RESOLUTION A3-0125/92

on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament 'Towards Trans-European Networks - For a Community Action Programme'

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Communication from the Commission and the draft Council Resolution on trans-European networks (COM(90) 0585 - C3-0106/91)

- having regard to previous Commission discussion papers on trans-European networks (SEC(89)1670, COM(89) 0643 and COM(90) 0310), to the European Council conclusions of 6 December 1989 and 26 June 1991, and to the Council Resolution of 22 January 1990,

- having regard to the European Council's decision in Maastricht on 10 December 1991 to include a new Title XII of the EC Treaty on the subject of trans-European networks,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the opinions of the Committee on Energy, Research and Technology, the Committee on Transport and Tourism, the Committee on Regional Policy and Regional Planning, and the Committee on Budgets (A3-0125/92),

Vital importance of trans-European networks

1. Considers that the completion of the internal market makes it even more essential that the European Community's infrastructure needs are conceived in an integrated manner; considers that, without trans-European networks with suitable, well-integrated infrastructures in such important sectors as transport, telecommunications, energy and vocational training, it will be difficult for the internal market to achieve the desired results in either the economic or the social sphere; believes that those regions and countries which lack the necessary infrastructure will suffer major imbalances and lag behind in their development;

2. Regrets, however, that at present much of Europe's new infrastructure is still being developed in an isolated manner and on the basis of uncoordinated national needs;

3. Points out that this has led to missing links between the various national networks and to unnecessary overlaps between them, thus failing to exploit Community economies of scale, creating bottlenecks throughout the Community and causing extra economic, social and environmental costs in the long, medium and short term for European public authorities, industry, services and consumers;

4. Further considers that this has been reinforced by the continued existence of numerous technical barriers to the development of trans-European networks, such as differences in standards and tariff structures, differing statistical bases, and administrative and legal barriers;

5. Welcomes, therefore, the Commission's recent initiatives to develop a Community action programme on trans-European networks, and also the incorporation at Maastricht of trans-European networks as a new Title XII of the Treaty, since it considers it to be essential that the European Community should play an active role in the definition of present and future infrastructure needs and in resolving problems of continuity and compatibility between various national networks with a view to the creation of a single European Market;

6. Considers, since there is now a specific Treaty base for initiatives in this area, and hence a firmer political commitment at European Community level to tackle these problems, that detailed programmes of implementation must be put in place as soon as possible;

Priority objectives

7. Emphasises that the costs and benefits of infrastructure projects should not just be evaluated in a narrow economic sense and in terms of short term profitability, but that their wider and long term impacts should also be considered, including a full assessment of all relevant external factors and a correct evaluation of the environmental impact of the projects concerned;

8. Considers that, when drawing up the necessary steering plans for interconnections and new trans-European networks, the priority objectives must be to achieve greater overall competitiveness of the Community's system of production and greater balance between the various regions, respect the environment and strengthen economic and social cohesion;

9. Considers, furthermore, that in order to achieve genuine trans-European networks, it is necessary to:

- make short-, medium- and long-term plans for the development of such networks and adapt and coordinate existing networks to a coherent plan in line with the new dimension of the internal market and its influence on the rest of Europe and on Mediterranean non-Member countries,

- design and build immediately the necessary interconnections which will eliminate the physical, technical and political barriers which have hitherto prevented the existing networks from being interconnected,

- make progress in technical standardization, regulations and the harmonization of tariffs, administrative procedures and data-processing systems, etc. to ensure that the networks are interoperable,

- study all the opportunities offered by methods of financing to obtain the necessary resources to build and instal the required infrastructure from both public and private investment;

10. Considers that tariffs must be calculated so as to reflect the full investment and operational costs of the networks including the social and environmental costs, particularly in terms of energy and transport;

11. Believes that, to ensure that optimum use is made of trans-European networks, they should be operated by professionals with sound, specific training; considers that, just as development is not possible without the necessary infrastructure, so the trans-European networks will not have the desired effect unless they are managed by professionals capable of maximizing their potential; believes, therefore, that it is important to set up training projects at European level geared towards this objective; regrets that the Commission's proposal to include vocational training as one of the four fields covered by trans-European networks has not been accepted by the Council;

