Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-09-24-Speech-2-257"
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"en.20020924.11.2-257"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of my group, I would like to thank the rapporteur, Mr Bradbourn, for his thorough work. The need to improve the freight transport system in terms of the environment is a vital one, with the amount of traffic continually growing. The enlargement of the EU will also bring with it new challenges as transportation routes get longer.
Our group supports the Marco Polo programme and is satisfied with the Committee’s proposal. The EU can bring added value to this area by supporting innovative, new technology projects. No mode of transport should be excluded from the programme. Transport chains that may also involve transportation by road must also be included. If a project, in which road haulage companies are included, is good, it must be possible to apply for aid for it. The aim must be to move from a more polluting mode of transport to more environmentally friendly transport solutions.
In my opinion, it is important that we can also lend our support to improving the existing situation. Improvements can often be made by means of a better cost-benefit ratio rather than by starting on an entirely new project. In concentrating only on new projects there is a clear danger of distortions of competition in relation to the old ones.
It is right that the regulation should include a separate mention of sea transport and keep the reference to ‘motorways of the seas’. ‘Motorways of the seas’ is also given a separate mention in the White Paper on Transport; it is therefore only natural to include it in this regulation.
As the rapporteur said, threshold values for all types of action in the Commission proposal are too high. The threshold values for modal shift projects, catalyst actions and common learning actions must, as the Committee is proposing, be halved. Parliament’s amendments will not radically alter the essentials, but will make certain points in the Commission proposal clearer. We support Amendment No 29 tabled by the Group of the Greens and other amendments which aim to prevent and reduce unnecessary traffic.
The programme’s budget is fairly modest and the objectives are very ambitious. We think, however, that it is important to set targets that are as ambitious as possible. In the longer term we hope that Marco Polo will prove worthwhile and attract additional funding. We must in addition investigate the possibility of additional finance for important infrastructure projects that supplement the Europe-wide traffic networks."@en1
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