Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-01-31-Speech-3-159"
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"en.20010131.7.3-159"2
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"Mr President, it is to ‘railway speak’ that we owe numerous figures of speech. For example ‘the train has departed’ is what we say when we arrive late. Unfortunately the same can be said of our train. The package of three proposals for directives concerning the railway infrastructures, to which we will give our assent tomorrow, is long overdue. The ultimate outcome of the lengthy negotiations within the Conciliation Committee, has in fact come ten years too late. The statistics bear this out, I am sorry to say. There has been a massive decline in the amount of freight transported by rail over the last few years, and there is every reason to believe that it will be very difficult to reverse the trend in the foreseeable future.
If we call to mind that we accomplished the single market for freight in 1970, and the internal market in 1992/1993, then since this is now the year 2001, we are clearly going to reach our destination late, added to which, our train is travelling on a go-slow stretch. Setting a deadline of 2003 for the opening-up of the trans-European rail freight network certainly sounds reasonably committed, as does a deadline of 2008 for national freight traffic, but this is surely sending out the wrong signals. When you consider that the question of committing eastern freight traffic to the rail has not even been properly addressed then clearly this is yet another area which will set us back.
There are other, better signals too, a green light as it were. We must not overlook what has been achieved in the way of positive results. Thus, for example, the creation of independent regulatory authorities does at least give the go-ahead for more competition, and we can only hope that the necessary reforms do not get stuck on the sidings. The exemption provisions for certain Member States are, after a great deal of to-ing and fro-ing – and not including the small country of Luxembourg – only really for the benefit of the truly peripheral Member States, and at least the project for improving the railways and freight transport is up and running. Interoperability is the next item on the agenda, and we are currently setting the points for more intermodality. At some stage it will be all systems go for Europe’s rail passengers, and not just on Europe’s roads. We must not lose hope and with that in mind I would like to say a big thank you to both rapporteurs and to the Commissioner, whose combined efforts have already been mentioned today and for which they have rightly been commended."@en1
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