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

The Commission's amended proposal integrates, either partially or wholly, 11 of the 22 amendments adopted by the European Parliament in its first reading. In the light of these amendments, the Commission proposes in particular for ports situated on islands (and those hosing liaison services between the mainland and islands) should also be included, on condition that they reach a threshold of 200,000 passengers on national and international journeys and that the distance between the mainland port and the island port is greater than 5 km. As a result of this modification, around 45 additional ports will fall within the scope of the decision. The Commission also accepted: - to place greater emphasis on the development of infrastructures rather than merely on the improvement of the service itself; - to introduce the terms 'shortest possible initial and/or terminal road haulage', thus emphasising an essential onjective of combined transport; - to include the term 'shipping routes' as one possibility for intermodal transport and the definition of intermodal transport as 'combined unitised transport (containers, trailers, swap bodies, etc.); - to delete the specific eligibility condition for port projects; - to clarify the eligibility conditions for projects in connection with transhipment centres; - to provide a more precise description of the various aspects of project no. 8 and to mention the main corridors which are going to be improved in agreement with the authorities of the Member States concerned.