[F11. The Member States shall provide the Commission with abstracts of national plans and programmes which they are drawing up with a view to development of the trans-European transport network, in particular in relation to the projects declared to be of European interest referred to in Article 19a. Once adopted, the Member States shall send the national plans and programmes to the Commission for information.]
2.A Committee on the Trans-European Transport Network, hereinafter called ‘the Committee’, is hereby set up at the Commission; it shall be composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission. The Committee shall exchange information on the plans and programmes notified by Member States and may consider any question relating to the development of the trans-European transport network.
[F13. The Commission shall report every two years to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of the guidelines described in this Decision. The Committee set up under paragraph 2 shall assist the Commission with drawing up the report. The report shall be accompanied where necessary by legislative proposals to revise the guidelines; these legislative proposals may, if necessary, include amendments to the list of priority projects in Annex III or the addition to that list of projects that are in conformity with Article 19(1). The revision shall have particular regard to projects that contribute to the territorial cohesion of the European Union in accordance with Article 19(1)(e).]
Textual Amendments
1. The priority projects shall be projects of common interest referred to in Article 7 where examination confirms that they:
(a) are intended to eliminate a bottleneck or complete a missing link on a major route of the trans-European network, in particular projects which are cross-border projects, cross natural barriers or have a cross-border section;
(b) are on such a scale that long-term planning at European level will help significantly;
(c) present, overall, potential socio-economic net benefits and other socioeconomic advantages;
(d) significantly improve the mobility of goods and persons between Member States and thus also contribute to the interoperability of national networks;
(e) contribute to the territorial cohesion of the European Union by integrating the networks of the new Member States and improving connections with the peripheral and island regions;
(f) contribute to the sustainable development of transport by improving safety and reducing environmental damage caused by transport, in particular by promoting a modal shift towards railways, intermodal transport, inland waterways and maritime transport;
(g) demonstrate commitment on the part of the Member States concerned to carrying out studies and evaluation procedures in time to complete the work in accordance with a date agreed in advance, based upon national plans or any other equivalent document relating to the project in question.
2. The priority projects on which work is due to start before 2010, the sections thereof and the dates agreed for completing the work referred to in paragraph 1(g) are set out in Annex III.
3. By 2010 the Commission shall draft a progress report and, if necessary, propose amendments to the list of priority projects identified in Annex III in line with paragraph 1.]
Textual Amendments
1. The priority projects identified in Annex III are declared to be of European interest. This declaration is made solely in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Treaty and in the legal acts based thereon.
2. Without prejudice to the legal basis of the Community financial instrument in question:
(a) when submitting their projects under the Cohesion Fund, in accordance with Article 10 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 of 16 May 1994 establishing a Cohesion Fund (1) , the Member States shall give appropriate priority to the projects declared to be of European interest;
(b) when submitting their projects under the budget for the trans-European networks, in accordance with Articles 9 and 10 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2236/95 of 18 September 1995 laying down general rules for the granting of Community financial aid in the field of trans-European networks (2) , the Member States shall give appropriate priority to the projects declared to be of European interest;
(c) the Commission shall encourage the Member States to take into account the projects declared to be of European interest when planning the programming of the Structural Funds, in particular in regions covered by Objective 1, having regard to national transport plans falling within the scope of existing Community support frameworks;
(d) the Commission shall ensure that the countries qualifying for the Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-accession give appropriate priority, when submitting their projects under that instrument in accordance with Articles 2 and 7 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1267/1999 of 21 June 1999 establishing an Instrument for Structural Policies for Preaccession (3) , to the projects declared to be of European interest.
3. When forecasting its financial needs, the Commission shall give appropriate priority to the projects declared to be of European interest.
4. In the event of a significant delay, in relation to the deadline of 2010, in starting work on one of the projects declared to be of European interest, the Commission shall ask the Member States concerned to give the reasons for the delay within three months. On the basis of the reply given, the Commission shall consult all the Member States concerned in order to solve the problem which has led to the delay.
The Commission may, in consultation with the Committee set up under Article 18(2), and as part of its active monitoring of the implementation of the project declared to be of European interest and having due regard to the principle of proportionality, decide to adopt appropriate measures. The Member States concerned shall be given the opportunity to submit observations on such measures before their adoption.
The European Parliament shall be informed immediately of any measure taken.
In adopting these measures, the Commission shall take due account of the share of responsibility for the delay of each Member States concerned and shall refrain from taking measures that would affect the realisation of the project in Member States not responsible for the delay.
5. In the event that a project declared to be of European interest is not substantially completed within a reasonable period of time after the expected date of its completion indicated in Annex III, and all Member States concerned are responsible for the delay, the Commission shall review the project, in accordance with the procedure referred to in paragraph 4, with a view to withdrawing its classification as a project declared to be of European interest by means of the revision procedure referred to in Article 18(3). The Commission shall, in any event, review the project at the end of a period of 15 years after it has been declared to be of European interest within the meaning of this Decision.
6. Five years after completion of a project declared to be of European interest or of one of the sections thereof, the Member States concerned shall carry out an assessment of its socioeconomic impact and its impact on the environment, including its impact on trade and the free movement of persons and goods between Member States, on territorial cohesion and on sustainable development. Member States shall inform the Commission of the results of this assessment.
7. Where a project declared to be of European interest includes a cross-border section which is technically and financially indivisible, the Member States concerned shall coordinate their procedures for assessing the socioeconomic effects thereof and use their best endeavours to conduct a transnational enquiry prior to granting construction permission and within the existing framework.
8. Other sections of projects of European interest will be coordinated bilaterally or multilaterally by the Member States on a case-by case basis.
9. The coordinated actions or transnational enquiries referred to in paragraph 7 shall apply without prejudice to the obligations imposed by the Community legislation on environmental protection, and particularly those relating to environmental impact assessment. The Member States concerned shall inform the Commission when such coordinated actions or transnational enquiries are launched and of the results. The Commission shall include that information in the report referred to in Article 18(3).
Textual Amendments
In the context of certain priority projects, cross-border sections between two Member States, including motorways of the sea, shall be identified by the Member States on the basis of criteria defined by the Committee set up under Article 18(2) and notified to the Commission. These will be, notably, sections which are technically and financially indivisible or to which the Member States concerned commit themselves jointly and for which they put in place a common structure.]
Textual Amendments
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Council Decision 78/174/EEC of 20 February 1978 instituting a consultation procedure and setting up a committee in the field of transport infrastructure(4) is hereby repealed.
This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
[F2 OJ L 130, 25.5.1994, p. 1 . Regulation as last amended by the Act of Accession of 2003.
OJ L 228, 23.9.1995, p. 1 . Regulation as lastamended by Regulation (EC) No 807/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( OJ L 143, 30.4.2004. p. 46 ).
OJ L 161, 26.6.1999, p. 73 . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 769/2004 ( OJ L 123, 27.4.2004, p. 1 ).]