Transport sector: Euro-Mediterranean partnership

OBJECTIVE: to adopt a complete action plan for integration and greater cooperation in the field of transport in the Mediterranean. SUBSTANCE: In its communication, the Commission presents the overall strategy it intends to implement in the field of transport in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The general aim is to integrate the transport network both between the Community and its Mediterranean partners and among the Mediterranean countries themselves. Taking as a basis the conclusions of the Barcelona Conference of November 1995 on the new Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, this strategy is designed ultimately to allow an area to be established within which people and goods will be able to move more easily. The strategy is to be two-pronged, comprising: 1) an infrastructure element, whereby the transport infrastructure networks of all the countries concerned are to be interconnected to create interoperable multimodal networks; 2) an efficient and cost-effective transport services element, these services to be provided in a common transport area in accordance with high environmental, social and safety standards. As part of this overall strategy, a complete action plan is laid down in the annex to the document. It summarizes all the measures taken and to be expanded, as well as future measures to be taken: -extension of trans-European networks: definition and planning of 'corridors' of international interest in the Mediterranean and development of the 'Corrimed' in the pan-European transport area of the Mediterranean; possible extension of corridors to the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus, -maritime transport and safety: a list of specific actions to be drawn up in these fields, -air transport and air traffic control: increasing air transport and air traffic control capacity consistently with the systems of third countries in the Mediterranean, -global satellite navigation system: extension of the GNSS system to the Mediterranean countries with a view to total interoperability, -rail transport and combined transport: development of combined transport axes and anticipation of vehicle technology needs, -transport research, -regional integration in the Mediterranean and Middle East: selection of multimodal transport corridors and definition of priority projects. The communication suggests setting up a working group including the Community's Mediterranean partners. It would be responsible for establishing contacts, exchanging information about transport projects of common interest and providing a more general picture of the ongoing activities at sub-regional level. The Commission intends to increase cooperation with the countries concerned and to facilitate the coordination of future projects under MEDA.