On Monday 19 March, the afternoon proceedings of the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament, chaired by President Brian Simpson, were hosted by the CEI.
The Delegation of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) was welcomed by CEI Secretary General, Amb. Gerhard Pfanzelter and the Prefect of Trieste, Alessandro Giacchetti who underlined the importance of modern infrastructure as a precondition for economic growth.
In particular, Amb. Pfanzelter highlighted that “the visit of the Committee of the European Parliament is an important recognition of the CEI activities in the transport and logistics sector from Brussels''. He also pointed out the importance of the EU- funded projects such as the South-East European Transport Axis Cooperation (SEETAC) and the Accessibility and Development for the Re-launch of the Inner Adriatic Area (ADRIA A), where the CEI acts as Lead Partner for the integration of the South-East Europe region into the EU transport system. CEI Alternate Secretary General, Giorgio Rosso Cicogna, said that the CEI was also active in the transport sector through the Technical Cooperation Projects (TCs) promoted by the CEI Trust Fund at the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), financed by Italy. The programme included a contribution by the Regional Transport Minister, Riccardo Riccardi and by the representative of the European Commission - DG Transport and Mobility, Alain Baron. The former underlined the priorities of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the latter presented the main characteristics of the new Ten-T regulation, published on 19 October 2011 by the European Commission for the development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). In this context, the CEI presented the two EU-supported transport projects: SEETAC, which sees the participation of 14 ministries of transport in the Balkans and aims at analysing possible integration between the Western Balkans and the EU transport systems in order to generate transport continuity and infrastructure development in the European area; and ADRIA A, which aims at contributing to the accessibility and transport reorganisation in the entire cross-border area, in order to form an integrated Italian – Slovene metropolitan transport area. The project’s partnership embraces 27 partners among which the Transport Department of the Autonomous Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the Italian and Slovene Ministries of Transport and Environment and the Veneto Region. This event came at a crucial moment for the future of the transport policy in the EU, the Friuli Venezia Giulia and the CEI Member States. With the new Ten-t guidelines, the Friuli Venezia Giulia finds itself at the geographical crosswords between the Baltic-Adriatic Corridor and the Mediterranean Corridor. Furthermore, the challenge regarding the full inclusion of Western Balkan countries in the EU Transport system is seen as a collective challenge for the non-EU CEI countries as well as crucial in order to overcome the crisis and re-launch development and investments in the area.The event provided a valuable platform for an exchange of views among the MEPs, the European Commission, the local authorities and the Central European Initiative on the future of the EU transport policy. For more information: fortuna@cei-es.org