12. Welcomes the Commission's presentation of a communication on "Europe 2000", with its reminder that there needs to be a coordinated Community approach to the future development of European Community territory and to such common problems as urban congestion, rural depopulation, changing distribution patterns of population and economic activities and the special situations faced by peripheral, disadvantaged and border areas;

13. Considers it to be of particular importance that the impact of the proposed trans-European infrastructure projects on the environment, safety and quality of life is properly assessed;

Extending trans-European networks beyond the Community

14. Insists that the wider infrastructure requirements of Europe as a whole are taken fully into account when planning future trans-European networks:

- links with the EFTA countries, including networks crossing Austria and Switzerland, and also links between the European Community and the different countries of Scandinavia, so that the European Economic Area can be fully developed,

- links between the Community and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and also between the latter countries. In this context calls for urgent examination of the extent to which the individual republics in the new Commonwealth of Independent States are to be associated with the process and how to ensure new overland links to Greece,

- links between the Community and the other countries of the Mediterranean region;

Community mechanisms for designating trans-European networks

15. Believes that it is essential that the Community mechanisms for designating trans-European networks are fair and efficient, enabling the overall European interest to be assessed as well as national and regional interests, allowing for proper examination of the whole range of economic, social and environmental factors, and also permitting transparency and democratic accountability to national and regional authorities as well as to the European Parliament;

16. Welcomes the fact that the European Parliament will be associated by means of the Article 189b co-decision procedure with the establishment of overall guidelines on trans-European networks, but calls for the precise scope of these guidelines to be more clearly defined;

17. Insists on the Parliament being fully involved in the Community decision-making process relating to cooperation with third countries in promoting projects of mutual interest and in ensuring network inter-operability, on which no precise provisions have been laid down in the new Treaty articles;

18. Welcomes the concept of a declaration of European interest as regards specific trans-European networks, in order to help in the mobilization of financial resources for such a network, provided that such infrastructure projects are guaranteed to bring benefits other than purely economic ones and, in particular, a strengthening of economic and social cohesion by indicating that it is a priority project for the European Community;

19. Supports the idea that there should be an independent think tank to examine Europe's future infrastructure needs on an integrated basis. Also notes that the Commission has suggested the creation of a European forum for public authorities, users, manufacturers and consumers to discuss European infrastructure needs and trends, and calls for that idea to be further examined;

Financial and budgetary implications

20. Believes that all infrastructures, particularly transport infrastructure, constitute a shared asset, and that therefore, despite the difficulties involved, it is possible not only to quantify the profits accruing to each shareholder, but also to use these profits as a means of sharing out infrastructure costs; recalls that these costs and profits are not merely economic but also social and environmental;

21. Considers that both private and public capital will have vital roles to play in financing the needed trans-European networks, and that the European Community will also have to be closely involved, through its borrowing and lending instruments and through Community funds established for the purpose;

22. Believes that trans-European networks are of value for both the richer and poorer regions of the Community and that Community resources should not come primarily from the structural funds but from new supplementary sources, to be included in the future financial perspectives after 1992;

23. Considers that the establishment of trans-European networks linking peripheral regions to the centre of the Community and with each other (via the so-called 'arcs', such as the Atlantic and Mediterranean Arcs) is essential if the peripheral regions are to share in the benefits of the internal market; and considers that the present programme should not be confused with those programmes constituting implementation of the Structural Funds within the framework of the various regulations;

24. Welcomes, therefore, the creation at Maastricht of a new Community cohesion fund, but regrets that the cohesion fund can only help to finance environmental projects and trans-European networks in the field of transport. Calls, therefore, for its terms of reference to be extended to trans-European networks in the fields of telecommunications, energy and vocational training, all of which would directly contribute to the promotion of economic and social cohesion;

25. Recalls, in addition, its previous requests for the creation of a specific European Infrastructure Fund to be financed by a Community tax on energy consumption, which would have positive effects from an ecological point of view and contribute to a balanced overall development of European infrastructure;

26. Insists that adequate Community funds are set aside for the development of trans-European networks as a result of the forthcoming revision of the Community's financial perspective;

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27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.