12 Amendments of Gheorghe FALCĂ related to 2021/2106(DEC)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that, at the end of 2020, Innovation and Networks Executive Agency under Horizon 2020 Transport had a portfolio of 291 ongoing R&I implementation activities in the transport area for EUR 1,9 billion; to contribute to the achievement of a resilient, environmentally friendly and affordable European transport system; calls for the creation of incentives for further massive investments in technological development for the Union to become a technological leader in the green and digital innovations in energy and related sectors, and propulsion technologies in transport, calls on the Commission to establish Union-level governance to provide for faster standardisation, harmonisation and investment into technological measures.
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Welcomes the progress of the Horizon Europe to prepare for the launch of new EU partnerships in areas such as clean hydrogen, batteries, clean aviation, rail, connected and automated mobility, zero-emission road and waterborne transport, in particular for the Work Programme 2021-2022;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Notes that in 2020, several Research and Innovation activities under Horizon 2020 took place to support innovation in smart and sustainable mobility and to advance the progress in digitalisation and automation of aviation and rail through the SESAR and Shift2Rail Joint Undertakings;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Notes with regret that current modal split of inland freight transport in EU is highly disproportional, e.g. 76.3 % for road freight transport, followed by rail and inland waterway transport (17.6 % and 6.1 % respectively); calls for further actions to create incentives and intensify investments in railway and inland waterway transport and its harmonisation and standardisation to achieve more competitive, climate-resilient and affordable transport system of the future;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Welcomes the fact that, in 2020, the 2019 multi annual call for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) was successfully completed, selecting 125 projects with an overall contribution of more than EUR 2 billion; notes that more than 90% of the CEF contribution was allocated to projects expected to address climate related objectives and in particular railway, inland waterways and maritime ports infrastructures and deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Is convinced that the work on the modernisation of the railway sector is contributing both to the objectives of A Europe fit for the digital age and of the European Green Deal; welcomes in this regard the fact that in 2020 twelve actions related to European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) were supported, under both the 2019 MAP call and the CEF Transport Blending Facility in order to improve interoperability, sustainability and security of railway transport; regrets however that currently roughly 30 national signalling systems exist across the Union; it is therefore necessary to foster the cooperation between European Commission, Member States, Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings while improving funding opportunities to incentivise investments in ERTMS;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Regrets the low implementation rate of CEF during the 2014-2020 period: calls on Member States to significantly speed up investments to deliver the European Green Deal objectives, and on the Commission to step up its monitoring in view of the urgent need for infrastructure investment in order to facilitate a swift recovery from the Covid- 19 crisis; is concerned that a significant under- execution of payments for transport infrastructure financed by the Cohesion Fund contribution to CEF for 2021 is expected, and that implementation delays and decommitment of funds might occur;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the positive evaluation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) policy progress and the agreement on the Streamlining Directive, which will play a key role in accelerating pre-identified cross-border projects on the core network; notes however that there are bottlenecks along the corridors where more focus is needed to guarantee connectivity and cohesion across the Union and the timely completion of the core network by 2030; is concerned that phased and new projects along the TEN-T network are at risk due delays insuch as Struma Motorway (Bulgaria), Albert Canal (Belgium), E75 railway line, Czyzew-Bialystok (Poland), the West Link - Kvarnberget railway tunnel (Sweden), Lefkosia South Orbital Motorway (Cyprus) are at risk due delays in the implementation of the 2014-2020 period and the adoption of partnership agreements and cohesion programmes for the 2021- 2027 period; commends the progress achieved by the Commission implementing the Action Plan on military mobility and defining the dual - military and the TEN-T - uses requirements, following the modification of the military requirements, agreed by the Member States;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Regrets that poor planning, diverging priorities and procedures of the Member States impact the pace of implementation of cross-border transport projects; calls, therefore for the fast adoption of the European Cross-Border Mechanism; calls also for initiation of a legislation to further reduce administrative burden and increase efficiency in transport services;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Is concerned that the price hike in construction and raw materials change the total budget for many projects and could lead to underbudgeting, missed milestones, impossible implementations and therefore undermines the TEN-T core network completion;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. Welcomes the fact that EU reaffirms road safety policy as a long- term strategic goal of the Union and welcomes the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety in February 2020; points out that investments in existing infrastructure and the construction of new infrastructure are essential elements in improving road safety in different EU regions and therefore contribute to the goal of reducing deaths and serious injuries by 50% by 2030;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic placed transport and tourism in Union under an unprecedented pressure and welcomes the Commission’s efforts to provide relief to the sectors and financing using the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiatives (CRII and CRII+), CEF, RRF, Cohesion Fund, InvestEU, ERDF; welcomes in this regard the Commission’s initiatives such as the green lanes to ensure that freight vehicles are moving freely across the Union, the temporary relief on airport slots and the platform Re-open EU; regrets however that the lack of coordination between the Member States and the individual measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 do not facilitate the recovery of transport and tourism sectors;