THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular the first paragraph of Article 129d thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),
Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty(4),
(1) Whereas the establishment and development of trans-European networks contribute to the attainment of major Community objectives, such as the smooth functioning of the internal market and the strengthening of economic and social cohesion;
(2) Whereas the establishment and development of trans-European transport networks throughout the territory of the Community also have the specific objectives of ensuring the sustainable mobility of persons and goods under the best possible social, environmental and safety conditions and integrating all modes of transport, taking account of their comparative advantages; whereas job creation is one of the possible spin-offs of the trans-European network;
(3) Whereas the Commission's White Paper on the development of a common transport policy calls for optimum use to be made of existing capacities and for the integration of all networks relating to the various modes of transport into a trans-European network for the road, rail, inland waterway, sea and air transport of passengers and goods and for combined transport;
(4) Whereas short distance shipping may, inter alia, help to relieve congestion on inland transport routes;
(5) Whereas network integration at European level can only be developed progressively by interlinking different modes of transport with a view to making better use of the inherent advantages of each;
(6) Whereas, in order to achieve these objectives, action by the Community to establish guidelines is necessary in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity; whereas it is necessary to establish the broad lines and the priorities of the Community action proposed in the field of trans-European transport networks;
(7) Whereas it is necessary to identify projects of common interest which contribute to the achievement of these objectives and which correspond to the priorities of the action which have thus been established; whereas only projects which are potentially economically viable should be taken into account;
(8) Whereas Member States need to take account of environmental protection when implementing projects of common interest by carrying out environmental impact studies pursuant to Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment(5) and by applying Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora(6);
(9) Whereas authorization for certain public and private projects likely to have a significant environmental impact should be granted only after prior assessment of that potential impact, in compliance with existing Community rules;
(10) Whereas it is necessary to identify projects of common interest concerning not only the various modes of transport in a multimodal approach but also traffic management and user information systems and positioning and navigation systems;
(11) Whereas one of the aims of this Decision is to identify such projects of common interest; whereas these projects are identified in Annex I, Annex II and in the enacting terms of this Decision; whereas the European Council in Essen attributed particular importance to fourteen of these projects;
(12) Whereas the Commission should submit every two years a report on the implementation of this Decision and every five years a report indicating whether the guidelines require revision;
(13) Whereas a Committee should be set up at the Commission with tasks which include assisting the Commission when it examines the implementation and development of these guidelines,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Opinion of the European Parliament of 18 May 1995 (OJ No C 151, 19. 6. 1995, p. 234). Council Common Position of 28 September 1995 (OJ No C 331, 8. 12. 1995, p. 1) and Decision of the European Parliament of 13 December 1995 (OJ No C 17, 22. 1. 1996, p. 58). Council Decision of 15 July 1996 and Decision of the European Parliament of 17 July 1996 (not yet published in the Official Journal).