Transport Networks [EU]
Advancing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T)
Directive (EU) 2021/1187 on streamlining measures for advancing the realisation of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T)
It aims to streamline measures to advance the realisation of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
It also aims to make the procedural process clearer for project promoters, in particular as regards permit granting and public procurement.
The directive is known as the ‘smart TEN-T directive’ and is the third part of the EU’s third Mobility Package — Europe on the Move.
Scope
The directive covers the following:
the pre-identified cross-border links and missing links of the TEN-T core network* corridors, as set out in Annex I;
projects on the core network corridors exceeding €300 million.
It does not cover projects that exclusively relate to telematics applications, new technology and innovation, as defined in the TEN-T guidelines — Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 (see summary).
EU Member States can choose to extend the Directive’s scope to include all projects on the core network or even of the comprehensive network. In case a Member State chooses to extend the scope, it should notify the European Commission.
Prioritisation
Member States shall ensure that national authorities give priority to projects covered by the directive in granting procedures.
Where specific permit-granting procedures for priority projects exist under national law, Member States shall ensure that these procedures are used for projects covered by the directive.
Designated authority
By 10 August 2023, each Member State must establish a designated authority which will take responsibility for projects. Its role will include:
serving as the point of contact for the project promoter and other relevant authorities;
outlining applications to project promoters;
overseeing the time-frame for permit-granting procedure;
providing guidance where required on the submission of documents and information;
taking authorising decisions, if given the power to do so by the respective Member State.
Permit-granting procedure
The directive simplifies the rules for the permit-granting procedure.
A maximum of 4 years are to be granted for authorisation, although this may extended in duly justified cases.
Member States may incorporate stages into the permit-granting process under national law.
Member States’ designated authorities shall cooperate on cross-border procedures, with the assistance and oversight of EU coordinators, with a view to coordinating their timetables and agreeing on a joint schedule concerning the permit-granting procedure.
Application & Background
It has applied since 9 August 2021 and has to become law in the Member States by 10 August 2023.
For more information, see:
Trans-European Transport Network TENtec (European Commission).
Core network: includes the most important connections on the network, linking the most important nodes, and is to be completed by 2030.
MAIN DOCUMENT
Directive (EU) 2021/1187 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 on streamlining measures for advancing the realisation of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) (OJ L 258, 20.7.2021, pp. 1–13).
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU T(OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, pp. 1–128).
Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.
The Marco Polo II programme
Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006 establishing the Marco Polo II programme for granting EU financial assistance to improve the environmental performance of the freight transport system
The Marco Polo II programme was designed to shift freight from the road to more environmentally friendly means of transport and to increase efficiency of transport operations by avoiding unnecessary traffic and empty runs.
The programme aimed at enhancing intermodality* by making better use in the transport system of the existing resources by incorporating short-sea shipping and rail and river transport into the logistics chain.
The regulation repeals Regulation (EC) No 1382/2003, which set up the first Marco Polo programme.
Key Points
The Marco Polo II programme was in force from 2007 to 2013, as a successor to the Marco Polo I (2003-2006) and PACT (1997-2001) programmes.
The programme was conceived to provide operational support to transport and logistics entities in view of addressing market failures causing imbalances and inefficiencies in the European freight transport sector, especially due to the dominant position of the road transport.
Its main objectives were to reduce congestion and to improve the environmental performance of the freight transport system. It thereby contributed to an efficient and sustainable transport system which provides EU added value without having a negative impact on economic, social or territorial cohesion.
Most of the project types were assessed and paid on the basis of quantifiable results, such as a modal shift actually being achieved and freight traffic being avoided in the European transport network.
Marco Polo II allowed for a wider geographical coverage by supporting actions operated not only between the EU countries but also between at least one EU country and a nearby non-EU country.
A total budget of €435 million was made available to fund five types of action:
modal shift,
catalyst,
common learning,
motorways of the sea, and
traffic avoidance.
The actions were selected through yearly calls for proposals.
All actions funded under the Marco Polo II programme have been completed and the programme has come to its end.
Two executive agencies were managing the programme: Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation until the end of 2013 and Innovation and Networks Executive Agency as of 2014 to its closure.
In 2013, the Commission published a communication on the results of the Marco Polo programmes for the period 2003 to 2010.
Eligible actions
The following actions were eligible.
Catalyst actions: actions aimed at overcoming significant structural barriers in the EU freight transport market which impede the efficient functioning of the markets, the competitiveness of short sea shipping, rail or inland waterway transport, and/or the efficiency of transport chains which make use of these modes. They are aimed at improving synergies in the rail, inland waterway and short sea shipping sectors, including motorways of the sea, by making better use of existing infrastructure.
Modal shift actions: actions aimed at shifting freight from road to short sea shipping, rail, inland waterways or a combination of modes of transport. The objective is to keep road journeys as short as possible.
Common learning actions: actions aimed at improving cooperation for structurally optimising working methods and procedures in the freight transport chain, taking the requirements of logistics into account.
