19 Amendments of Bronis ROPĖ related to 2017/2285(INI)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas in the 2007-2013 period, EUR 81 billion, or almost one third (31 %) of the ESIF was invested in transport infrastructure, which had a clear impact on GDP, business creation, industry, employment, exports and tourism; whereas the strongest impact of transport infrastructure investment was recorded in Central and Eastern Europe and, more particularly, in the new Member States, to which 69 % of the total transport funding was allocated;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas TEN-T and transport infrastructure such as road, high-speed rail, waterways, cycling and air are EU priorities,to contribute to EU priorities such as cohesion, economic development, job creation and climate change adaptation; and if European investment were to lag behind, increased FDI could fill the gap while relocating profits, taxes and job opportunities outside of the EU, perhaps increasing the dependence and macroeconomic instability of the regions; whereas such a process would undermine the Union’s regional presence and policies in the long term and would lead to fragmentation and divergence;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas there is an urgent need for transformation of certain parts of the transport sector in order to address the need to drastically and rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in this way mitigating climate change;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas the current state of transport generates air pollution, noise, traffic congestion and land consumption with negative impacts on the quality of life of citizens; whereas sustainability in the transport sector needs to be improved;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) should remain the core EU sources for transport infrastructure investments under the thematic objective of ‘promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures’; proposes that, due to the high European added value and the extensive spill-over effects generated, these funding sources should remain available for all eligible EU regions;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Considers that the European added value of investment in transport infrastructure in more developed and transition regions needs to be re-assessed, taking also into account shrinking budgetary options; believes that regions sufficiently equipped with transport infrastructure, in particular highways, should no longer use EU funding for additional road construction, as the added-value is questionable and the contribution to EU priorities low;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the intervention logic behind EU transport infrastructure investment should remain a well-balanced construction of centrally managed and shared management sources in order to address policy and funding needs; recalls that the CEF aims to address centrally the EU-wide priority of TEN-T corridors, including safety and environmental aspects as well as paying due attention to regional specifics; recalls also that the ERDF and CF have a strong regional dimension that responds to local demand and they support the connectivity to TEN-T and mobility through secondary and tertiary nodes and multimodal terminals; underlines, in this context, that the relevant budgetary envelopes for the three funding sources need to be strengthened in an even manner in order to avoid asymmetric distribution of investment between the levels;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that the role of additional sources such as the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) needs to be defined in view of their complementarity to the ERDF and CF and their additionality to EIB lending operations; notes in this regard that EFSI should serve as a platform for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in matching financial instruments to private investment and to national/regional financing at project level; notes that the support available through the EU guarantee should be provided to bankable infrastructure projects which would not otherwise be supported through the ERDF, CF or CEFprivate sector; is concerned that resources from ERDF and CF are used to bear the highest risk taking tranche in case EFSI is combined with them;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that infrastructure requires objective quantification of demand prior to setting the budget and the delivery methods; underlines that it should be possible for the ERDF and CF eligibility criteriainvestment planning to consider existing demand at NUTS 3 level;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Underlines the importance of public consultations prior to project implementation, in particular in case of major projects, in order to ensure ownership on the ground and compliance with local and regional public interest as well as local and regional development goals;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the creation of an EU transport infrastructure index as an additional eligibility criterion in order to accurately reflect regional and local demand; proposes that the index help determine the overall envelope of transport investments as well as the co-financing rates; suggests that the EU transport scoreboard could be the basis for the proposed index with complementary elements such as road safety, regional specifics, availability of alternative modes of transport and environmental impact, which could contribute to the accuracy of the assessments;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Expresses the view that the less developed regions with negative demographic trends or remote ones with low accessibility should be targeted more intensively by ERDF and CF transport infrastructure investments, while addittentional shources and delivery methods should be expanded in the transition and more developed regionsld be given to the modal shift in order to also contribute to sustainable mobility;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls for ERDF support to European Territorial Cooperation to be strengthened through additional resources, and for the establishment of a dedicated priority axis for transport infrastructure investments while not undermining other priorities of ETC; underlines that all transport modes need to be tackled including public transport and cycling; understands that the focus should be on connectivity in cross-border regions, as well as advisory assistance and capacity building at project level; calls for barriers to be dismantled in order to facilitate investments, and notably cross- border investments, in transport;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses that more attention should be given to greening the transport fleet, in particular in the public sector, and to support the shift towards clean energy, in particular by promoting the expansion of electric vehicles charging infrastructure;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Considers that soft measures aimed at promotion of public transport, including partially or fully subsidizing its services in most congested locations at least at peak times, could significantly contribute to decrease in road congestion and ensure better utilization of existing transport infrastructure;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Emphasises that more support should be given to promote smart traffic management including through digitalisation by making more efficient use of existing infrastructure and redirecting towards off-peak times;
Amendment 116 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for a common European transport policy basunderpinned onby a funding framework that is integrated and coordinated with the EU transport instruments; considers that thematic concentration should be preserved in order to permit synergies between different funding sources at project level; proposes the creation of a single set of rules for all financing sources related to the thematic objective of ‘promoting sustainable transport and removing bottlenecks in key network infrastructures’ adapted to the challenges faced by the regions; considers it necessary to streamline and accelerate procurement and state aid compliance procedures through standardised public procurement;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses the importance and usefulness of integrated transport master plans prepared by Member States as ex- ante conditionality for receiving ESI funding; believes that further improvements and efficiency gains in transport investment could be achieved if those master plans increase their ambitions in view of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector and strengthening multi-modality and interoperability of transport; calls on the Commission to assist Member States in the preparation of those master plans and to ensure that green-washing is avoided;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Recalls that the development of transport infrastructure must not violate the Union acquis, in particular on nature protection; urges Member States to fully apply EU law when planning and implementing transport projects and to avoid infringement procedures as a result of breaching EU law; is of the opinion, that unlawful use of ESI Funds is counterproductive for a successful cohesion policy close to the citizens; therefore, calls on the Commission to closely monitor EU funding for transport and not to allow for splitting a project into sections in view of avoiding ecological disruptions;