The European Commission has opened the public consultation on how to review the European policy on the Trans-European Transport networks (TEN-T). This consultation process, which follows the work of the TEN-T expert groups and precedes the TEN-T conference in Zaragoza on 8-9 June under the Spanish presidency, presents the Commission’s current thinking on planning the network to meet future challenges. All stakeholders are invited to formulate and submit their opinion on the current thinking by 15 September 2010. [more]

The European Commission has opened the public consultation on how to review the European policy on the Trans-European Transport networks (TEN-T). This consultation process, which follows the work of the TEN-T expert groups and precedes the TEN-T conference in Zaragoza on 8-9 June under the Spanish presidency, presents the Commission’s current thinking on planning the network to meet future challenges. All stakeholders are invited to formulate and submit their opinion on the current thinking by 15 September 2010.

In its consultation, the EC has focused on the importance of realising a core network consisting of multi-modal corridors for the movement of freight and people. These corridors should connect the most important ports and hubs, as well as transport agglomerations which have a supra-regional role. Planning a core network should not mean initiating a new infrastructure programme of immense scope, given these times of tight budgets. The consultation rather emphasises ensuring continuity for ongoing projects, giving due attention to the removal of key bottlenecks and building on existing infrastructure. The revision aims to provide a basis for an efficient, less carbon intensive, intelligent, safe and secure transport system.

The Commission has also further developed its reflections on financial and non-financial instruments for TEN-T implementation. All Member States, regional and local authorities, infrastructure managing companies in the different transport sectors, transport service providers and operators in the different transport sectors, research institutes, financial institutions, non-governmental organisations, business associations and citizens are invited to contribute to this consultation.

Links

EC TEN-T consultation

Source: European Commission, Editorial: Caroline Smith

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In anticipation of the future commissioning of the Seine Nord canal, the Port of Paris Authority will invest EUR 16 million in a multimodal platform of 22 hectares upstream of the Port of Bruyeres-sur-Oise. [more]

In anticipation of the future commissioning of the Seine Nord canal, the Port of Paris Authority will invest EUR 16 million in a multimodal platform of 22 hectares upstream of the Port of Bruyeres-sur-Oise.

Conveniently located 40 km from Paris Bruyeres-sur-Oise, with an annual traffic of 250,000 tonnes, is one of the most important ports of the Val d'Oise. Covering an area of 58 hectares divided into two sites, the "downstream port" and the "upstream port, the Port of Bruyeres is the river frontage of a business park of regional significance totalling 140 hectares.

The development will ensure that the area will benefit from a tri-modal service which vital for efficient supply logistics, especially in view of the commissioning of the Canal Seine-Nord, which will open the axis Seine Network North.

Link
www.paris-ports.fr/nous-connaitre/amenagements-portuaires/-amenagements-portuaires-franciliens/bruyeres-sur-oise%C2%A0/-amon

Source: Ports de Paris, Editorial: Caroline Smith, Photo credit: City of Bruyeres-sur-Oise

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Three gas companies and a shipping company have formed an alliance for transporting CO2 by ship from Rotterdam. The parties have signed a cooperation agreement with the Rotterdam Climate Initiative, as part of the initiatives work towards reducing C02 emissions in Rotterdam by 50 per cent between now and 2025. [more]

Three gas companies and a shipping company have formed an alliance for transporting CO2 by ship from Rotterdam. The parties have signed a cooperation agreement with the Rotterdam Climate Initiative, as part of the initiatives work towards reducing C02 emissions in Rotterdam by 50 per cent between now and 2025.

"Reducing CO2 emissions will not work without carbon capture and storage of CO2," said Rene van 't Hof, finance director of tanker shipping company Anthony Veder, at a recent symposium on "Maritime Industry Rotterdam' in Rotterdam. "For transporting CO2 to underground storage, both marine and inland ships will be needed to supplement pipelines.”

Van’t Hof saw good opportunities for future transportation of liquefied CO2 by ship. "Using waterways, it will also be possible to combine transportation of LPG and CO2 to and from Germany. Germany also has high environmental goals. CO2 can be temporarily stored before further transport to empty or gas-producing oilfields in the North Sea."

