Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-20-Speech-2-046"
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"en.20040420.3.2-046"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, you have today before you for the vote a report of great importance within the framework of European transport policy, specifically, the amendment of the ‘Eurovignette’ Directive.
On the other hand, we need to understand the concerns of those countries that are expecting a possible increase in transport costs and, therefore, a comparatively unfavourable situation. In order not to affect the viability of transport companies, the tolls must be fixed at reasonable levels that imply compensation for the use of an infrastructure, and therefore for the objectively calculated costs generated by the use of that infrastructure.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as you know, I would have liked to have this initiative adopted at first reading and for an informal trialogue, or an informal agreement between Parliament, Council and Commission, to have allowed us to go ahead with this initiative. This has not been possible. I hope, however, that thanks to the result of Mr Cocilovo’s report, to the amendments to be introduced and to the fundamental support of this Parliament for the Commission proposal, we will soon be able to achieve a common position in the Council that is sufficiently close to Parliament’s proposal to allow, quickly, at second reading or through a quick conciliation, the adoption of this extremely important directive for the balance of transport in the European Union to be completed.
As you well know, the current Community framework is inadequate in view of the numerous initiatives that have been set up recently at national level in this regard. This framework needs to be strengthened, particularly in order to ensure fair competition conditions between freight transporters and give greater stimulus to the balance between the individual modes of transport.
First of all, I would like to sincerely congratulate Mr Cocilovo on his excellent work. He has achieved something that, I must say, I thought impossible: grouping, bringing together, and integrating a series of amendments, presenting in the end a result that respects the principles and philosophy of the Commission proposal.
Apart from some technical aspects, I would like to convey clearly the Commission’s support for the Parliamentary report.
First, I would like to point out that the draft report takes on a fundamental principle of the proposal, and this is the allocation of charging income to transport. This principle has been and continues to be the subject of arduous debates in the Council. For this reason, it is of vital importance that Parliament has supported it. How can the idea of a motorway toll be justified if we do not know what is to become of the funds it generates? In an internal market, such as we have now, how can this situation, that could send us back almost to medieval times, be justified?
The execution of the great projects of the Trans-European Transport Network also suffers from a lack of funds. In this respect, road charges constitute a financial impulse mechanism that must contribute to the improvement of transport links in the enlarged Union.
With regard to the calculation of tolls, the draft report encourages the Commission to develop a method of calculating external costs. The discussions held in the Council demonstrate that, for the moment, it has not been possible to reach a compromise based on objective data and objectively determined costs. In this respect, we must continue our work and find a reliable methodology, which can be clearly accepted horizontally within the Council.
It is also necessary to obtain the support of Parliament for the increase of tolls in particularly sensitive areas, such as mountain regions and those affected by a high level of pollution. This last concept is completely innovative and will contribute to the creation of infrastructures that are costly but necessary for the elimination of bottlenecks in our network.
I would like to finish by emphasising the fact that the Commission has made an effort to offer the European Parliament a text that is acceptable to everyone; the transit countries must be capable of applying a system of charging that allows them to promote their own network within a perspective of sustainable transport development and, at the same time, the peripheral countries of the Union and their freight transporters will be the first to benefit from an effective charging policy in Europe that provides them with well-functioning networks."@en1
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