During the plenary session (5-8 July 2021) of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, MEPs debate on Connecting Europe, a key EU funding instrument to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment at European level. It supports the development of high performing, sustainable and efficiently interconnected trans-European networks in the fields of transport, energy and digital services. CEF investments fill the missing links in Europe's energy, transport and digital backbone. Opening statements by Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI) and Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), Rapporteurs and by Adina VĂLEAN, European Commissioner for Transport. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

statement

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

Transeuropean Energy Networks (T)

BILBAO BARANDICA, Izaskun (Renew, ES)

VĂLEAN, Adina-Ioana (EPP, RO, EC)

Transeuropean Telecommunications Networks (T)

Trans-European networks (T2)

MARINESCU, Marian-Jean (EPP, RO)

RIQUET, Dominique (Renew, FR)

VIRKKUNEN, Henna (EPP, FI)

Multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 (T)

Joint debate on Connecting Europe: opening statements by Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI) and Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), rapporteurs, Adina VĂLEAN, European Commissioner for Transport

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), Thank you very much for the wonderful cooperation. We have worked very effectively together and indeed numerous years are behind us. As far as the work that we've done, culminating in today and our presentation today, we're speaking here now about over 30 billion euro to be invested in a number of different, very important infrastructure projects in energy, transport and in the digital world as well.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), This has great importance, of course, for the competitiveness of Europe, Moderna quicker infrastructure that will allow for the internal market to work and function more effectively and will help to bolster industry as well so that in the future.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), These particular sectors will enjoy a flourishing under the new realm of digitalisation, in the new realm of digitalisation and within the framework of the new Green Deal, we're speaking about investments in industry and in society as a whole.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), And these networks are really they really do play a key role, particularly in view of digitalisation, which is already there and very much part of our systems, but which will be all the more so in the future. So we have to take advantage of these numerous different possibilities of the future, but that requires investment.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), The Commission has estimated that over 200 million per year would have to be invested in the years to come in order to achieve all that is necessary. And for this reason, this. Well, particular project is the project of the future. Now, 60 percent of investments will go into these types of infrastructure projects in the future.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), And all of this, of course, within the broader thought to reduce emissions, to protect the climate as well. We want to achieve those climate goals. Now, energy is part of this entire package for the future will play an extremely important role.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), And we must be certain that energy will be of a cross-border nature and that there be a very, very diverse palette of energy sources as well as the trans-European Energy Project is all part of this financing is going there and of course, cross-border projects for renewables as well. Digitalisation will also be deployed in order to create quicker, speedier networks that will cover all of Europe.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), We're speaking now about 5G corridors and super computer networks and of course, cross border cable connexions. Hundreds of millions are being invested in the years to come so that Europe will be competitive in the new digital environment, in digital industry itself as well.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), Now, in the transport committee, I've been in charge of a number of different reports that have been related to all of this. And essentially the impetus has been or rather the focus has been bringing Europe forward in the future to create sustainable transport as well.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), For us to use energy effectively, that means creating new, speedy, quick infrastructures in the digital energy and transport networks, joining these different factors to be competitive for the future. But it is absolutely necessary that we have the necessary infrastructure there for sustainable and renewables as well.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), We need a modern internal market, a modern internal market that will be able to respond to the new forces in industry as well. And of course, it would be very helpful for our very, very ambitious climate goals to be met as well. That is all always in the front of our thoughts. And all of these programmes have to incorporate that particular element.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), Now, the budget, the budget is extremely important here. We have over 30 billion which have been earmarked. And it's important for us to invest more in digital networks and, of course, in transport and energy networks. This is key and core to creating that competitive Europe that we want and that that we be able to function effectively in a competitive global climate in the future as well.

SOUNDBITE (Finnish), Henna VIRKKUNEN (EPP, FI), This is an instrument which is an instrument focussed on the future, on projects and networks which are indeed cross-border. From these particular instruments that have been made available and within the framework of the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, all of this ought to be possible. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), President, commissioner, colleagues, I'm delighted that today we're going to be voting on this regulation, a key regulation that at long last sets out the European Union's transport policy. And in addition to this, you've got the areas dealing with digital and energy.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), And it is the second regulation in this field. May I remind you that in 2011, the commission put forward 50 billion for the Connecting Europe facility. At the time, we weren't able to attain 50 billion. And today 33 billion are on the table. And in 2011, it was felt that 50 billion were needed.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), So you can imagine that currently that budget simply isn't enough. So we very much hope that the budget we do have will be spent in an effective manner. We've got the slogan, The Shift to rail, a slogan that we wish to achieve to bring to fruition by 2030. But of course, for this to happen, we're going to need those railways.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), And in my view, in the EU, we don't yet have a railway network that can live up to those expectations to ensure that there can, in fact, be a shift away from road transport. And away from air transport, moving everything to rail

