Guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network

The modified proposal incorporates the text or substance of the Parliament's amendments aiming at strengthening certain elements or clarifying the text of the initial proposal. With regard to Recitals, the following elements have been integrated: - the inclusion of 'international mobility' as a key objective of the TEN-T policy; - a reference to the need to improve the consistency between the TEN-T guidelines and the programming of financial instruments available at Community level (Structural Funds, Cohesion Fund, and the TEN budget); - a reference to promotion, as a priority, of modes of transport that cause less damage to the environment; - a reference to the environmental assessment for new plans and programmes, as envisaged by Directive 2001/42/CE; - a reference to the objectives set out in the White Paper: 'European Transport policy for 2010: time to decide'; in particular the objective of decoupling economic and transport growth and in this context reducing traffic congestion, especially on roads, and promoting a modal shift; - a reference to the promotion of inland waterway shipping is included; - a reference to the future revision of the guidelines and short sea shipping; - In recital 11, a clarification on the preparation of the extension of the TEN-T to the Candidate Countries; - a reference to the consequences of enlargement on the appropriations for the transeuropean networks in the next financial perspective. As regards the priorities of the guidelines, the following elements have been integrated: - a reference to the objective of balanced territorial development in the second priority; - the strengthening in the fourth priority of the measures to promote short sea shipping and inland shipping; - the strengthening in the sixth priority of the objective of promoting intermodality by establishing intermodal terminals or deploying intelligent transport systems. As regards environmental protection, the following elements have been modified in response to one of the European Parliament's amendments giving a stronger role to the Commission to carry out strategic environmental assessment and to develop methods to carry out such assessment. The initial prposal is amended in order to clarify the co-ordinating role of the Committee established under Article 18.2. In addition, it is indicated that the Commission shall continue to develop improved methods of analysis for strategically assessing the environmental impact (as well as economic, safety and social impacts) of the whole network and for implementing the environmental assessments, referred to in the Directive 2001/42/EC on the crossborder corridors and projects. As well as these clarifications, it should be noted that the amended proposal covers a broader range of infrastructures and facilities allowing integration of rail transport services with air transport services but also with road and maritime transport services; - includes River Information Systems as part of the inlandwaterway trans-European network; - indicates that the report on the implementation of the guidelines shall be produced every two years and shall contain information on the breakdown between national, Community and other funding.