Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-07-04-Speech-2-293"
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"en.20000704.12.2-293"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the European transport situation can be summed up using several pertinent figures. Between 1990 and 1997 the volume of transport of goods increased by 21% whilst over the same period the proportion of freight transported by rail dropped by 7%. During the same period, passenger transport increased by 15% and rail transport by only 3%. In terms of both freight and passenger transport European integration has been a considerable factor of mobility, but the roads have been the major beneficiaries of this particularly, but not exclusively, due to the fact that they have been frontier free since the beginning of the 1990s. European railways therefore need to open up urgently and without fear. Their future lies largely in their own hands, however, it is also our job to give them every opportunity to achieve their aims.
Railway workers must rise to the challenge of opening up international networks to trains from all countries in the European Union. The decision taken by the fifteen Ministers for Transport in December 1999 to set plans in motion for the creation of a Trans-European Freight Network that represents 94% of the international freight transport came as a direct response to this challenge. It is entirely logical to adapt national rail legislation to this new system that lays down rules governing access, pricing policy and standard and consistent management practices within the European Union.
The Swoboda report contains commendable proposals regarding the need to adapt legislation to the various national situations. On the other hand, it is wholly unacceptable and, what is more, contradicts Parliament’s first reading, for us to take advantage of this second reading – as the Jarzembowski report suggests – to announce measures to open up all networks to competition and others designed for the widespread privatisation of such networks at national and local level, as that stems from a dogma, an untested belief in the superiority of a market model that has clearly demonstrated its limitations in the United Kingdom. Several moments ago, I stated that the future of rail transport also depended on us, and I should also like to point out the fact that the dogmatic approach that we appear to have adopted in this matter threatens its very success. Everyone here is aware that rail integration in Europe cannot be reduced to a theological debate on the comparative merits of controlled liberalisation and uncontrolled privatisation.
Railways, which only receive 25% of the investment allocated to transport infrastructure in Europe, as opposed to the 65% allocated to roads, are in need of substantial investment in order to enhance interoperability, reduce bottlenecks, extend networks and integrated transport systems, etc. The United Kingdom has demonstrated to what extent privatisation can represent a step backwards. This is why we believe that our work should not threaten the delicate balance of the Council’s common position."@en1
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