Committee on Transport and Tourism. of the Committee on Transport and Tourism

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1 European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism 2018/0166R(APP) OPINION of the Committee on Transport and Tourism for the Committee on Budgets on the interim report on MFF Parliament s position in view of an agreement (COM(2018) /0166R(APP)) Rapporteur for opinion: Dominique Riquet AD\ docx PE v02-00 United in diversity

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3 SUGGESTIONS The Committee on Transport and Tourism calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its report: Introduction 1. Insists on the strategic importance of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for sectors relying on long-term investment such as the transport sector; highlights that transport infrastructure is the backbone of the single market, the basis for growth and job creation, and crucial to ensuring the four fundamental freedoms pertaining to persons, capital, goods and services; points to the key issues and general constraints in connection with the next MFF, given the increase in the volume of transport and the increasing number of challenges, in particular environmental challenges posed by increases in carbon, fine-particulate and gaseous-pollutant emissions, in spite of ambitious climate and environment protection objectives in line with the Paris Agreement, and research and innovation needs for the development of connected and autonomous vehicles; recalls also the delays in investment in new infrastructure for improving connectivity, and especially in maintaining existing infrastructure; MFF 2. Points to the success of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) under the current MFF and to the fact that its calls for proposals are oversubscribed threefold; welcomes the fact that it is to be extended under the new MFF; deplores, however, the 12 % cut in constant prices in the allocation for CEF Transport and the 13 % cut in the Cohesion Fund contribution; takes the view that the budget for the CEF cannot be allocated to other programmes that are unrelated to its specific objectives; calls for the CEF Transport allocation of EUR billion in constant prices and the Cohesion Fund contribution of EUR 10 billion in constant prices to be reinstated, taking into account their positive impact on economic development; 3. Underlines the effectiveness of the centralised governance structure laid down by the CEF Regulation; notes that transferring part of Cohesion Fund funding to the CEF has been a great success and that the degree of satisfaction of the Member States concerned confirms that this mechanism will be continued under the next MFF and be sufficient to complete the currently ongoing projects funded through the Cohesion Fund contribution; accordingly proposes an allocation of EUR 20 billion from the European Regional Development Fund to the CEF, to be managed under similar rules to those which apply to Cohesion Fund funding for the CEF, albeit accessible for all Member States; believes that, in view of the big difference between available funding and what is needed, more attention needs to be paid to solutions with extensive EU added value such as missing cross-border links, for example rail links, and that this transfer would ensure that T-T projects in Europe make significant headway; 4. Stresses that an updated and more effective CEF programme, under the next MFF , should cover all modes of transport, encourage a modal shift, encourage Member States to invest in smart, sustainable and integrated public transport, prioritise greater links between comprehensive networks, enhance interoperability through the European AD\ docx 3/7 PE v02-00

4 Railway Traffic Management System and the full use of the Single European Sky initiative, and contribute to meeting EU road safety targets; 5. Points out that the CEF is a grant facility and welcomes the Commission proposal to make that clear by incorporating the CEF financial instrument into the new InvestEU programme; considers that the share of the CEF transport envelope implemented in the form of a financial instrument should not exceed 5 % of the total for that envelope; deplores the fact that, in spite of the regrettable transfer of funds benefiting the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) at the expense of CEF, the share of transport investments generated by the EFSI is, quantitatively, nowhere near the 30 % target figure and, in qualitative terms, falls far short of meeting the criteria for what constitutes EU added value; strongly underlines, in this sense, that no transfer of funds should be allowed from the Horizon Europe Programme in favour of InvestEU; stresses how important it is that, under the next MFF, the InvestEU programme should benefit projects with genuine EU added value, and congratulates the Commission for having proposed that one of the four areas of investment identified should be sustainable infrastructure; 6. Points out the important need to set up a budget heading for sustainable tourism, given the importance of the sector within the EU economy, accounting for 5 % of GDP in 2016, and the EU s responsibilities under Article 195 TFEU, with a view to moving towards a genuine EU tourism policy that can solve the current problems of fragmentation and of access to funds, promote Europe as a tourist destination and boost the tourist industry, thus contributing to growth and job creation; 7. Notes that minimising external costs needs to be integrated as a guiding principle into the MFF as a cost-effective measure to reduce the burden on future public budgets; Agencies 8. Welcomes the host of new competences given to the EU s transport-related agencies, in particular the European Aviation Safety Agency, the European Maritime Safety Agency and the European Union Agency for Railways; highlights the importance of ensuring that all transport agencies have sufficient resources, which are stable in real terms, to fulfil their duties and new responsibilities; 9. Welcomes the Commission s proposal to establish the European Labour Authority; stresses the importance of ensuring that this new authority has sufficient means to perform its duties in the transport sector; Research 10. Recalls that support for transport and mobility research and development is of crucial importance, given the challenges represented by increases in carbon, fine-particulate and gaseous-pollutant emissions as a result of increased traffic and congestion, the need for energy transition and increased transport safety, and the development of connected and autonomous vehicles; stresses, therefore, the importance of maintaining a direct link between Horizon Europe and the deployment at EU level of transport solutions developed through research and development activities; points to the successes of the common undertakings, such as SESAR, Shift2Rail and CleanSky; considers it important to continue to provide significant support and appropriate funding for those undertakings PE v /7 AD\ docx