Link

www.schuttevaer.nl/nieuws/vervoermarkt/nid13530-pioniers-richten-zich-op-co2-vervoer.html

Source: Schuttevaer, Editorial: Caroline Smith

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In order to coordinate the implementation of the large scale Seine-Escaut European inland waterways, Voies Navigable de France (VNF, the French waterways manager), Service Public de Wallonie (SPW, the Wallonian waterways manager) and Waterwegen en Zeekaan NV (the Flemish waterways manager) have created the Seine-Escaut European Economic Interest Grouping. The start up meeting, held in Brussels in March, was attended by Karla Peijs, inland waterway coordinator for the Trans-European Transport Networks. [more]

In order to coordinate the implementation of the large scale Seine-Escaut European inland waterways, Voies Navigable de France (VNF, the French waterways manager), Service Public de Wallonie (SPW, the Wallonian waterways manager) and Waterwegen en Zeekaan NV (the Flemish waterways manager) have created the Seine-Escaut European Economic Interest Grouping. The start up meeting, held in Brussels in March, was attended by Karla Peijs, inland waterway coordinator for the Trans-European Transport Networks.

The establishment of the Seine-Esaut EEIG is a continuation of the partnership that has been established since 2004 and follows the creation, at the end of 2009, of the Seine-Escaut Intergovernmental commission. The goal of the commission is to monitor all of the issues relating to the preparation and realisation of the European inland waterway link. The EEIG is the operational element of this Franco-Belgian co-operation.

Its objective is to facilitate the realisation of the Seine-Escaut European link, particularly the cross border sections.  It has the particular goal to investigate and propose to the Seine-Escaut Intergovernmental Commission:

• the resources  required to implement the financial coordination of the project
• the coordination of research and procedures
• the harmonisation of pricing conditions on the cross-border section;
• harmonisation of traffic management conditions

Link

 http://www.vnf.fr/vnf/img/cms/Tourisme_et_domainehidden/cp_geie_fr_201004190948.pdf

Source: Voies Navigable de France, Editorial: Caroline Smith

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The third in a series of consultation events aimed at shaping plans for a Danube Strategy took place in Vienna and Bratislava in April. The event, which was attended by representatives of authorities at European Union, national and regional level, as well as a wide range of stakeholders from the Danube Region met in Vienna and Bratislava looked at establishing a common basis for future macro-regional projects. The Danube strategy seeks to develop the huge economic potential and improve environmental conditions of the Danube Region. The development of Danube navigation was one of the key topics discussed at the conference. [more]

The third in a series of consultation events aimed at shaping plans for a Danube Strategy took place in Vienna and Bratislava in April. The event, which was attended by representatives of authorities at European Union, national and regional level, as well as a wide range of stakeholders from the Danube Region met in Vienna and Bratislava looked at establishing a common basis for future macro-regional projects. The Danube strategy seeks to develop the huge economic potential and improve environmental conditions of the Danube Region. The development of Danube navigation was one of the key topics discussed at the conference.

The conference focused on three key themes - environment, transport and energy. It provided a platform for a wide range of stakeholders to examine how these key issues can be addressed to produce integrated and coherent results.

Practical projects to be developed within the framework of the Strategy are already being discussed. Austria, for example, has made a number of proposals such as action for improving and 'greening' transport infrastructure, developing joint strategies to promote inland waterway transport and promoting energy diversification and the use of renewable energies such as hydro power.

Slovak proposals include the development of a major new multimodal transport hub that could serve the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary as well as Slovakia, and actions to promote ecological technologies and protect the biological diversity of the region. As an example, the Danube river basin hosts more than 300 species of birds and action is urgently needed to ensure their existence is not threatened by industrial and agricultural pollution.

Although the strategy will not come with extra EU finance, a considerable amount of funding is already available to the region through existing EU programmes. EUR 100 billion have been allocated from the cohesion policy (European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, European Social Fund) between 2007 and 2013.

For further information on the EU’s Danube Strategy http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/cooperation/danube/index_en.htm

Source: European Commission, EUmonitor.net, Photo credits: Roeland van Bockel, Editorial: Simon Hartl

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