The “Danube Forum” reunion of the European Parliament (EP) – “Mobility and Intermodality in the Danube Region”, held at the end of April, has analysed the needs and opportunities for the development of the transport infrastructure and the measures to be adopted for promoting a sustainable transport in the Danube region, as well as the main actions and projects initiated by Danube countries within the priority action no. 1 for improving mobility and intermodality.
One of the priorities of the EU Strategy for the Danube region is dedicated to the development of mobility and intermodality in this region. Considering the joint-interest projects for the development of mobility and intermodality in the Danube region identified by the coordinators of this priority action together with the countries which have access to the Danube, they should be analysed and included, where possible, both in the future regulation on the guidelines for defining the TEN-T network and in the regulation on the Connecting Europe Facility that the EP discusses in this period. “For the projects identified by the coordinators of the priority action Mobility and Intermodality to be implemented and financed in the financial period 2014-2020, it is important that Danube countries will elaborate feasibility studies in 2012-2013, including through the annual project demands launched by the TEN-T Executive Agency in the TEN-T budget available until 2013”, declared the Vice-Chair of the Committee for Transport and Tourism (TRAN), Adriana Ţicău.
Based on these feasibility studies, the countries interested have to sign memorandums of understanding to define the joint-interest projects, they have to sign agreements and to identify the financing sources in order to ensure the related national co-financing and, most of all, to demand financing for prepared projects starting with 2014. “Lacking this preparation process, the strategic projects for the development of the transport infrastructure in the Danube region will not be able to benefit from the EUR 32 Billion allocated in 2014-2020 through the “Connecting Europe” Facility for the development of the transport infrastructure”, added Ţicău.
Through the structural funds, the financing allocated for 2007-2013 for projects in the Danube region amounted to around EUR 100 Billion, of which the transport sector has received EUR 24.8 Billion. Also, there are important funds available through the pre-accession assistance instrument and the European neighbourhood and partnership instrument.
As financing instrument, the “Connecting Europe” Facility includes investments of EUR 31.7 Billion for the transport infrastructure, of which EUR 10 Billion come from the Cohesion Fund and are dedicated to transport projects in the cohesion countries and the remaining EUR 21.7 Billion are made available to all member states. “We support the allocation of the EUR 10 Billion of the Cohesion Fund for the transport infrastructure only if the natio-nal grant of this is set. Currently, the Commission’s proposal allocates the EUR 10 Billion to cohesion countries and they will participate and compete each other in the competitions launched by the TEN-T
Executive Agency. Cohesion funds need the development of their transport infrastructure. That is why, we have nothing against the allocation of the EUR 10 Billion only to the transport infrastructure, to its management and to the launch of the project demands by the TEN-T Executive Agency, but we think it is absolutely necessary that every cohesion country should have a national grant. It is even more imperative since a reduction of 15% of the Cohesion Fund is envisaged for the financial period 2014-2020”, concluded Adriana Ţicău.
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