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Monti: Reboot Europe through the Single Market |
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Monday, 17 October 2011 00:00 |
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Europe’s single market was never completed and key sectors including transport are hampered by national barriers, warns EU elder statesman Mario Monti. In an exclusive interview with the European Transport Forum, Monti – a former EU Commissioner - urges policymakers to refocus their energies on finishing the job they promised when they first launched the Single Market programme in the 1980's.
Mario Monti: "The EU Single Market is a grey area of thousands of small bits and pieces, none of which is sexy or attracts a high level of political attention.”
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Mario Monti seems naturally suited to be president of the prestigious Bocconi University in Milan, the institution where he first earned a degree in economics and management, and where he later became a rector. He is, to all appearances, a classic academic, with his soft-spoken, professorial manner.
But he also has a keen political eye and a steely toughness: from 1995 to 2005, Monti held two of the most influential positions in European policy-making, firstly as a highly regarded EU Single Market Commissioner, and then as an equally respected Competition Commissioner. And today, though he is far from the Brussels bubble, Monti is keen to deliver a stiff political message to European leaders about their unfinished business when it comes to his old portfolio, the Single Market. “The single market has never been as unpopular in Europe as it is now,” he says. “At the same time, it has never been so necessary. That is why it requires a huge political investment from the European institutions and from national leadership.”
full article
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Why Europe needs smarter transport and logistics |
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Wednesday, 12 October 2011 00:00 |
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By making ambitious plans for a Single European Transport Area dominated by modal shift scenarios the European Union risks losing sight of its real needs.
The European debate on transport rightly takes account of issues like congestion and the environment, and listens to the views of diverse groups like automotive manufacturers, train operators and infrastructure builders. But a voice that is often overlooked is that of delivery services, who rely on efficient transport links across Europe, according to logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL.
Carsten Hess (photo): "Why are the Commission and the European Parliament not more ambitious?"
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Indeed, Carsten Hess, Head of Deutsche Post DHL’s Corporate Representation in Brussels, says that while the European Union has long talked grandly about how to remake transport across the continent, its record has been decidedly spotty. “There has been an inability over the past 30 years to create efficient cross-border European freight networks,” he says. “You have two philosophies: one is about constant new regulation, and the other is about enforcing the single market which the EU has committed to. But we don’t have any complete single market at the moment, whether on road, rail or on air.”
full article
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Participate in the ETF Transport Jam |
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Monday, 03 October 2011 06:08 |
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Gathering the Best Visions on the Future of European Transport
Are you a transport expert with great ideas related to the Single European Market? This is your chance to share them with the leaders of Europe!
From October 3-30th*, 2011, we are inviting you to contribute with your proposals in the ETF Transport Jam. Here you can connect with other people by posting and commenting on ideas and make your voice and opinions heard. The top 10 contributions will be presented to an ETF panel in order to analize its implementation potential.
Go ahead: click around, get inspired and have your say!
Save the Dates!
The ETF Transport Jam starts today, October 3, 2011. Get there soon, post your idea and make sure your idea gets enough exposure so that your fellow participants invest in it before the closing date of October 30*, 2011!
About the ETF Transport Jam
The future of European Transport is high on the agenda and it needs quite a bit of creativity to respond to the various challenges that are facing the transport sector.What will be the road ahead for transport policy over the next 20 years? How will decision-makers handle challenges like emissions, congestion and infrastructure in a post-carbon society?
* NOTE (14/10/2011): Because of the high quality of the ideas and discussions being produced, we have decided to extend the deadline for debating and posting ideas until October 30th, 2011! This means that if your idea is not currently in the top ten you can still promote it among participants, and if there are ideas you have not proposed you still have the chance to take action now!
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Can reforms overhaul Europe’s rail market? |
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Thursday, 29 September 2011 00:00 |
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Now that European Union governments have backed new laws to open up Europe's railways to competition, will the measures achieve their aim of creating a single market for rail networks and ensuring a better service for consumers?
Photo: Siim Kallas: "no other mode of transportation has state interests that are so strong"
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The single market has been a key principle of the European Union since its founding more than five decades ago, yet it has taken exhaustive legislation over the years to turn this notion into reality. One particularly hard nut to crack has been the rail sector, where national monopolies have long held sway. However, European Union Transport Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on June 16 took a key step in changing this holdout to the single market as they voted new rules to boost competition and transparency in the rail market.
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EU to trucks: "pay for your pollution!" |
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Thursday, 29 September 2011 00:00 |
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A European Parliament vote has paved the way for the controversial upgraded ‘Eurovignette’ law that charges trucks for their fumes and noise, on top of tolls that can currently be levied. Lawmakers have hailed the plan as groundbreaking because it introduces the polluter-pays principle into road tolls for the first time. But is the scheme fair, and will it really curb emissions?
photo: Saïd El Khadraoui, MEP: "it is a small revolution!"
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It’s a vote that might cost hauliers dear but, if its supporters are right, it could also mean cleaner air and quieter roads: the European Parliament’s backing, on June 7, of the revised ‘Eurovignette’ scheme means that new tolls for heavy goods vehicles will come into place, as lawmakers bid to cut pollution from the trucks.
The 505 to 141 vote, by MEPs in Strasbourg, marks the last major legislative hurdle for the measure aimed at charging hauliers for air and noise pollution costs in addition to motorway tolls. The directive means that revenue from these charges can improve the performance of transport systems and cut pollution across the EU. Trucks over 3.5 tonnes will be affected by the Eurovignette rules that cover not only trans-European transport (TEN-T) networks, but all motorways.
The current Eurovignette Directive, adopted in 1999 and revised in 2006, only covers roads in the TEN-T, which includes some 15,000 kilometres of tolled roads. It authorises, but does not oblige member states to charge hauliers between 15 and 25 euro cents per tonne/km. And the charges are only for infrastructure costs: until now, governments have been banned from charging for environmental damage, accident costs, and congestion costs, although there is a directive which would allow these costs to be internalised.
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