The first conference dedicated to the implementation of the Danube Strategy took place at the end of November. During the conference, representatives of the 14 signatory countries, financial institutions, universities and railway companies have discussed progress achieved with the programme as well as the challenges met in implementing the projects.
The topic of the meeting in Ljubljana (19 November) was “The Days of Transport in the Danube Region for the Priority Area 1b: improving mobility and multimodality – railway, road and air connections”, organised by the coordinators of the area, Slovenia, through the Ministry of Infrastructure and Territorial Planning, and Serbia. The first results after the implementation of the strategy consisted in the establishment of a governing structure, the development of detailed maps for all transport modes and the identification of relevant projects. 51% of the 150 projects selected pertain to the railway sector. Also, 17 recommendation letters have been sent, 7 of which for railway projects.
However, over the next period, the countries in the region have to launch proposals to receive financing. “We need proposals to make sure that we do everything we can in the period of the Cohesion Policy programme. 2013 will be crucial in this process because it will mark the negotiations on the Partnership Agreements and Operating Programmes”, declared the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn at the celebrating of the first year of the EU strategy for the Danube region.
As part of the priority axis PA1b on the development of multimodal terminals in the Danube Region ports and ensuring connection with the other transport modes (railway, road), two actions regarding the continuous development of multimodal centres in plan and ITS development using sustainable technologies will be established by 2020 especially in urban areas. Also in the freight segment, the authorities plan to implement four Railway Freight Corridors to cross the Danube Region, the objective being to increase competitiveness. To add value to the Strategy, a new corridor will be included to link the railway systems of the EU countries to those of third countries, but a Railway Transport Market Study in the Danube Region has to be elaborated first. As part of this action, projects will be implemented by 2016. The list of the projects associated with this action is the inclusion of the New Baltic Corridor in the European railway system.
“The implementation of the Strategy is also a challenge at the level of project coordination. Over the next period, the financing instruments for infrastructure will be discussed. Projects concerning pan-European corridors are very important for connecting the region with the rest of the EU. To benefit from financing, we will have to come up with important projects”, declared Franc Žepič, Coordinator of Priority Area – the Danube Strategy of the Ministry of Transport in Slo-venia.
For the development of freight transport on sea and railways, the most important projects are those concerning cross-border points, missing links and the elimination of bottlenecks.
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