7.7 Transport

The Treaty of Rome envisaged a Common Transport Policy. But progress was very slow until the European Parliament brought proceedings against the Council of Ministers in the Court of Justice for failing to carry out its obligations for transport issues under the Treaty of Rome. The action was partially successful and progress accelerated after this event (1983). Shortly after that transport was included in the Single European Act (SEA, 1986). This began the process of rapid change and during the 1990s it became much easier for foreign transport providers to work across member states. The EU also set our guidance for common standards on pollution, safety, transport pricing and environmental sustainability.

The Trans-European Networks (TENs) covered transport, telecommunications, training and energy and were announced by the Commission in 1990. They were intended to complement the single market. In 1994 the European Council decided on a priority list of 14 transport TENs. A particular focus was on improving railway links, with substantial funding put into the TENs of rail, raids and waterways.

In 1991 a report entitled "Transport 2000 and beyond" was adopted setting objectives for an integrated continent-wide transport system, involving EU assistance in linking national networks and in improving links with CEE. This was followed in 1993 when the Commission established a series of broad policy targets.

In 1995 the Commission adopted an action programme for 1995-2000, laying down the guidelines for a common approach to transport. A further action programme for 2000-04 put more emphasis on the environmental dimension. A railway specific White Paper was produced by the Commission in 1996 entitled "A strategy for revitalising the Community's railways", which contained far-reaching proposals on railway finances, the introduction of market forces into rail, public service provision and the integration of national rail systems.

In 2001 the Commission published a new White Paper on the future of the Common Transport Policy (CTP) that again stressed safety, the environment and creating a balance between different modes of transport. The Commission set goals for each sector:

• Increasing rest periods and cutting hours of drivers of heavy trucks (agreement in June 2004). This is part of a safety programme for reducing road deaths.
• Reversing the decline in railways share of freight and passenger transport.
• Reducing flight delays by creating an integrated European air traffic control structure.
• Mixing modes to improve efficiency, cut congestion, lower costs and provide cleaner air.

With the 2004 enlargement (and the 2007 further enlargement) of the EU, improving transport infrastructure in the new member states and linking them to western Europe became a key goal.

The EU has a key role in the following areas of transport policy:

• Under the SEA, it undertook to ensure the liberalisation of cabotage (the restriction of transport service provision in a given country to operators from that country) - allowing transport operators to operate in other member states.
• Through the TENs system, it has taken a leading role in developing and funding new infrastructure.
• In air travel the EU has issued a single air transport licence, set technical standards and made moves for a "single European sky" to integrate air traffic control across the EU.
• The EU has also been key player in the Galileo satellite project, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which can have both civilian and military purposes. It will offer an alternative to the currently dominant US global positioning system (GPS). It is being developed by the EU and the non-EU European Space Agency.

RL, February 2007