Combined goods transport: financial assistance to action pilots PACT

In adopting the recommendation for second reading by Mr Ulrich STOCKMANN (PSE, D), the European Parliament called for the amount allocated to the programme of financial assistance for actions of an innovative nature to promote combined transport (rail, road, waterway) to be ECU 43 m rather than ECU 35 m as proposed in the common position of the Council. It called for ECU 4 m to be allocated in 2000 and 2001 to the development of projects in the applicant countries or to communication with those countries. Parliament called on the Commission to ensure, when making its selection, that due consideration was given to projects which make connections to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and to projects establishing synergies with the PHARE programme and transport projects under the Cohesion Fund. It called for 10% of the funding for the programme to be earmarked, as a priority, for projects directly implementing results of innovative research, while also satisfying the other criteria. It wished trans-European rail freight freeways to be one of the main criteria for the desirability of projects. �