5 under the Horizon Europe programme; stresses that, in supporting research and development, the principle of technological neutrality should be applied in the field of transport; Own resources 11. Notes that all Member States collect significant volumes of tax and parafiscal revenue that is directly related to transport and tourism and that transferring even a minimal proportion of that revenue to the EU as own resources would put it in a better position to meet the new challenges it has to cope with; considers that moving back to the more significant level of own resources that was planned when the European Community was established would bolster the EU s capacity for political and budgetary action. AD\ docx 5/7 PE v02-00

6 PROCEDURE COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION Title Interim report on the Multiannual Financial Framework Parliament s position with a view to an agreement References Committee responsible 2018/0166R(APP) BUDG Opinion by Date announced in plenary Rapporteur Date appointed TRAN Dominique Riquet Discussed in committee Date adopted Result of final vote +: : 0: Members present for the final vote Substitutes present for the final vote Substitutes under Rule 200(2) present for the final vote Daniela Aiuto, Marie-Christine Arnautu, Inés Ayala Sender, Georges Bach, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Deirdre Clune, Michael Cramer, Andor Deli, Nicola Danti, Michael Detjen, Ismail Ertug, Jacqueline Foster, Tania González Peñas, Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, Merja Kyllönen, Innocenzo Leontini, Peter Lundgren, Georg Mayer, Gesine Meissner, Renaud Muselier, Markus Pieper, Gabriele Preuß, Christine Revault d Allonnes Bonnefoy, Dominique Riquet, Massimiliano Salini, Claudia Schmidt, Jill Seymour, Keith Taylor, Pavel Telička, Marie-Pierre Vieu, Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi, Kosma Złotowski, Luis de Grandes Pascual, Peter van Dalen, Wim van de Camp, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Claudia Țapardel Francisco Assis, Jill Evans, Maria Grapini, Karoline Graswander-Hainz, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Marek Plura, Henna Virkkunen Angel Dzhambazki, John Howarth, Wajid Khan PE v /7 AD\ docx

7 FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION 35 + ALDE GUE/NGL PPE S&D VERTS/ALE Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Gesine Meissner, Dominique Riquet, Pavel Telička Merja Kyllönen Georges Bach, Wim van de Camp, Deirdre Clune, Andor Deli, Luis de Grandes Pascual, Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, Innocenzo Leontini, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Renaud Muselier, Markus Pieper, Marek Plura, Massimiliano Salini, Claudia Schmidt, Henna Virkkunen, Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi Francisco Assis, Inés Ayala Sender, Nicola Danti, Michael Detjen, Ismail Ertug, Maria Grapini, Karoline Graswander-Hainz, John Howarth, Wajid Khan, Gabriele Preuß, Christine Revault d Allonnes Bonnefoy, Claudia Țapardel Michael Cramer, Jill Evans, Keith Taylor 4 - ECR EFDD GUE/NGL Peter van Dalen Jill Seymour Tania González Peñas, Marie-Pierre Vieu 8 0 ECR EFDD F Angel Dzhambazki, Jacqueline Foster, Ryszard Antoni Legutko, Peter Lundgren, Kosma Złotowski Daniela Aiuto Marie-Christine Arnautu, Georg Mayer Key to symbols: + : in favour - : against 0 : abstention AD\ docx 7/7 PE v02-00