Activities of Monika SMOLKOVÁ related to 2015/2347(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Improving connection and accessibility of transport infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe (A8-0282/2016 - Tomasz Piotr Poręba) SK
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on improving the connection and accessibility of the transport infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe
Amendments (7)
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that ESI Funds can be used in the development of the missing links in the border areas across Central and Eastern Europe; recalls that priority should be given to cross-border projects pertaining to thnot only to the core trans-European networks (TENs) in the region, but also to the missing links at bottlenecks at national level; calls, in this context, for continued efforts to be made towards introducing common standards in infrastructure, notably with regard to railways, in order to speed up attainment of the objective of efficient and Europe-wide interoperability;
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Notes that Central and Eastern Europe has significant development potential as regards its inland waterways as well as its river and sea ports; considers that this could be used towards furtheringstresses the need for the strong international cooperation necessary for improving the navigability of the Rhine-Danube Corridor and for connecting the rail network to the North Sea-Baltic Corridor, since this is the main route connecting Eastern and Western Europe; considers that placing more emphasis on the use of ports and railways could help to support the goal of enhancing multimodal transport in the region;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls for the rapid construction of a road network to connect Northern and South Eastern Europe, which would prevent the further spread of regional disparities, as it would stimulate economic development and increase tourism along the route, thereby creating new jobs; points out that industrial sectors in Central and Eastern Europe would finally become attractive to major investors and, last but not least, Eastern markets would open up;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Reminds the Commission of its obligation under the 2011 White Paper on transport until 2020, in which it adopted an implementation plan of 40 specific measures on developing a competitive and resource-efficient European transport system; recalls that one of its long-term goals is to shift 30% of road transport over 300km to rail or waterborne transport by 2030, and more than 50% by 2050, thereby significantly reducing traffic in Central and Eastern Europe;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Strongly advises making better use of existing policies and instruments for regional cooperation, such as European Territorial Cooperation (ETC), Interreg and especially European Groupings of Territorial Cooperation (EGTCs), to enhance cross-border transport between regions and remove bottlenecks; urges the Member States to support and not impede such solutions on a local and regional level, in order to accelerate the completion of the construction of rail network links in border regions, thereby contributing to the more effective use of links to other forms of transport; advocates the use of macro-regional strategies like those for the Danube and the Baltic Sea in order to advance transnational infrastructure projects;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recalls that ESI Funds could also be used to increase the administrative capacity of the intermediate bodies and beneficiaries, which could otherwise undermine the EU’s support to transport investments in the region; notes that the JASPERS assistance mechanism in particular has proven helpful in this role thus far and might, therefore, apart from simply being continued, be considered also for a morerepresent an example, as an independent body coordinating the preparation and implementation of transport projects, of permanent, institutional settingcooperation between partner states ; recalls that European coordinators for core network corridors do have a political mandate, but do not have sufficient administrative capacities;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines that all the efforts in the field of transport in Central and Eastern Europe should be pursued in a performance- and result-oriented manner, in a manner that seeks out cost-effective solutions that take account of the environment and that preserves the existing infrastructure, as this region would stand specifically to gain from the above-mentioned funding being properly coordinated, not least in terms of protection of strategic EU interests.