The transport importance both at national and at international level needs no more presentation and no argument in its favour. This subject has been discussed by specialised organisations or associations, researchers and specialists in the field, ministers of transport and their deputies, transport operators, infrastructure managers, the railway industry and maybe the most insistent was the European Union through the voice of its competent decision makers, and the list could continue.
The need for infrastructure investments, especially in the railway infrastructure, is once again a subject approached extremely often. The numerous statements and speeches made in Brussels which underlined the leverage that the transport provides for the economy of a country or macro-region, multiple jobs created by the construction of a new infrastructure, without forgetting the role of the transport for the social cohesion.
After all these, some national governments which understand what “transport” means find it difficult to accept that it is Brussels where the budget cut may come from for 2014 – 2020, especially when at the half of the past year it was supposed to increase by 5% compared to the budgetary period 2007 – 2013. Several states among which Great Britain, Germany, France and Holland objected to the reduction of the EU budget for 2014 – 2020.
We can only hope that at the following negotiations, the EU leaders will not make any negative decision as regards the regional development funds. The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) has already been in danger, in October, when the Cyprus presidency of the EU (active until January 1st, at present the EU’s Presidency being held by Ireland) proposed a reduction of the Multiannual Financial Framework to EUR 36.3 Billion. EU leaders must think about the fact that the transport infrastructure would benefit through CEF 2014 – 2020 from the amount of EUR 40 Billion for the execution of some important projects among which we can also mention railway infrastructure investments.
The European Parliament has firmly rejected the reduction of the Connecting Europe Facility, because “this reduction could mean that a program such as CEF could not be executed at all in the budget period 2014 – 2020. The Horizon 2020 programme could have also been in danger, as well as the Galileo project. In its turn, the European Commission does not want a CEF reduction.
Nevertheless, before the Summit of the EU leaders, there have also been several discussions which were not decisive but which show us that the Connecting Europe Facility could be exempt from the fund reduction. These proposals (which will certainly need to be analysed within the debates next year), “limit” the prejudice caused to CEF. Therefore, compared to the Cyprus proposal, the proposals for the CEF financing would have provided a grant of EUR 46.2 Billion, out of which EUR 10 Billion would have come from the Cohesion Fund.
According to the AFP information, the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, declared, before the Summit of the EC Council, that he is „optimistic” about the possibility to reach an agreement on the budget for 2014-2020.
Data referring to a potential pro or against agreement concerning the vote on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 were not available before closing the edition.
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