1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,040 The free movement of people and goods is a major plank in the construction of Europe. 2 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:13,480 On paper at least. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:19,200 In reality, roads are saturated, railways underutilized, complementarity between modes 4 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:24,700 of transport is rare, certain outlying regions are badly served and then there are always 5 00:00:24,700 --> 00:00:28,880 the natural obstacles to be overcome. 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,880 The first to be penalized are Europe's citizens and its economy. 7 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:08,240 Historically, each country developed its public transport system within its own borders, 8 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:11,160 concerning itself only rarely with cross-border links. 9 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:12,160 Conclusion? 10 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,560 Europe is too heavily compartmentalized. 11 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,160 What are missing are transnational traffic routes. 12 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:22,800 To create them, the European Union is encouraging its member states to provide better connections 13 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,280 between their transport networks. 14 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,960 This obviously involves a series of major construction projects. 15 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:37,360 In 1994 in Essen, a list of 14 priority projects was adopted by the European Council. 16 00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,160 Although several projects have not yet been completed, the time has come to bring this 17 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,840 list up to date. 18 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:49,320 In effect, transportation needs are expected to double 15 to 20 years from now and the 19 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:56,400 enlargement of the European Union considerably increases the need for transport infrastructure. 20 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:01,400 On the basis of a report presented by a group of experts appointed by Mrs. de Palacio, whose 21 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:06,320 chairman Mr. Carl van Meert was the former European Commissioner, the Commission is proposing 22 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:12,000 a total of up to 30 priority projects to be completed between now and 2020, because they 23 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,240 are judged to be in Europe's interest. 24 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:21,720 A large part of the new projects that we propose precisely comply with the need to build 25 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:26,840 links, zones, unions between the different countries of the European Union, that is, 26 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:32,360 to respond with European global criteria and not with national criteria. 27 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:37,960 The first objective is to build some infrastructures to be able to guarantee the reality of the 28 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:42,320 domestic market and the competitiveness of the economy as a whole. 29 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:47,360 The projects selected address a series of priorities, revitalization of railways and 30 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:54,440 waterways, transport intermodality and interoperability of rail, bottlenecks and missing links, bringing 31 00:02:54,920 --> 00:03:00,600 enlargement countries in line and, last but not least, crossing natural barriers including 32 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,720 the Alps. 33 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:06,520 Almost everyone is familiar with the queues of cars and trucks at the foot of the mountain 34 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:13,360 on the French-Italian border. The Lyon-Turin-Budapest link is more of a priority than ever. This 35 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:18,040 high-speed goods and passenger line will ease congestion in the road tunnels under the Alps, 36 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:24,280 which are on the point of saturation. 37 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:29,120 The Iberian Peninsula suffers from the same handicap. The Pyrenees bar its route to the 38 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:34,440 rest of Europe, leaving only two narrow corridors. In the longer term, it is therefore planned 39 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:40,480 to build a high-capacity rail connection to prevent the asphyxiation of the Pyrenean valleys. 40 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,440 But first it is necessary to address the incompatibility of the rail networks in Spain 41 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:50,720 and Portugal, whose track is about 20 centimetres wider, with those of the rest of the Union. 42 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:57,040 A priority project concerns the refurbishment of the TGV network. On the one hand, laying 43 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:04,040 a third rail to allow standard trains to operate, and on the other, by using variable-width 44 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:09,480 axles. 45 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:13,800 In the coming years, travellers will be able to cross the entire continent of Europe by 46 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:20,040 high-speed train. 47 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,760 It's also possible to get around natural obstacles, such as the Alps and the Pyrenees, by way 48 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:31,720 of the sea. Hence the proposal to circle Europe with four motorways of the sea. 49 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:36,760 The idea is to create regular shipping lines dedicated to goods. They will serve a limited 50 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:43,040 number of ports, but with the capacity, speed and punctuality to compete with road transport. 51 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:48,320 There is a twin objective here. To relieve overused zones such as the Transalpine regions 52 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:55,320 and the centre of Europe, but also to link isolated or outlying zones within the Union. 53 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:03,840 There is a specific problem with the Baltic Sea. Icebound for part of the winter, an adequate 54 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:09,000 fleet of icebreakers will be necessary to keep traffic moving. This, however, is only 55 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,420 the tip of the iceberg. 56 00:05:12,420 --> 00:05:16,480 To enable traffic to run smoothly, logistical and administrative procedures in the ports 57 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:23,480 must be speeded up. Satellite monitoring systems for cargo is one possibility. 58 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:28,160 In some cases, the connections between the ports and the road and rail networks must 59 00:05:28,160 --> 00:05:31,560 be improved. 60 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,960 To complete the square formed by the maritime motorways, the Commission proposes creating 61 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:41,320 a series of rail and road axes in the east of the European Union. The objective is to 62 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:46,800 link the Baltic States with Southern Europe. These routes will cross succession countries 63 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:52,040 whose needs in terms of transport infrastructure are enormous. 64 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:56,520 In Poland, for example, the port of Gdansk occupies a key position on the north-south 65 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:02,640 axis, but its development has been slowed by the mediocre quality of its access routes. 66 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:07,960 To get to the port, trucks use Highway No. 7, a medium-sized road representative of all 67 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:14,800 the transport infrastructure in the country. Bottlenecks abound, certain infrastructure 68 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:21,800 are too old and safety is uncertain. 69 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:29,800 Among the three most quoted reasons not to invest in Poland, one of them is always infrastructure. 70 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:37,800 Is it railways? Is it highways? Is it harbours? Sometimes airports? But definitely infrastructure 71 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:42,200 and its quality. It's one of the reasons not to invest in Poland. 