Motorways of the sea: an idea first introduced by the 2001 White Paper on European transport policy. Motorways of the sea are aimed at directly shifting a proportion of freight from road to short sea shipping or a combination of short sea shipping and other modes of transport in which road journeys are as short as possible. For example, motorways of the sea could be established between Spain and France to eliminate the road traffic bottleneck in the Pyrenees.
Traffic avoidance actions: any innovative action aimed at integrating transport into the production logistics of businesses to avoid a large percentage of freight transport by road without adversely affecting production output or workforce capability.
Selection criteria of submitted proposals
Actions must be submitted by undertakings or consortia established in EU countries or participating countries, which includes candidate countries for EU accession and European Free Trade Association, European Economic Area and close non-EU countries subject to certain conditions.
EU financial assistance had the form of grants. For most project types, it was based on the number of tonne-kilometres transferred from the road to other means of sea or land transport or the number of vehicle-kilometres of road freight avoided. The objective was to reward high-quality projects. The EU grant could not lead to any distortions of competition.
The programme pays special attention to sensitive and metropolitan areas. The Commission evaluates the actions submitted, taking account of their contribution to reducing road congestion, but also their relative environmental merits and their overall sustainability.
EU financial assistance for the various actions is limited to a maximum of 35% of the total expenditure necessary to achieve the objectives of the action and incurred as a result of it. In the case of common learning actions, the ceiling is 50%.
Application & Background
For more information, see:
Marco Polo programme (Innovation and Networks Executive Agency).
KEY TERMS
Intermodality: Intermodality, also known as multimodality, is a quality indicator of the level of integration between the different transport modes. More intermodality means more integration and complementarity between modes, which provides scope for a more efficient use of the transport system.
MAIN DOCUMENT
Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 2006 establishing the second Marco Polo programme for the granting of Community financial assistance to improve the environmental performance of the freight transport system (Marco Polo II) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1382/2003 (OJ L 328, 24.11.2006, pp. 1-13)
Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — The Marco Polo programme — Results and outlook (COM(2013) 278 final, 14.5.2013)
Rules for the compilation of statistics regarding goods carried by road
Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 —
Road freight statistics
It sets out the rules for the production of comparable EU-wide statistics on goods transport by road.
It revises and repeals Regulation (EC) No 1172/98, which had been amended several times, and aligns the regulation with the Lisbon treaty with regard to the delegation of powers to the European Commission to adopt supplementary legislation.
Scope
EU countries must each compile and transmit to the Commission (Eurostat) data relating to freight transported by means of road transport vehicles registered on their territory.
The regulation does not apply to freight transported by:
goods road transport vehicles whose authorised weight or dimensions exceed the limits normally permitted in the EU countries concerned;
agricultural vehicles, military vehicles and vehicles belonging to central or local public administrations, with the exception of goods road transport vehicles belonging to public companies , and in particular railway companies.
EU countries may exclude goods road transport vehicles whose load capacity or maximum permissible weight is lower than a certain limit. That limit may not exceed a load capacity of 3.5 tonnes or a maximum permissible weight of 6 tonnes in the case of single motor vehicles.
The regulation does not apply to Malta so long as the number of Maltese-registered goods road transport vehicles licensed to engage in the international carriage of freight by road does not exceed 400 vehicles.
Data collection and transmission
Every quarter, by means of sample surveys, EU countries must compile and transmit data to Eurostat relating to 3 areas:
vehicles (see the regulation’s Annexes I and II);
journeys (see the regulation’s Annex III);
goods (see the regulation’s Annexes IV and V).
EU countries must transmit data within 5 months of the end of the quarter under observation.
Dissemination of results
Eurostat disseminates the data no later than 12 months after the end of the period to which they relate.
Reports
When they forward the data for the first quarter, EU countries send a report to Eurostat on the methods used to compile data. They must also inform Eurostat if they make any substantial changes to these methods. Every year, they must provide Eurostat with information on sample sizes, non-response rates and, in the form of standard error or confidence intervals, the reliability of the main statistical results.
The Commission (Eurostat) must report for the first time by December 2014, and thereafter every 3 years, to the European Parliament and the Council on the regulation’s implementation.
Committee
The Commission is advised and assisted by the European Statistical System Committee established by Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.
Powers delegated to the Commission
The Commission has not yet exercised the power to adopt delegated acts that the regulation granted to it. In a report, published in 2016, the Commission explained that neither economic and technical developments in the field of road freight transport nor conclusions of the Commission’s Working Groups on road freight statistics involving experts from EU countries raised the need to use these delegated powers.
Application & Background
It has applied since 23 February 2012.
For more information, see:
Road freight transport statistics (Eurostat).
MAIN DOCUMENT
Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road (OJ L 32, 3.2.2012, pp. 1-18)
Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 have been incorporated into the original document. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the exercise of the power to adopt delegated acts conferred on the Commission under Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road (COM(2016) 562 final, 12.9.2016)
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 70/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2012 on statistical returns in respect of the carriage of goods by road (COM(2015) 17 final, 26.1.2015)
Electronic freight transport information
Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 on electronic freight transport information
The regulation establishes a legal framework that allows economic operators to share with enforcement authorities information in an electronic format concerning the transport of goods by road, rail, inland waterways and air in the European Union (EU).
