Czech Business Today

White Paper on Transport from March 2011 proposes to modernise and decarbonise transport sector in order to create a competitive and sustainable transport system and to create a genuine Single European Transport Area without internal barriers. Over 35 participants representing European institutions, Member States and business sector agreed during the debate on 3rd May 2011 there was a need for concrete and better-analysed measures in the paper as well as better cooperation on sustainability between the EU and Member States. 

“The Czech Republic welcomes the EC White Paper, especially the differentiation between various modes of transport and support to infrastructure across the EU”, said Jan NĚMEC, transport attaché in the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU “However, when talking about greening and sustainability of transport we have to make sure that we do not lose competitiveness”, added Němec. “Greenhouse Gas emissions from passenger transport count around 60% of EU transport emissions and 1/4 of total transport emissions comes from urban transport,” said Gergely SULYOK, EC economic analyst. Almost 96% of transport depends on oil, which is expected to become more expensive. Therefore, there is a need for change in the transport system. Transport will need to use less of cleaner energy and need to efficiently exploit a multimodal, integrated and ‘intelligent’ network. Olga SEHNALOVÁ, Member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism and newly appointed White Paper’s shadow reporter of S&D informed stressed: “There is a need for public and political support which will encourage all actors to participate in and cooperate on the creation of a Single European Transport Area.” Business assesses the White Paper slightly less optimistically. 

“BUSINESSEUROPE supports the general objective of the White Paper to achieve sustainable transport” said Anna CONSTABLE, Adviser for the Internal Market Department. In this context a blend of initiatives is needed relating to infrastructure, transport vehicles and equipment, ICT solutions, network services and operational and administrative procedures. The emphasis should be on creating conditions for effective co-modality and completing the internal market for transport – not a forced modal shift. Marc BILLIET, Head of EU Goods Transport and EU Environmental Affairs Department of IRU – International Road Transport Union stressed that the White Paper lacks concrete measures. “The aims of earlier White Paper have not yet been fully achieved, we have to make sure we succeed this time,” said Billiet. “We need a resource-efficient transport system with all transport modes; forced modal shift does not work”, he outlined. It is important to increase efforts to reduce the environmental footprint of commercial road transport at source. 

Ambitions of the White Paper go into a good direction however they are far from reality. The Member States keep their protective measures. ”When introducing locomotives to the Internal Market (only to four countries) we are confronted with burdensome red tape. We need to ease the access to the Internal Market by cutting red tape and enhance cooperation across the EU,” added Petr Jonák, Director of Corporate Communication Department of AWT Group. He stressed as well the importance of competitiveness while adopting new environmental legislation. The event was organised by CEBRE, Czech Permanent Representation to the EU and AWT Group.