Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-11-15-Speech-4-185"
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"en.20011115.9.4-185"2
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".
Mr President, the dramatic repercussions of the accident in the St Gotthard tunnel, especially after the equally tragic repercussions in the Mont Blanc and Val Thorens tunnels, have put the issue of tunnel safety right at the top of the agenda. We need to push ahead on two fronts at European level. First, we need enhanced specifications and, secondly, we need to support motorrail services through the Alps.
The Commission announced in the White Paper referred to by almost all the members that it intends to propose European regulations setting out minimum safety standards for tunnels. These standards will apply to technical equipment, traffic regulations, user information, training for staff operating the tunnels, for staff dealing with accidents when problems arise and for rescue services. It is a complicated endeavour which needs to take account of a plethora of different parameters, given the extent to which one tunnel differs from another in terms of geography, size and traffic density.
At present, the Commission is carrying out pre-preparatory work with the help of first-class experts, with a view to submitting a proposal to Parliament at the beginning of 2002. In the meantime, it also intends to convene a meeting of political and economic agencies operating in the Alps and the Pyrenees. Of course, even the best legislative proposals are no good unless they are adopted and applied. And as regards the safety of tunnels in particular, I should like to remind the House of other proposals which have yet to be adopted. I should like to remind the House of the proposal to introduce digital tachographs which allow the time spent on the road by lorry drivers to be controlled accurately and which several Member States have opposed. Or the Commission proposal on working conditions for lorry drivers, which Mr Swoboda has already referred to. Then there is the question of certifying professional drivers and the question of small lorries which constantly exceed the 90 kilometre limit and have become accidents waiting to happen on the majority of roads in most Member States.
The fire in this tunnel also illustrates the need for information for tunnel users. It is clear that, had users been informed, many could have escaped via the emergency exit or by getting out of their cars immediately. And, of course, this particular accident again raises the question of freight transport through the Alps. The absolute priority, in the medium term, is to provide rail links to alleviate freight transport with motorrail services as quickly as possible and this is one of the major priorities in the White Paper.
In the period between 1994 and 2000, the European Commission funded studies into the implementation of the new Lyon-Turin rail link. So far 60 million has been spent, about 50% of the total cost. This project, in which the Community is, to date, indisputably the biggest provider of funds, is one of 14 projects approved by the European Union Council in Essen in 1994 which, unfortunately, it will not be possible to complete before 2010.
The Brenner rail route also needs to be commissioned as quickly as possible, in accordance with the 1996 guidelines on the western European transport network. So what can be done in the short term following the problem created by the closure of the St Gotthard tunnel? Immediate use should be made of motorrail facilities in the Alps. This accident, and its dramatic repercussions, are yet another reason to make every possible effort to shift freight from the roads to the railways, a mode of transport which only accounts for 8% of the market in Europe, compared with 40% in the United States.
The European Commission has also taken new initiatives. In January 2001, it proposed that the Council sign the transport protocol annexed to the Alpine Convention on behalf of the European Commission, as a political message on restoring the balance of distribution between the various modes of transport. Because of difficulty in funding these projects, the White Paper proposes Community legislation laying down fairer pricing principles which take account of all the costs incurred for each mode of transport, together with safety costs.
To conclude, the Commission has taken or intends to take various specific measures in order to resolve the particular problems besetting the Pyrenees, the Alps and other sensitive areas. And I can assure you that it will make every effort to guarantee users the highest possible safety standards."@en1
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