Trans-European transport network: Union guidelines. Recast

PURPOSE: to present a recast version of the Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: the codification of 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 trans-European transport network has been undertaken by the Commission and a relevant proposal has been submitted to the legislative authority . The new Decision was to supersede the various acts incorporated in it.

Meanwhile, it was necessary to amend Annex I to Decision No 1692/96/EC of to take account of the enlargement of the European Community to 27 Member States.

It is therefore appropriate to transform the codification of Decision No 1692/96/EC into a recast in order to incorporate the amendments necessary for the adjustment to the enlargement.

The necessary amendments consist of adding the maps relating to the 10 Member States listed in the 2003 Act of Accession in Annex I to the Decision to the existing maps relating to the 15 countries that were Members of the European Union before the enlargement of 1 May 2004. This amendment was provided for in Article 1(15) of Decision No 884/2004/EC and it must be made. In accordance with Decision No 884/2004/EC, the target date for the trans-European network outline plan for the 10 Member States in the 2003 Act of Accession is 2020 rather than 2010. In the interests of clarity, it is proposed to replace Annex I to the codified text with a new Annex I which would include the maps concerning the 27 Member States of the European Union.