Activities of Dominique RIQUET related to 2022/2021(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION Large transport infrastructure projects in the EU – implementation of projects and monitoring and control of EU funds
Amendments (22)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the findings of the European Court of Auditors Review No 05/2021 on the EU framework for large transport infrastructure projects: an international comparison; recalls the need for the European Commission and Member States to strongly take into consideration the recommendations of the European Court of Auditors’ works on transport infrastructure projects in order to speed-up their deployment;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recognises that environmental evaluations, consultation and the participation of the public are necessary at the early stages of the project; recalls however that those consultations can lead to unjustified delays in the planning and construction phases, as well as the existence of multiple environmental evaluations arising from different EU legislation and national regulations for the permitting of transport projects; calls therefore for the establishment of a simplified common procedure in a view of limiting administrative burden for project promotors;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) budget to be significantly increased to meet the investment needs required to complete the TEN-T networks, as well as the additional costs stemming from the enlargement of the TEN-T and the integration of military mobility, the war in Ukraine and high inflation;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Regrets that the MFF, as well as the national Recovery Plans still do not give a strong signal towards infrastructure investments nor priority to the completion of the TEN-T (no increase of CEF Transport envelope, no explicit dedicated financing under the Recovery Plan to transport); regrets the strong disparities between Member States in terms of investments planned for transport infrastructure; recalls the reduction of the budget of the Military Mobility from 5.9 bns euros to 1.69 bns;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Calls for the Commission and Member States to rapidly establish a financial framework to better foster and attract private investments towards infrastructure projects, and to develop innovative financial arrangements, notably through blending mechanisms;
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Calls for the creation, in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MMF) 2028-2035, of a budget envelope dedicated to “external transport” in the CEF III, in order to increase cooperation with third countries regarding cross- border projects and infrastructure deployment;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Asks that CEF funding for transport priorities be ring-fencedincreased and ring-fenced; deplores the reallocation and cuts of budgets by the European Commission from funding programmes as set in the MFF towards new instruments through the mandate, such the budget cut of 400 million from CEF towards Chips Act;
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Calls for European structural and investment Funds to greater focus on transport investments, to replicate the governance of CEF, which has demonstrated its strong efficiency, based on a centralised management resulting in a selection of projects with high European added value;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Recalls that maintenance is of paramount importance to ensure the long term well-functioning transport projects and their high-quality; highlights that periodical and regular maintenance allows to save money over the life time of the project; believes that the needs and costs of maintenance should therefore be included in the planning phase of the infrastructure project over its life-time; calls for this requirement to be a precondition to receiving funding from the Connecting Europe Facility;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Recognises the need for streamlined regulatory processes to ensure appropriate public consultation while ensuring that critical infrastructure projects are not unduly blocked; recalls that those consultations need to respect the timeframe set in the SMART TEN-T directive in order to avoid unnecessary delays;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Urges the Member States to make completing the core TEN-T network by 2030 a key priority over the completion of the extended and the comprehensive networks; calls for national projects that are not aligned with the TEN-T priorities to not be considered as a priority for receiving European funds;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Highlights that investments should be prioritised towards rail projects, considering its high potential for decarbonisation and connectivity in the EU and in order to meet the Union’s climate objective;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Recognises the interest of earmarking mechanisms from road and air to rail as a complementary budgetary tool to stimulate this mode of transport across the EU;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Amendment 72 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the prioritisation of cross- border interconnectivity projects and the interconnectivity of different transport modes, aiming at removing bottlenecks, addressing missing links, and improving the interconnectivity of different transport modes; considers that those projects hold the highest European added-value;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Recognises that transport and energy systems are interconnected; calls on the Commission to ensure that the trans- European energy network (TEN-E) is compatible with the TEN-T, as well as with Regulation (EU) […] [on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure], and that there are no gaps in the support architecture in order to deliver strategic independence; calls for a massive deployment of recharging and refuelling infrastructure along the TEN-T in order to meet the Union’s climate goals;
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls for stronger synergies across all modes of transport, including for active modes by removing barriers to active mobility; calls for the improvement of the civilian-military (“dual-use”) approach to infrastructure development in order to increase the Union’s resilience; calls for increasing the resilience of transport infrastructure to climatic and geopolitical hazards;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to submit an annual implementation report to the European and national parliaments outlining progress on the completion of the TEN-T as well as the reasons highlighting the possible delays; calls for the Commission to use all its existing instruments, including implementing acts, in order to avoid those delays and ensure the timely completion of the TEN-T; considers that unjustified delays should justify a reduction or the withdrawal of the grant under CEF;
Amendment 86 #
11 a. Calls for the reinforcement of the role of European Coordinators in order to facilitate the deployment of infrastructure projects along the corridors;
Amendment 87 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Highlights the benefits of a single managing entity for the realisation of cross-border transport infrastructure projects;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Highlights the need for significant investment at European and national levels to decarbonise the transport sector, by supporting the deployment of innovative transport solutions, modal shift, low-emission mobility solutions and alternative fuels;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recognises the need to ensure the connectivity of countries and regions impacted by the war in Ukraine and/or Brexit, and the need to stop cooperation with Russia and Belarus.