The Council approved a new regulation aimed at taking more commercial freight off European roads by making rail freight a more attractive option for commercial operators. By laying down rules on the establishment and organisation of international rail corridors, it is hoped that the new regulation will help to reduce delays and transportation time across the rail freight network.
The shift towards rail is part of the European Commission's strategy to make freight transport in the EU more efficient and sustainable (EurActiv 19/10/07). At the moment, a majority of goods are carried on Europe's roads, but rail provides a cleaner alternative, and along with water transport is the EU’s preferred freight transport mode.
Some member states raised concerns at the Council meeting that "capacity reservation" for freight trains may have a negative impact on passenger rail services. However, governments reached a compromise to "simultaneously ensure that the need for capacity of other types of transport should be recognised".
According to Czech Transport Minister Gustav Slamecka, the Council "succeeded in ensuring that the development of corridors for freight does not have any negative impact on personal transport".
Trans-European transport networks
The Council issued an opinion on the Commission's TEN-T green paper. Published last February, the paper outlines the future of the EU's transport policy.
Emphasising the need to make transport greener and more efficient, ministers underscored that TEN-T policy should contribute "significantly" to climate change and environmental objectives. In particular, the Council noted that the concept of co-modality needs to be better integrated into TEN-T policy, referring to the practice of using a combination of transport modes to optimise infrastructure use.
Financing TEN-T in the economic downturn will require a renewed approach to funding, with member states calling on "the Community to make available the financial resources necessary to stimulate investment in TEN-T projects". The ministers' conclusions support the creation of new instruments, and advocate further development of public-private partnerships.