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), So as you can see, there seems to be a parallel discourse going on here, we're talking about decarbonisation, but there's not enough money to achieve that objective. And I would remind you at this juncture that without investment and without funds via other European funds in 2030, we're not going to be able to achieve that objective.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), But then, on the other hand, apart from making effective use of the funds available, we need European governments in this area when it comes to transfer policy. That needs to be standardisation. There needs to be interoperability of systems. And something that's been made clear is that the current management of our railways is simply not good enough.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), We want to make trains, for instance, but there is always a need for a change in the particular culture of courage. A change in the engine changes the drivers, and there are no harmonised rules amongst the member states. So a number of efforts need to be made.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), I would therefore support European governance in order to ensure that we can achieve harmonisation of our rules around transport across the continent. And this will also enable us to guide investment to where it's most needed, not just since.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), That's why my expectations of the Commission are high. And in fact, I tabled the draught project in this regard. I'm still awaiting the commission's response to this.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), But let me say once again, if we really want to implement the nice sounding slogans that we've come up with, then we need real European management. And so the EPP group will be voting in favour of this regulation at this stage.

SOUNDBITE (Romanian), Marian-Jean MARINESCU (EPP, RO), Let me thank my colleagues, my fellow members, the shadow rapporteurs, for their support. I would also like to thank the rapporteurs. We were able to work together, united as a team. And I would also like to thank the European Commission for its precious support. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), President, commissioner, dear colleagues in the course of this plenary were going to be making a decision on two texts, the Connecting Europe facility and the smart TEN-T, which are of vital importance for European infrastructure, particularly in the context of the recovery of the European economy.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), I'd like to thank my co rapporteurs, Mrs Bakunin and Mr Marinescu, for the excellent work and cooperation and all the shadow rapporteurs and assistants who have contributed to the two reports.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), Since there's something that's obvious, which has to be repeated over and over again, whether we're talking about transport, energy or digital good infrastructure is key to the correct functioning of the single internal market, strengthening economic and social and territorial cohesion of the union to develop our strategic autonomy and to realise the green deal.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), And that's all the more the case because our international competitors are investing hugely that China has been doing and making huge investments for the last 30 years. And the US has just agreed a thousand billion dollar plan for this area.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), The reason is simple. The infrastructure is the backbone of our economy. We have budgetary constraints and regulatory constraints and we have had problems since the financial crisis of 2008 and 2012. That's the budgetary difficulty.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), The second difficulty is regulation. We have all of the environmental, technical, civil society, democratic requirements. Things have got much more complex. They make life more difficult for a major project promoters. We have had several months of of difficult negotiations.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), And we hope that we will have achieved a way of dealing with our handicaps and turning our ambitions into reality on the Connecting Europe facility facility. My colleagues have just talked about it. Obviously, it's a shame that we only have 33 billion, that's not sufficient for the investment needs.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), But apart from the funds, it's the governance that we wanted to maintain. The CEF one was decisive at European level. There were projects which wouldn't have been realised without union intervention.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), The allocation of credits, the criteria for that centralised governance which will allow us to carry out our project in line with climate ambitions will be vital, and this will be vital for the realisation of the green deal.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), On financial constraints. Obviously, we have increasing numbers of studies and evaluations that are needed to put projects into place. Now, obviously, these are needed, but there are more and more of them. And it has created an endless obstacle course for project promoters and often they get discouraged.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), Now we need 10 years to implement a transport project, a major transport in Europe, and the costs are increasing. Now it's the time for economic recovery. And these delays are actually unacceptable.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), Given that this is the case, the smart TEN-T Report, which is linked to the CEF, the investment related report will make a significant contribution to make things easier for project promoters in terms of procedures.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), In each member state, there will be a single window which will centralise all the growth, the grant awarding the permit, awarding procedures and there will be a single point of contact. We have a maximum period of four years for projects with limited extensions allowed and for cross-border projects.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), A single joint authority can be created with two member state bodies and single applicable law. So just briefly, colleagues, we want to be more effective, greener, quicker to put in place a real virtuous transition which will provide financial and technical support to project promoters.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), We can't just be a source of limitations for damaging or undesirable activities of use of fossil fuels and so on. We need to contribute operationally. Europe cannot just be treading water when our neighbours are moving forward at great speed. Too many, large projects are too far behind in Europe.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), The economic recovery, the environmental transition, fighting the vitality of Europe at local level means that we need to increase the speed of our investment if we want to revitalise our economy and achieve our environmental objectives. These are not in conflictwith each other.

