Conclusies Raad van de Europese Unie over verbetering railtransport in Europa (en)

COUNCIL OF

EN

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Council conclusions on the Court of Auditors Special Report

No 8/2010 "Improving transport performance on Trans-European rail axes: Have EU rail infrastructure investments been effective?"

3077th AGRICULTURE and FISHERIES Council meeting Brussels, 17 March 2011

The Council adopted the following conclusions: "1. The Council takes note of the Court of Auditors Special Report No 8/2010 on "Improving

transport performance on Trans-European rail axes: Have EU rail infrastructure investments been effective?" concerning the EU co-financing of rail infrastructure and its effectiveness in improving the performance of trans-European axes. To carry out the audit, the Court analysed a sample of 21 specific sections co-financed by the EU during the 2000-2006 period and related to eight of the Priority Projects defined in the TEN-T Guidelines, the sample covering a total of 8683 million euro of EU investments. The audit focused on four main areas of risk, and did not assess the financial or technical supervision mechanisms in place in the Member States.

2.

The Council notes the recommendations formulated by the Court of Auditors in its Special Report and the Commission's commitment to take these recommendations into consideration.

It notes the Commission's thorough and constructive response to the conclusions of the Special Report and notes that part of the measures suggested by the Court of Auditors has already been taken up by the Commission. The Council encourages the Commission to continue in this path in order to enhance the transport performance on trans-European rail axes.

• 3. 

  In order to face some of the inadequacies identified by the Court of Auditors, the Council encourages the Commission to pursue, in cooperation with Member States, the identification of those trans-European corridors for which there is significant actual or anticipated demand or which can otherwise create a substantial European added value. The Council recognises that designing the right governance structure and identifying the sources of financing for complex cross-border projects is a problem that applies to all Member States. Setting up appropriate coordination structures for such projects can lead to improvements. The Council recalls that Regulation (EU) n° 913/2010 concerning a European rail network for competitive freight, creating a structure for each rail freight corridor will strengthen cooperation between Infrastructure Managers (supervised by Member States). The Council supports the Commission's commitment to develop a consistent approach to cost-benefit analysis.

4.

The Council underlines that, in the future, Priority Projects should continue to be based on political agreement between the Council and the European Parliament, but relying even more on the best available evidence. The Council notes the commitment of the Commission to work further on a definition of bottlenecks and acknowledges the work already done by the European Coordinators on the Priority Projects for which they have been nominated.

• 5. 

  The Council shares the Court of Auditors' analysis of the measurable improvements on lines dedicated to high-speed passenger services. The Council encourages the Commission to work on the improvement of the situation on conventional mixed and freight lines.

6.

The Council recognises that, through the adoption of Technical Specifications for Interoperability, the Commission has worked on the "practical constraints" mentioned by the Court of Auditors.

7.

The Council looks forward to the Commission proposal for new TEN-T Guidelines, which is under preparation and expected to be presented by mid 2011.

8.

The Council invites the Court of Auditors to keep the Council informed of future audit reports on the improvement of transport performance and on the effectiveness of EU investments in transport infrastructure."

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