring that the various modes complement each other more than ever before. This entails: - spreading the costs more equitably over the different forms of transport and charging users the full costs of using the infrastructure, including indirect ones such as pollution and other harm to the environment. - devising a combined transport system encompassing all the modes; technical and tax harmonization measures, research and development work and cooperation will be necessary to make such a system more attractive to users. 3. Trans-European transport networks The Commission will be lending its support to the development of these networks by helping to establish links between Member States' networks (interconnection) and ensuring that they dovetail smoothly with each other (interoperability). In so doing it will take account of constraints imposed by the environment. It is also promoting the idea of a "citizen's network" in Europe's frontier-free single market, a passenger transport network which will enhance mobility by interlinking European public transport systems. Efforts should be made to increase the part played by private capital in infrastructure financing. The Cohesion Fund enshrined in the Treaty on European Union will help outlying regions equip themselves better for closer participation in the single market. The Community's contribution will focus on stimulating projects of European interest, helping to integrate regional and national projects and linking isolated regions with the heart of the Community. The quality of service enjoyed by users will be enhanced by stepping up research into the development of alternative transport systems and traffic management systems (e.g. air traffic control). 4. The environment A series of measures and fields of research will focus on reducing the deleterious effects of transport on the environment. The Commission advocates better use of urban transport to improve the quality of life, more stringent standards in keeping with advances in technology, more economic and lasting means of transport, and possible recourse to tax instruments. 5. Safety Safety remains one of the cornerstones of Community action in the light of hair-raising statistics for road accidents: 50 000 people die and more than 1.5 million are injured each year on our roads. Community schemes will concentrate on driver education, harmonization of vehicle construction standards and roadworthiness tests, and improved infrastructure. Community measures in maritime and air safety will adapt those already devised by international bodies to Community requirements besides covering areas which they do not as yet cover. 6. Social policy This heading covers: . access to the profession, and training . measures relating to employment and working conditions . the encouragement of collective agreements . schemes to help people with reduced mobility 7. Strengthening the external dimension of the single market In the years ahead the Community will fulfil its role in relations with the outside world through a three-pronged approach involving: . the replacement of bilateral agreements with a framework of Community agreements and procedures . framing a policy on integrated European networks . stepping up Community action in international organizations and bodies. * * *