SOUNDBITE (French), Dominique RIQUET (Renew, FR), Camus said: real generosity for the future means you have to give everything in the present. So let's invest in railways, in the maritime, in renewable energies, in digital. We must invest. Our future requires it. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), good morning, thank you, president, commissioner, I believe that the best way to celebrate European real year is to open up debates and initiatives like the ones in this joint debate, one more step forward in putting an end to the fragmentation of Europe's railways, a problem that's preventing this means of transport from providing everything it's got to give to European mobility.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), In mobility, which in a decade we would like to see shifted into an integrated and smart system moving beyond the philosophy of siloed management, which is supposed to drive down logistic costs and make our economy more competitive.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), A system that's going to put an end to saturation and that requires railways as a key piece in reaching our climate aims. For a decade, we've been working to put an end to the fragmentation of our European railway space, putting an end to issues of infrastructure.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), And that's the main aim in the tent-t, setting out funding mechanisms such as the CEF and doing away with legislative problems which have been such a hurdle to private investment in this area. In fact, we've worked on up to four packages of legal rules on railways, and I'd like to call once again for them to be fully implemented.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), And part of this process is about building the European rail traffic management, the ERTMS, and that ought to be a priority for all European railways. This is a decisive step forward in order to guarantee the interoperability of national railway systems. It's going to enable us to make trains faster.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), It's going to enable us to optimise the use of infrastructure by increment, by increasing their capacity by up to 30 percent and lowering purchasing and maintenance costs for signalling systems. According to the Europe's climate monitoring system, using the ERTMS will represent a contribution of 40 percent to achieving our climate environmental aims.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), And this also connects to supporting the broader process of digitalising the European Union's economy. So investments linked to this process must be one of the priorities of our national recovery and resilience plans. In this report, we are calling for a European strategy in order to speed up the substitution of system of national systems by the European system.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), We want national plans for deploying the system to be tied into binding aims at the union level. We do not want exceptions to setting up the ERTMS in new vehicles. We're going to try to limit overlaps via a transparent register of prototypes with funding, and we would like to see a common procurement model in order to improve calls for a tender in work related to deploying the system.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), We're also calling for a legislative proposal that will set out an industrial system for the ERTMS. The stakeholders feel that this is key in increasing our capacity. We need a stable budget, a predictable budget in order to support trained professional staff and workshops for retrofitting.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), So I'd like to thank you for your work, your honesty and your contributions. Thanks to all those who have worked to draft this report. We've worked with all the stakeholders involved and we've done our best to combine the technical rigour, that's required in this field, and the emotional intelligence that we need in order to improve the situation.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), Deploying the ERTMS may be behind, but we haven't been stopped by the juicy headlines that have come up in this realm. In order to put together these recommendations, we have prepared to share in a common vision, common expectations, proposals and the feelings of all those involved in order to ensure that we weren't stopped or at an impasse due to fear.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), Deploying the ERTMS must happen, and it's much more about blaming each other for what might have happened. It's about integrating action, knowledge and emotion. And we hope that rather than a futile action, we will have managed to put together a shared list of practical and realistic proposals in order to build the trust that we need so that we can work in tandem.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA (Renew, ES), That's the aim and the way forward in order to ensure that the ERTMS system will be deployed in 2030 across the whole of the core network and in 2040 for the broader network. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, President, honourable members, it's wonderful for me to be back here with you, especially on a discussion on Connecting Europe. As transport commissioner, I see strengthening the connexion between countries, regions and people as being my main mission. Of course, we need to do this sustainably, safely and intelligently and aligned with the goals of the European green deal.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, The priority remains Connecting Europe, in line with these principles. The trans-European networks represent the physical connexions between our countries, the transport, energy and digital connexions, where we have physical links, economic, social and emotional links always follow.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, This makes the trans-European networks vital for our single market, but also the integration at the heart of the European project with the Connecting Europe facility. We have a tool to future proof. Our trans-European networks for transport, energy and Digital.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, CEF 2, which you are endorsing today, will support the goals of the European Green Deal and our sustainable and smart mobility strategy, with at least 60 percent, 60 percent of funding allocated to actions supporting the EU's climate objectives for transport.