Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision amending Decision No 1692/96/EC as regards seaports, inland ports and intermodal terminals as well as project No 8 in Annex III
C 120/14 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 4. 98 II (Preparatory Acts) COMMISSION Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision amending Decision No 1692/96/EC as regards seaports, inland ports and intermodal terminals as well as project No 8 in Annex III (98/C 120/08) (Text with EEA relevance) COM(97) 681 final - 97/0358(COD) (Submitted by the Commission on 4 March 1998) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION; Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first paragraph of Article 129d thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty, (1) Whereas Decision No 1692/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for the development of the transÜEuropean transport networkØ(˛) constitutes a general reference framework covering the objectives, priorities and broad lines of measures envisaged as in the well as the projects of common context of the transÜEuropean transport network; interest (2) Whereas the establishment and development of the transÜEuropean transport network contributes to the the smooth strengthening of economic and social cohesion as well as to the sustainable mobility of persons and goods; internal market, functioning of the (4) Whereas interconnection points, including seaports, terminals, are a integration of the different inland ports and pre condition for the transport modes in a multimodal network; intermodal (5) Whereas the network outline plans in Annex I to Decision No 1692/96/EC consist essentially of a series of links, while the different interconnection points, with the exception of airports, are not identified in the outline plans; (6) Whereas with respect to the principle of subsidiarity, inland ports and the network outline plans for intermodal terminals should not designate exact locations; whereas terminals in larger conurbations should be grouped in one transhipment area; (7) Whereas, in accordance with the Commission’s intention to promote the rapid creation of a number of "TransÜEuropean Rail Freight Freeways’ outlined in its Communication of 29 May 1997Ø(ˇ), the identiÜ fication of terminals/transhipment areas should be coordinated with the development of cross border, open access rail freight corridors; (8) Whereas the European Council at Dublin on 13 and 14 December 1996 agreed that project No 8 in the list from the Essen European Council should become the multimodal link Portugal/Spain with the rest of Europe; (9) Whereas, therefore, Decision No 1692/96/EC should be amended accordingly, (3) Whereas, in order to achieve these objectives, the transÜEuropean transport network is intended as a multimodal infrastructure network which serves to combine and integrate the different transport modes; HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION: Article 1 Decision No 1692/96/EC is hereby amended as follows: (˛) OJ L 228, 9. 9. 1996, p. 1. (ˇ) COM(97) 242 final. 18. 4. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 120/15 1. Ú In Article 10(4), the following indent is added: "- contribute to the further development of new railway services in particular on the basis of ""TransÜ European Rail Freight Freeways’’, which are crossÜ border, open access rail freight corridors. ’ 2. Ú Article 11 is amended as follows: (a) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: "3. Ú Inland ports shall form part of the network, in particular as points of interconnection between the waterways referred to in paragraph 2 and Article 14 and other modes of transport. ’ (b) the following paragraph 3a is inserted: "3a. Ú The shall be: inland ports included in the network (c) they provide connections between land links of the transÜEuropean network, thereby ensuring the terriÜ torial continuity of the Community. 3. Ú In addition to the criteria set out in Article 7, seaport and seaport related projects of common interest shall comply with the criteria and specifications in Annex II. ’ 4. Ú Article 14 is amended as follows: (a) in paragraph 1, the second indent is replaced by the following text: "- terminals which for provide intermodal transhipment from railways to inland waterways and roads and which are identified in the outline plans in Annex I;’ installations (a) open to all commercial traffic, (b) the following paragraphs 2 and 3 are added: (b) located on the network of inland waterways as shown in the outline plan in Section 4 of Annex I, (c) interconnected with other transÜEuropean transport routes as shown in Annex I, (d) equipped with transhipment installations for intermodal transport. ’ 3. Ú Article 12 is replaced by the following: "Article 12 1. Ú Seaports in the transÜEuropean transport network shall include seaports which are open to all commercial traffic and which are identified in the outline plans in Section 5 of Annex I. They shall permit the development of sea transport and shall constitute shipping links for islands and the points of interconnection between sea transport and other modes of transport. They shall provide equipment and services to transport operators. Their infrastructure shall provide a range of services for passenger and goods transport, including ferry services and shortÜ and long distance shipping services, including coastal shipping, within the Community and between the latter and third countries. 