72 00:06:42,200 --> 00:06:47,320 Several priority projects directly concern Poland, notably the construction of a motorway 73 00:06:47,320 --> 00:06:52,000 linking Gdansk to Brno and Vienna, as well as the modernisation of the railway from the 74 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:57,560 port to Warsaw and the south on an almost parallel axis. In fact, there's no question 75 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,880 here of upsetting the rail-road balance and handing everything over to road, a mistake 76 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,080 made by the West in certain decades. 77 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:10,520 Poland is a country perfectly fit to have an excellent railway connection, so we would 78 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:17,560 like to keep this multi-modal structure as close as possible, using the historical preference 79 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:25,480 of railway and using also the geographical conditions which make railways the best choice. 80 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:29,760 In a wider sense, given the number of priority projects directly concerning the railways, 81 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:36,760 the European Union is clearly aiming at a modal rebalance. 82 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:50,760 Every single European railway is doing a lot to improve its performance, its level of quality. 83 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,760 We are renewing ourselves by investing a lot. 84 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,760 Another aim of the European Commission is to revitalise certain modes of transport, 85 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,760 including the waterways. A waterway made up of the Rhine, the Main and the Danube offers 86 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:08,760 a navigable waterway crossing all of Europe from the North Sea to the Black Sea. Unfortunately, 87 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:14,000 several bottlenecks hamper the passage of larger boats. The biggest of these is in southern Germany. 88 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:23,000 This is the Danube, between Straubing and Wilshofen, a few kilometres from the Austrian border. 89 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,000 The crew of the Johannes Kepler know this stretch of water by heart. 90 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:35,000 They travel it regularly aboard their vessel equipped with sonar to monitor the river's depth. 91 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:39,240 There's been no rain for several weeks. The situation is critical. 92 00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:11,240 The problem is that between Straubing and Wilshofen, the Danube's bed rises nearly a metre. 93 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:17,240 Depending on the water level, the ship's ability to pass is sometimes a matter of a centimetre or two. 94 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:23,240 It's moreover not uncommon to see barges forced to wait several days for the water level to rise. 95 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:29,240 Different solutions have been studied from the point of view of their efficiency and their environmental impact. 96 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:35,480 Depending on the chosen option, up to 8 million tonnes could transit via the Straubing-Wilshofen section. 97 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,480 This would bring welcome relief to the particularly congested roads in this part of Europe. 98 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:47,480 However, the future of European transport is also being played out in space with the Galileo project. 99 00:09:47,480 --> 00:09:54,480 This satellite navigation system, which is more efficient than the American GPS, should be operational by 2008. 100 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,720 It will allow a multitude of applications such as vehicle guidance, 101 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:01,720 location tracking of goods in real time and rail traffic management. 102 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:06,720 It will contribute to making traffic more fluid on the ground, on the sea and in the air. 103 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,720 So it's clear, there's no lack of projects, but the big question is their cost. 104 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:29,720 We are talking about 1 billion euros for 2013, 105 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:36,720 and for 2020-2025 we would be talking about 600 billion euros. 106 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:42,720 But who will pay the bill? That's a very good question because it's a thorny problem. 107 00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:44,720 Let's go around the table. 108 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:51,720 Even if they agree to make an extra effort, the Member States alone cannot pick up the bill without risking budget problems. 109 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:55,960 On average, each country should contribute 1% of its GNP, 110 00:10:55,960 --> 00:10:59,960 1.5% in the accession countries so great are their needs. 111 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:03,960 So they're all holding out their hands for community funds, 112 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,960 including the European Commission's transport budget. 113 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,960 I hope that in the next financial perspectives, 114 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:17,960 the Member States are willing to multiply the current figure for trans-European networks by at least 7. 115 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:26,200 600 billion euros a year is clearly not enough to meet the needs of the European Union 116 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:32,200 and to have the catalyst and accelerator effect of trans-European projects. 117 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:39,200 We have to increase the co-financing rate, but public funds are not enough. 118 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,200 In concrete terms, for trans-border projects of European interest, 119 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:48,440 the Commission is proposing to increase its share of the co-financing to 30% instead of 10%. 120 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:53,440 Paradoxically, the Member States and the Parliament will have to agree to this, 121 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,440 as it's they who authorise community budgets. 122 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:02,440 To make up for the lack of means, everyone is finally suggesting calling in a third musketeer, 123 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:06,440 the private sector, which, it's true, has considerable funds. 124 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,440 But will it be easy to persuade business, contrary to all current trends, 125 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:15,680 to make heavy investments which will be profitable only in the relatively long term? 126 00:12:15,680 --> 00:12:17,680 This is far from certain. 127 00:12:17,680 --> 00:12:21,680 Perhaps, therefore, inspiration should be found in what happens elsewhere. 128 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:25,680 A country which is not in the European Union is cited as a model, 129 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:31,680 that is Switzerland, which has put in place a taxation of the use of infrastructures 130 00:12:31,680 --> 00:12:36,680 and the product of this tax, which is perceived on trucks, on cars, 131 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,920 including on the trucks of the European Union, to build tunnels 132 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,920 and we will do ferrotage, that is, we will put the goods on trains 133 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:49,920 rather than on roads that encompass the Alpine valleys. 134 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:53,920 There's now no doubt that a number of different sources of finance have to be mobilised, 135 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:57,920 and nothing will be possible if one of them drops out. 136 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,920 Europe is faced with a vital challenge for the future of its economy. 137 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,920 But will it learn from the lessons of the past? 138 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:09,160 Of the first investments decided upon at Essen in 1994, 139 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,160 up until now only 30% have been mobilised. 140 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:17,160 It only remains to be seen if Europe lives up to its ambitions.