Transport and Communications Group
Minutes of meeting in the NSC Transport &
Communication group, Narvik, Nordland Region, Norway, 8 - 9 October 2001
Present:
Chairman,
Mr. Jan Hallberg, Västra Götaland region (Swe)
Co-ordinator,
Mr. Jon Halvard Eide, Vest-Agder region (Nor)
Mr.
Dennis Freeman, Aberdeenshire Council (Sco)
Mr.
Gordon Flemming, Dundee City Council (Sco)
Mr.
Hans-Jürgen Hett, Schleswig Holstein region (Ger)
Mr.
Lars Dagnæs, South Jutland region (Den)
Mr.
Flemming Wennike, Ringkøbing region (Den)
Ms.
Maria A. Larsson, Västra Götaland region (Swe)
Mr.
Bengt Wennerberg, Västra Götaland region/Business region Gothenburg
Mr.
Odd Moldestad, Sør-Trøndelag region (Nor)
Mr.
Per Strømhaug, Nordland region (Nor - host)
Observer:
Mr.
Vitalijus Marinecas, Klaipeda State Seaport Authority, Lithuania
Speakers:
Mr. John Arild Jenssen, Transport Counsel Norway's permanent
mission to the EU (item 20/01)
Mr.
Erik Fiva, Regional Committee for Northern Norway (item 23/01)
Mr.
Alfred Baird, Napier University Edinburgh (item 24/01)
19/01:
Minutes of meeting in Brugge 11 May
The
minutes were not actually discussed, but in the absence of any objections or
remarks they are assumed to be approved with the corrections on item 13/01
- Interreg IIIB - distributed to the group on 5 June.
20/01:
EU transport policies
Mr.
John Arild Jenssen, Transport Counsel with Norway's permanent Mission to
the European Union gave a comprehensive and interesting introduction on
different aspects of European transport policy, with emphasis on the EU
White Paper and on how the group best can act upon it. The presentation
below is partly based on the Power point presentation of Mr. Jenssen, copies
of which were distributed at the meeting (the presentation is available on
request to Mr. Eide). For information on the White Paper, see also a summary
of the main elements of the White Paper, which was mailed to the group by
the Co-ordinator on 20.september.
Trends
in European transport
The traffic in
the EU has increased considerably over many years (freight
3 % annually passenger 2 %). Economic
growth will bring more mobility: + 38 % in goods-, and + 24 % in passenger
transport the next decade. If nothing is done, heavy goods traffic on road
will increase by nearly 50 %. The enlargement
will also increase the level of transport.10 percent of the Trans European
Network (TEN) is congested daily. This congestion is one of the biggest
challenges in European transport and a threat to the single market. Without
a well functioning transport system the single market will not function
properly.
Road
transport dominates
The road
transport market was opened for competition as from 01.07.98 introducing
cabotage. In average 50 % of the European road transport is cabotage. Road
now constitutes 44 % of the goods transport market. The predominance of road
is even more marked in passenger transport, where its market share is just
below 80 %.
Rail transport
declines
Rail represents
8 % of the goods transport market and 6 % of the passenger market.
This sector has been
characterised by a strong nationalistic control tradition. The rail sector
faces a tough turn-around in light of the great need to improve
interoperability and to harmonise services. But the new White Paper
represents a golden opportunity for the rail sector.
Sea transport maintains
position
Short Sea
Shipping constitutes 41 % of the goods transport market and this line of
transport has thus been quite successful. The EU gives priority to this
sector, which will be developed further. The inland waterways are
functioning well.
Aviation increases strongly
(6-12 % annually)
This
market was opened for competition as from 01.04.97. This meant that all
airlines could start to operate in every EU/EES-country The result has been
increased competition, lower prices, but also increased traffic and
congestion.
Telecommunications
This sector
was liberalised 01.01.98. The development in telecommunications sector has
been successful with new operators, new services and lower prices. The
Commission is considered to have reached the goal for this sector.
Common transport
policy
The concept was first introduced with the White Paper of 1992 and
has been an important element in the realisation of the common market.
