Trans-European transport network: seaports, inland ports, intermodal terminals and project No 8

The Council common position comprises a number of amendments to the Commission's amended proposal, and the main amendments relate in particular to: 1) seaports: as the Commission proposal limits the number of ports included in the network, the common position, on the other hand, includes a higher number of seaports in the network. More importantly, the common position provides for the seaports to be classified into categories: - category A: seaports whose total annual traffic volume is no less than 1 million tonnes freight or 200 000 passengers; - category B: seaports with a total annual traffic volume of of no less than 500 000 tonnes or 100 000 passengers; - category C: seaports located on islands not connected to the mainland by fixed links. 2) inland ports in the combined transport network: as the Commission proposal sets out four selection criteria for including inland ports in the network, the common position offers an alternative solution for this criterion. It provides that if a port is not equipped with transhipment facilities for combined transport it may nevertheless be included in the network if its annual freight traffic volume if not less than 300 000 tonnes. Thus, the common position adds 200 ports to the 35 inland ports identified by the Commission proposal. 3) intermodal terminals and trans-European rail freight freeways: the common position does not endorse the provisions in the Commission proposal concerning intermodal terminals as the Council states that the question of the designation of the intermodal terminals is still being studied at national level. Furthermore, the Council believes that to integrate these freeways would depart from the purpose of the proposal. �