2. Ú The seaports included in the network shall fulfill the following criteria: (a) total annual traffic volume is no less than 1 million tonnes freight, or (b) total annual traffic volume is no less than 200Ø000 international passengers (trips between ports in two different countries). In the case of islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas, the minimum required volume of passenger traffic may also include domestic traffic, providing the distance between the ports is greater than 5Økm; or "2. The terminals included in the network shall be: - open to all commercial traffic; - located on, or linked to, one of the rail corridors as specified in outline plan 7. 1 in Annex I. Terminals larger conurbations in shall be grouped in one transhipment area; - equipped with transhipment installations for intermodal transport. 3. In addition to the criteria set out in Article 7, the projects of common combined transport network shall comply with the criteria and specifications in Annex II. ’ interest relating to 5. Ú Article 19 is replaced by the following: "Article 19 Specific projects Annex III contains, by way of indication, the projects identified in Annexes I and II and in other provisions of this Decision to which the Essen and Dublin European Councils attributed particular importance. ’ 6. Ú Annexes I, II and III are amended as set out in the Annex to this Decision. Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Article 3 This Decision is addressed to the Member States. C 120/16 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 18. 4. 98 ANNEX 1. Annex I is amended as follows: (a) On the contents page, the text in Section 5 is replaced by the following: "5. 0. ÚEurope 5. 1. Baltic Sea 5. 2. North Sea 5. 3. Atlantic Ocean 5. 4. Mediterranean Sea - Western part 5. 5. Mediterranean Sea - Eastern part’ (b) On the contents page, Section 7 is replaced by the following: "Railway corridors and terminals 7. 1. 0. ÚEurope 7. 1. 1. ÚBelgium/Germany/France/Luxembourg/Netherlands/Austria 7. 1. 2. ÚSpain/Portugal/Ireland/United Kingdom 7. 1. 3. ÚDenmark/Finland/Sweden 7. 1. 4. ÚGreece/Italy 7. 2. Inland waterways and inland ports’ (c) Outline plans 5. 0 to 5. 5 (Seaports) are inserted and outline plans 7. 1ÜA (Combined transport: Railway corridors), 7. 1ÜB (large scale) and 7. 2 (Combined transport: Inland waterways) are replaced by outline plans 7. 1. 0 to 7. 1. 4 (Combined transport corridors and terminals/transhipment areas) and 7. 2 (Inland waterways and inland ports). These outline plans are contained in the Appendix. 2. Annex II is amended as follows: (a) In Section 3, the following third indent is added: "- new railway services to be developed in particular on the basis of ""TransÜEuropean Rail Freight Freeways’’. ’ (b) In Section 4, the first part is replaced by the following: "Inland ports In addition to projects relating to the connections and inland ports mentioned in Annex I, projects of common interest will be deemed to include any infrastructure project corresponding to one or more of the following categories: 1. access to the port from inland waterways; 2. port infrastructure inside the port area; 3. other transport infrastructure inside the port area; 4. other transport infrastructures linking the port to other elements of the transÜEuropean network. ’ (c) Section 5 is amended as follows: (i) Paragraph 1 becomes paragraph 2 and is replaced by the following: "2. Categories of port and port related projects of common interest Port and port related infrastructure projects should come under one or more of the following categories: A. access to the port from the sea or inland waterways, including capital costs for ice breaking works during winter; B. infrastructure inside the port area; C. inland transport infrastructure linking the port to other elements of the transÜEuropean transport network. ’ 18. 4. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 120/17 (ii) Paragraph 2 becomes paragraph 1 and the title is replaced by the following: "1. Objectives of port and port related projects of common interest’ (iii) Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: "3. Types of port and port related projects of common interest Special attention shall be given to the following types of projects, in particular: - the development of short sea and sea river shipping including the necessary infrastructure; - upgrading of the port infrastructure in particular in ports on islands and in peripheral regions; - creation or improvement of hinterland access, in particular through rail and inland waterway connections; - development and installation of management and information systems such as EDI (elecÜ tronic data interchange). ’ (iv) The following paragraph 4 is added: "4. Specific conditions Infrastructure investment within the port area (excluding EDI) is not eligible for Community financial aid in the field of transÜEuropean networks, except for projects of common interest concerning combined transport in port areas as set out in Annex II Section 7. In eligible regions infrastructure investment can be funded by the Cohesion and Structural funds. Projects must contribute to: - integrating traffic into a transÜEuropean transport network or a multimodal transport chain, or - greater use of environmentally friendly transport. ’ (d) In Section 7, the third indent is replaced by the following: "- adaptation of port areas, making it possible to develop or improve transfers between sea transport and rail and inland waterways in combined transport,’ 3. Annex III is amended as follows: (a) The title is replaced by the following: "List of the fourteen projects adopted by the Essen and Dublin European Councils’ (b) The text of point 8 ("Motorway Lisbon/Valladolid’) is replaced by the following: "Multimodal link Portugal/Spain with the rest of Europe’