On
the revision of the Trans European Networks - TEN
The new
TEN-measures were released parallel to the White Paper. Approximately 4,4
billion Euros have been allocated to the TEN-transport for the period
2001-05. The Commission wants to concentrate the investments on a limited
number of major projects to reduce bottlenecks and to curb congestion. The
Commission is also proposing to update the list of priority projects and to
raise minimum level of Community funding for a number of critical railway
projects and for cross-border projects in future accession countries. The
list of priority projects will be updated and community funding will be
raised from 10 to 20 % for critical projects. There will be a partial
revision of the TEN's in 2001 and a major overhaul in 2004.
As
a new feature, ports and terminals have now been included in the
TEN-programme.
White
paper on European transport policy- time to decide
The
White Paper (WP) was officially released in mid September after a long
process and after several delays. This
was probably due to differences within the Commission on how to handle the
environmental aspects of transport. It is important to bear in mind the WP
has no legally binding status in it-self, until adopted as Community policy
by the Council and the Parliament. The WP will first be handled by the
Transport Council (of National transport ministers) and then passed over the
European Parliament. The incumbent Belgian Presidency hopes for a Council
decision on the WP in December.
Main
elements & strategies
The
new White Paper advocates a qualitative change of direction in transport
policy in order to ensure that measures to promote an environmentally
friendly mix of transport services go hand in hand with the measures to open
up the markets.
The basic strategy is to increase
investment in and to revitalise non-road modes of transport in order to curb
congestion and to promote sustainability.
The White Paper proposes 60 concrete measures in the action programme.
1.
Shifting the balance between modes
Road
transport:
Improving the quality in the road sector- a restructuring to be organised,
regulations to be introduced, tightening up controls and penalties with
regard to safety.
Railway:
Integration rail transport into the internal market. From 2003 the rail market will be opened for
international freight on a special network, and from 2008 the whole rail
market will be liberalised making optimum use of the infrastructure +
modernisation of services.
Air:
Tackling
saturation (overcrowding) of the skies, rethinking airport capacity and use,
striking balance between air transport and the environment, maintaining
safety standards.
Water
transport:
Developing "motorways at sea", offering innovative services, inland
waterways
Intermodality:
A new programme -Marco Polo - is launched as an essential element of the
plan foreseen to promote intermodality at the EU level. The programme is
replacing the PACT-programme coming to an end this year. The Marco Polo
programme will run for the period 2003 - 2010, with a budget of around
Euro 30 million.
2.
Eliminating bottlenecks
Unblocking
the major routes: Towards
multimodal corridors giving priority to freight, A high-speed passenger
network, improving traffic conditions
TEN:
partial revision 2001, a major overhaul in 2004 (see previous page)
3.
Placing the users at the hearth of transport policy
Road
safety:
41.000
fatalities a year, Goal: halve the number of deaths
Towards
gradual charging for the use of infrastructure:
A
price structure that reflects costs, Interoperability of tolls
The
need to harmonise fuel taxes:
The current system is outmoded and absurd
Transport
with a human face:
Intermodality for people, greater emphasis on the rights and
obligations of the users
Rationalising
urban transport:
Diversified energy for transport, promoting good practice
4.
Managing the globalisation of transport
Enlargement
changes the name of the game:
Financing
the infrastructure challenge, seizing the opportunity of a well-developed
rail network, a new dimension for shipping safety
The
enlarged Europe must be more assertive on the world stage:
"A single voice" in ICAO, IMO, etc
External
dimension to air transport::
End "Open sky" - establish "transatlantic area"
Galileo:
Operational phase from 2008
Discussion
of the White Paper
It was felt that the White Paper has a good profile in
general and contains positive elements regarding sustainability, safety, sea
transport and intermodality. However, the document still does not address
the basic transport challenges and needs of outlying/peripheral regions
around the North Sea. Although
the White Paper is acknowledging the need of "linking the outlying regions
on the European continent more effectively", little or nothing is said
about how this access is going to be improved and where. The regional
perspective of the White Paper is weak and the document clearly seems to
have been "written for the centre, by the centre".
This is also supported by the fact that cue words like "outlying
regions", "the North Sea" or "maritime regions" are hardly
mentioned in a document of +100 pages.
Paradoxically,
congestion in the centre goes hand in hand with excessive isolation of the
outlying regions, where there is
a real need to improve links with central markets so as to ensure regional cohesion within the EU. To paraphrase a famous saying on
centralisation, it could be said that the European Union is threatened with
apoplexy at the centre and paralysis at the extremities. In
light of the centralised orientation of the White paper there might be a
risk that it will lead to policies infringing on the need for infrastructure
development and improved access of the periphery. This is because such
improvements will require a massive investment and generate increased
traffic towards the centre.
