Connecting Europe: TransportThe Connecting Europe Facility will invest €31.7 billion to upgrade Europe's transport infrastructure, build missing links and remove bottlenecks. This includes €10 billion ring fenced in the Cohesion Fund for transport projects in the cohesion countries, with the remaining 21.7 billion available for all Member States for investing in transport infrastructure. The idea is to improve links between different parts of the EU, to make it easier for different countries to exchange goods and people with each other.
By focusing on transport modes that are less polluting, the Connecting Europe Facility will push our transport system to become more sustainable. It will also give consumers more choice about how they want to travel. The TEN-T guidelines (incl. all modes of transport) set common requirements for the TEN-T infrastructure – with tougher requirements for the core network. This will ensure fluent transport operations throughout the network. The policy also fosters the implementation of adequate refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuels, which will help to reduce GHG emissions and make Europe less depending on oil used in transport. NGVA Europe welcomes this extremly important initiative as adequate refuelling infrastructure has to be built up first to facilitate and enable the market development of zero and low carbon fuels like NG/biomethane, which suffer from high infrastructure costs.
Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, recently again emphasised at a reception of EUCAR (European Council for Automotive R&D) what has to be the predominant goal for European industry and policy makers: "We need to break our almost complete dependence on oil to fuel our road transport systems." (see full speech). The TEN-T guidelines, which also call investing in refuelling infrastructure for alternative fuels (such as Methane), will therefore make an important contribution coming closer to achieve this target.
The key content related to alternative fuels and low carbon transport:
The guidelines lay down specific requirements for the core network, in addition to the requirements for the comprehensive network, for example availability of alternative fuels. (page 8)
Article 10
Priorities
The Union, Member States, infrastructure managers and other project promoters, when developing the comprehensive network, shall give particular consideration to measures that are necessary for:
(h) ensuring fuel security by allowing the use of alternative and in particular low or zero carbon energy sources and propulsion systems;
Article 20
Infrastructure components
4. Equipment associated with roads shall include in particular equipment for traffic management, information and route guidance, for the levying of user charges, for safety, for reducing negative environmental effects, for refuelling or recharging of vehicles with alternative drives, and for secure parking areas for commercial vehicles.
Article 45
Requirements
(c) for road transport infrastructure:
– (...)
– availability of alternative clean fuels;
Article 39
New technologies and innovation
The comprehensive network shall keep up with state-of-the-art technological developments and deployments. They shall in particular aim to:
(a) enable the decarbonisation of transport through transition to innovative transport technologies;
(b) enable the decarbonisation of all transport modes by stimulating energy efficiency as well as the introduction of alternative propulsion systems and the provision of corresponding infrastructure. Such infrastructure may include grids and other facilities necessary for the energy supply, take account of the infrastructure – vehicle interface and encompass intelligent transport systems;
(...)
(e) promote measures to reduce external costs, such as pollution of any kind, including noise, congestion and health damage;
(f) introduce security technology and compatible identification standards on the networks;
(g) improve resilience to climate change;
(f) introduce security technology and compatible identification standards on the networks;
(g) improve resilience to climate change;
Transport systems in Europe have traditionally developed along national lines. The EU has a crucial role to play in coordinating between Member States when planning, managing and funding cross-border projects. A well-functioning network is essential to the smooth operation of the single market and will boost competitiveness. The Commission proposed to create corridors to cover the most important cross-border projects. It has estimated that by 2020, €500 billion will be needed to realise a real European network, including €250 billion for removing bottlenecks and completing missing links in the core network.
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