Fuente: © European Parliament
http://www.europarl.eu.int/

EU: Summary of the hearing of Antonio Tajani (Italy), Commissioner designate for Transport

/noticias.info/ At a hearing before MEPs on Monday, Antonio Tajani, the Italian Commissioner-designate for transport, faced around three hours of questions on issues ranging from state subsidies for airlines through trans-European rail-freight corridors to port infrastructure and piracy in EU waters. He promised to press Member States to invest more in trans-European infrastructure projects and to ensure air passengers' rights under EU law are fully respected.
The hearing was organised by the Transport Committee, with participation from the Budgets Committee. On Tuesday morning, the MEPs involved will draw up a letter of evaluation, which will be considered by Parliament's political group leaders in the Conference of Presidents in the afternoon, after which it will be made public. The plenary session will vote on Wednesday on whether to support Mr Tajani's appointment.

"Without a strong transport policy, there is no united Europe," incoming Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani told MEPs. Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty and demonstrations across Europe against oil price rises show we need a Europe "capable of responding to citizens' short-term needs", he said, adding that transport is clearly an area where we need "more Europe", because modern transport infrastructure and affordable services "are a driver for economic and social development, growth, and jobs."

Road safety
In his introduction, Mr Tajani stressed the need to raise awareness of the dangers of drink and drug driving, especially amongst young people.

Replying to a question by Gabriele Albertini (EPP-ED, IT) on traffic congestion in big cities, Mr Tajani said that the Eurovignette proposal can help to reduce urban pollution by directing heavy goods vehicles to alternative routes. "It is not a new tax, but a voluntary measure, the revenue from which is used to fund road safety measures," he added.

Single Sky
An "open sky" initiative, to be unveiled on 25 June, will help end the fragmentation of air traffic control systems, thanks inter alia to tools developed under the SESAR air traffic management research project. These tools, he said, will also boost the Europe's air transport competitiveness, by cutting airlines' fuel consumption and hence their CO2 emissions.

Replying to a question by Christine de Veyrac (EPP-ED, FR) on the SESAR project, Mr Tajani also stressed the vital need to modernise and rationalise an air traffic control system that currently relies on 27 national control centres.

"The Commission and Parliament must steer innovation, liberalisation and development," otherwise "we risk being defeated by those who don't believe in Europe," he said.

As another useful innovation, Mr Tajani cited a new system for detecting dangerous liquids in travellers' luggage, which should facilitate airport checks.

State aids
State aid rules will be rigorously enforced, irrespective of the country concerned, said Mr Tajani, stressing that "there's no difference between Alitalia and any other company". "As a European Commissioner, I shall ensure that the treaties are respected", he said in reply to a question to by Georg Jarzembowski (EPP-ED DE), about a previous case, involving Olympic Airways and Alitalia. He also pointed that he had already begun investigating whether state aid rules had been infringed.

"Should state aid to ports be restricted?", asked Johannes Blokland (IND-DEM, NL). "We need to consider this very carefully before making proposals," replied Mr Tajani, noting that the EU has 12,000 ports, which are the entry point for 40% of goods circulating within Europe.

Maritime safety
"The lack of progress on the ERIKA III maritime safety package is a scandal", said German Socialist Willi Piecyk. "Many Member States barely implement International Maritime Organisation regulations, particularly Ireland and Italy", he claimed. Mr Tajani admitted that there was resistance in the Council to the flag state and civil liability proposals, and appealed for Parliament's support to overcome it.

Replying to another question by Mr Piecyk, on piracy, Mr Tajani said he agreed with Mr Barrot's disquiet at its growth beyond and within EU waters, and said the Commission was considering various intervention possibilities, but was open to Parliament's suggestions.

TENS
Asked by Salvatore Tatarella (UEN, IT) about Member States' commitment to trans-European network projects by, Mr Tajani undertook to try to accelerate progress on 30 priority projects under the Trans-European Networks (TEN) programme, including funding, and urged Parliament to join the Commission in impressing upon Member States the need to honour their commitments to fund infrastructure projects.

Replying to a question by Anne Jensen (ALDE, DK) about the private sector's failure to invest to in Galileo and European Investment Bank guarantees for TENs, Mr Tajani described public/private partnerships as a "very useful tool for implementing TENs."

Cross-border rail freight

Erik Meijer (EUL-NGL, NL), asked Mr Tajani to comment on a "conflict between subsidiarity and sustainability" that hampers the development of cross-border rail freight links. Mr Tajani agreed, citing historic differences between rail national rail gauges, and said he would seek to promote trans-European rail freight corridcrs.

Lobbying
"How can you guarantee independence from transport industry lobbyists?" asked Luca Romagnoli (N-A, IT). "I'm not pocketable by any lobby", replied Mr Tajani.

The transport job
"Was it a surprise that you got this portfolio?", asked Johannes Blokland, reflecting a general view that Mr Tajani was very well prepared, and wondering aloud whether as a journalist, Mr Tajani had written on transport issues.

"The Commission has a political role to play (...), to stop blocades of our economy we have to come up with answers," replied Mr Tajani, acknowledging that his first article, written in 1978, had been about the Italian highway code, and that he had also written about air accidents. notas_de_prensa_archivo