An
important challenge from a North Sea perspective is therefore to find
alternative routes to the European markets going outside/around capitals and
the already congested network in the centre.
It
was also expressed doubt as to whether the measures proposed by the White
Paper will be sufficient to shift the balance towards non-road modes of
transport to the degree advocated by the Commission.
For instance, very few restrictive measures have been proposed for
the road sector. According to Mr. Jenssen, this is also the opinion of many
transport organisations and operators. In this context it is necessary to
take into account that the scope of Community action/authority in many
respects are limited, because important decisions are taken at the National
or Regional level (i.e. economic policy, urban- land-use planning, urban
transport policy, budget & fiscal policy).
Written
comments from Bengt Wennerberg
A
general challenge for Europe's transports and transport
Infrastructure system as a whole is that they should be able to handle an
increased transport work with a decreased traffic work. This means that
every vehicle kilometre should produce an increased number of tonne Kilometres
or passenger kilometres. This could be solved in a number of ways, eg. shift
to a transport mean with a higher capacity.
-Improved
land transport infrastructure to the main harbours
-Use
transport units with higher capacity.
It
is probably not enough to develop the railway transports, the canal shipping
and the short sea shipping. There will also be need for trucks with higher
transport capacity which could reduce by about 40 percent on longer
distances.
-Need
for increased emphasis on intermodality.
-Can
be fruitful to handle the problems from a transport consumer perspective.
How to act on the White Paper ?
It
will certainly be a challenge to direct more of EU's attention towards the
transport needs of peripheral, maritime regions. However, Mr.
Jenssen feels that the EU process will be open for comments and inputs
from the NSC Communication group. The Commission Directorates General are (surprisingly
?) often found to be more available than national transport ministries. He
thinks that the Commission actually would welcome NSC input because it
represents something totally different compared to the companies and
interest organisations traditionally advocating their case for the
Commission.
It
will be most effective to channel our comments directly to the Commission.
The group could for instance issue a general opinion now and comment on
specific proposals later. Mr. Jenssen stressed the importance of having something concrete
to present to the Commission. Preferably issues areas where the NSC can
document and the EU needs special knowledge and experience. This would be
consistent with the approach of promoting the Communication group as a
potential partner for the EU in implementing specific areas of Community
transport policies.
In
line of this advice, it would probably be wise to focus on different
strategies and solutions for promoting a modal shift away from congested
road and rail networks. Cue words here are: The potential of the NS as a
free natural highway for Short sea shipping (avoiding congested centres),
port promotion/co-operation and intermodal transport solutions.
The group could probably contribute to the development of the concept
"Sea motorways" - introduced in the WP. The Strategic Transport Study
(see item 26/01) could probably serve as a knowledge base for concrete
proposals in these areas.
The
fact that the WP is pointing to the need of a better approach from the local
public authorities in urban transport and proposes the exchange of good
practices in this area, as well as on road safety, can be seen as an opening
for the planned NSC catalogue on best practice in sustainable transport (cf.
Item 25/01). The group agreed that it should be explored how a best practice
catalogue can be marketed as an answer to this challenge and thus as an
input in our future communication with the EU
Mr.
Jenssen
informed that the EU Commission is going to have a 1 - 1,5 days'
conference on the WP in late November. The group was advised to explore the
possibility of attending this conference, which we probably would be allowed
to. The group could also try to set up a meeting
with representatives of the Commission during or in connection with
this conference.
Group
members proposed that we should take the 60 proposed measures of the WP as a
point of departure and then indicate our level of support for them (e.g.
like a survey questionnaire).
It
could also be wise to take certain sections of the WP, for instance
"bottlenecks" and re-phrase and supplement them towards our perspectives
and needs. For instance portray the poor access of peripheral regions to the
major transport networks as a "bottleneck".
Decision:
·
The
group sets up a position paper with comments, opinions and concrete
proposals on the WP and communicates it to the EU commission, DG for Energy
& Transport, after an "internal hearing" in the group.