Application
The regulation applies to regulatory information requirements on the transport of goods set out in the EU legal acts listed in points 1-5 below, and to regulatory information requirements laid down in delegated or implementing acts adopted by the European Commission in accordance with the legal acts listed under points 1-7 below (listed in Part A of Annex I):
1.
EEC Council Regulation No 11 on inland navigation
2.
Council Directive 92/106/EEC on intermodal transport
3.
Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 on international road haulage
4.
Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 on waste shipments
5.
Directive 2008/68/EC on inland transport of dangerous goods
6.
Directive (EU) 2016/797 on the interoperability of the rail system
7.
Regulation (EC) No 300/2008 on civil aviation security .
The regulation also applies to similar information requirements in relevant national laws (listed in Part B of Annex I).
Electronic freight transport information (eFTI)
Electronic freight transport information (eFTI) is a set of data elements processed electronically for the purpose of exchanging regulatory information among economic operators (mainly companies involved in freight transport and logistics) and between operators and competent authorities.
Operators are not obliged to make regulatory information available electronically to a competent authority. However, when they choose to make this information available electronically, operators must:
use data processed on a certified eFTI platform and, if applicable, by a certified eFTI service provider;
make data available in machine-readable format via an authenticated and secure connection to the data source of an eFTI platform, and, when the data is requested for inspection, communicate to the authorities a unique identifying link to that data;
present data in human-readable format if requested by the competent authority, on the spot, on the operator’s device.
Relevant authorities must:
accept regulatory information made available electronically by operators;
accept waste shipment regulatory information without the agreement referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006;
be able to access and process electronically the eFTI data made available by operators;
provide official validation, such as stamps or certificates, electronically, where such validation is required as part of the regulatory information.
Relevant authorities, eFTI service providers and operators must keep commercial information confidential and ensure it is accessed and processed only when authorised.
eFTI data sets, access rules and procedures for authorities, eFTI platforms and service providers
The European Commission must adopt delegated or implementing acts no later than 21 February 2023 to:
establish and amend the eFTI common data set and data subsets, to reflect the respective regulatory information requirements, that:
specify the definition and technical characteristics for each data element,
take into account relevant international conventions and EU law,
aim to ensure the interoperability with relevant internationally accepted data models;
lay down common procedures and detailed rules for access by relevant authorities to eFTI platforms, with a view to:
making administrative procedures more efficient,
minimising compliance costs, both for the economic operators concerned and the relevant authorities.
The eFTI platforms used for processing regulatory data must provide functionalities to ensure that:
personal data processing complies with data protection laws;
commercial data is kept confidential;
competent authorities can access and process data in accordance with the specifications adopted;
operators can make information available to competent authorities;
a unique electronic identifying link can be established between a shipment and the related data elements;
data can be processed solely through authorised and authenticated access;
data processing is recorded in operation logs;
data can be archived and remain accessible;
data are protected against corruption and theft.
eFTI service providers must ensure that:
data is processed only by authorised users;
data is stored and accessible in accordance with EU and national law;
competent authorities have immediate access to regulatory information free of any charges or fees;
data is appropriately secured, including against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.
No later than 21 August 2023, the Commission will adopt the first implementing act to cover these requirements for eFTI platforms and eFTI service providers.
Certification
Conformity assessment bodies will be accredited by national accreditation bodies in EU Member States to certify eFTI platforms and eFTI service providers.
Application & Background
It entered into force on 20 August 2020 and applies from 21 August 2024.
For further information, see:
EU Regulation 2020/1056 on electronic freight transport information (eFTI) – presentation (European Commission).
MAIN DOCUMENT
Regulation (EU) 2020/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 on electronic freight transport information (OJ L 249, 31.7.2020, pp. 33–48).
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing a European Maritime Single Window environment and repealing Directive 2010/65/EU (OJ L 198, 25.7.2019, pp. 64–87).
Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (OJ L 138, 26.5.2016, pp. 44–101).
Successive amendments to Directive (EU) 2016/797 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.
Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, pp. 1–88).
See consolidated version.
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, pp. 1–101).
See consolidated version.
Regulation (EC) No 1072/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 on common rules for access to the international road haulage market (OJ L 300, 14.11.2009, pp. 72–87).
See consolidated version.
Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on the inland transport of dangerous goods (OJ L 260, 30.9.2008, pp. 13–59).
See consolidated version.
Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 (OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, pp. 30–47).
See consolidated version.
Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste (OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, pp. 1–98).
See consolidated version.
Council Directive 92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States (OJ L 368, 17.12.1992, pp. 38–42).
See consolidated version.
EEC Council: Regulation No 11 concerning the abolition of discrimination in transport rates and conditions, in implementation of Article 79 (3) of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (English special edition: Series I Volume 1959-1962, pp. 60–64).