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, The focus is on completing the 20 core network by 2030 and the wider network by 2050. But CEF is also supporting the Large-Scale deployment of the infrastructure for alternative fuels. We will also be making the network fit for digital revolution, crisis proof and resilient to climate change, safe and secure parking areas, improvements on road safety in cohesion countries will also be supported.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, Last but not least, we will back projects that facilitate civilian defence, dual use of our Ten-T Infrastructure. For energy, self-support The Development of Priority Cross-border Energy Infrastructure Project as part of the Ten-T Networks, further integration of the internal energy market and the interoperability between networks across borders.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, It also includes a new window for cross-border projects in the field of renewable energy to support renewable projects and for digital CEF supports the deployment of state of the art, digital networks and 5G systems.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, The pandemic and the accompanying demand for secure Internet connexions and higher capacity has underlined the importance of continued network investment. I would like to thank the European Parliament, and in particular the rapporteurs, Mr Marinescu, Mr Riquet and Madam Virkkunen, for their constructive and dedicated work throughout the legislative process and their continued support for the programme.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, Once we have agreement on CEF 2 regulation will be able to start work first by approving work programmes for each sector, then by publishing the first call for proposals in September. About Ten-T streamlining, Today, you will also adopt our proposal on streamlining the processes involved in advancing the Ten-T.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, The smoother the process, the faster we will have the full network in place. The earlier the citizens will benefit from investments, including those coming from the CEF. Investing in the infrastructure project involves environmental assessments, land use approvals, public procurement, state aid procedures and other authorisations and permits.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, The complexity involved the different procedures across member states often cause delays to 20 projects, in particular on transboundary nature. This, in turn, means cost overruns, which is off-putting for private investment. Simply shortening primary procedures could have an impact, including ultimately on how efficiently public money is spent.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, This is the aim of our proposal. As we move steadily out of the covid-19 pandemic, it is no exaggeration to say that the adoption of this legislation will also aid economic recovery in Europe. With faster and clearer permit procedures will make better use of the time and money invested in the Ten-T network.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, It is also essential that the investment of public money benefits all EU citizens, hence the importance to ensure accessibility for persons with disabilities and older persons in transport infrastructures project.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, Transport infrastructure projects will always be subject to contingencies. However, the streamlining directive, which is the first of its kind in the transport sector, sets the framework for the future. And I thank the rapporteur, Mr Riquet, for his work on the file.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, I would like also to say a few words on ERTMS, as I know that you will also be discussing Madam Bilboa branded as the report on this today. My thanks to Madam Bannon data for the initiative really must remain a central pillar in Europe's transport mix.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, If more people choose rail, we will be on track to meet our emissions targets. But to win over passengers and freight rail must do better. Improving rail performance is what ERTMS And more broadly, the digitalisation of rail is all about.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, High level ERTMS is the fastest and cheapest way to add capacity to the network. To address some of the points raised in the report, in the short term, I would hope that member states live up to their deployment commitments.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, But it is both deployment of ERTMS at level two or above and the removal of class B systems that will take us beyond this complex, expensive transition phase to a simpler, cheaper, more uniform system. The Commission has tools to influence this and we will use them. But delivery trackside and on board trains is the key to success.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, On funding, responsibility is shared. The EU has funded ERTMS with around four billion since 2007 and more will certainly follow. But with deployment for just the core network corridors and vehicles costing around 15 billions between now and 2030, EU funding alone will not be enough. We will also need member states, European Investment Bank and other support as we move forward.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, I'm confident that having the European Railway Agency as the ERTMS system authority will mean improvements in ERTMS deployment. Next year, we will present the revision package for technical specification for interoperability, setting out the regulatory framework for further improvements.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, And in the longer term, I look forward to the migration to radio based and two or three ERTMS for greater technical and operational harmonisation. I hope to see that Europe's rail joint undertaking coordinating this, taking us towards a genuine European rail traffic management system.

SOUNDBITE (English), Adina VĂLEAN,  European Commissioner for Transport, To summarise, the Commission shares the goals set out the report, and broadly the same diagnosis of how to support ERTMS deployment. So, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your time. I am looking forward for further comments coming from you and to a continuous cooperation on this topics. Thank you very much.