·
It
should be checked whether representatives of the group may attend a
conference on the WP, staged by the EU Commission in Brussels on 29 November
·
Representatives
of the group should try to set up a meeting with the relevant transport
people in the Commission - either in connection with the conference or at
another point.
·
Depending
on the outcome of the proposals above, the group should consider inviting a
representative of the Commission to the next meeting in Aberdeen in January.
Follow-up:
Dennis
Freeman and Gordon Flemming prepare and circulate a draft position paper on
the WP to the group within 2 weeks (25 October). Your comments to the
position paper shall be addressed to Jon Halvard Eide who co-ordinates and
presents them to Mr. Freeman and Mr. Flemming for inclusion in the final
paper.
21/01:
Presentation of host region, by Mr. Per Strømhaug Nordland County Council
Nordland
County has 240.000 inhabitants. The capital is Bodø, which is the only
sub-region in the county with increasing population. The county is long and
narrow; it is 500 km from the North to the South. The county has a varied
industry with the production of hydroelectric power, fertilisers and cement,
as well as tourism and service related industries. Traditional agriculture
and fishing is declining, except for fish farming which is growing.
Transport situation
Investment
in transport infrastructure is concentrated around the major centres in the
county - Bodø, Narvik/Harstad and Mo i Rana. Nordland county is linked to
corridors in rail (national railway line ends in Bodø), sea and road
transport. One rail corridor goes from Narvik into Sweden and all the way to
the South of the country. Nordland county has 12 airports and is very
dependent on air-travel because of long distances and poor or non-existing
road infrastructure to island communities.
The
county constantly works to identify transport corridors leading around
congested areas in central Europe. Per Strømhaug presented several maps of
such corridors. He will be happy to provide more information on this at
possible requests (e-mail: per.stroemhaug@nfk.no).
22/01:
Update on Interreg IIIb
This item was handled
on the basis of a written report from the Interreg Secretariat, which was
distributed at the meeting.
The
main elements of which are referred below:
The
Interreg IIIB North Sea Programme is close to approval now.
After certain modifications requested by the Commission, it is now
undergoing the second inter-service consultation. At the final Programme
Preparation Group (PPG) meeting in Berlin, the following was agreed:
·
Monitoring
Committee meeting no 1 would be held in Cambridge in November
·
The
first call for applications will be from the 1st December to the
18th January 2002
·
Steering
Committee meeting no 1 will be held in March in Denmark (location to be
decided)
The
Programme Preparation group (PPG) has agreed that there will be two calls
for applications every year and one will be looking to commit around 28
million Euro per year from now until 2006. The PPG has approved the
Application Pack and Programme Complement. Both have to be finally approved
by the Monitoring Committee but are now very close to the final versions.
They will be put on the Interreg homepage any moment now!
The
Interreg secretariat is, of course very happy to help project applicants
before, during and after application. It is important to remember that it is
the Steering Committee, which makes the decisions about whether to approve
projects and categorically not the secretariat. The secretariat will be
publishing a schedule of "road-shows" and thematic seminars as soon as
possible so please keep checking the homepage http://www.interregnorthsea.org/.
23/01:
Presentation of "Northern Maritime Corridor", by Mr. Erik Fiva,
Executive Committee for Northern Norway
Only a brief presentation of the project is included here. A
more comprehensive presentation of the project is attached to the minutes.
See also contact information at the end of this item.
The NMC concept
The
Northern Maritime Corridor (NMC) is a concept for co-operation in maritime
transport in the Northern Periphery and the North Sea area. The NMC project
is a tool to promote a balanced and sustainable development in the northern
coastal regions. The NMC is planned as an INTERREG-project, covering both
the Northern Periphery and the North Sea INTERREG areas. Partners represent
regional authorities, ports, transporters and major industries. The
Interreg-projects will represent the first steps in the overall direction,
elaborating the concept, identifying activities, possibilities and
constraints and establishing networks between port authorities, transporters
and other stakeholders.
The
Northern Maritime Corridor (NMC) is a maritime transport concept focusing on
(1) the transportation of goods between North Sea regions, and (2)
connecting the North Sea Basin with the industrial developments (oil &
gas) and transportation needs of the Barents region. In this way the
maritime dimension in international trade is strengthened - developing
co-operation between maritime regions and creating business-relations in the
area.
Objective
The
overall objective of the NMC project is to develop an efficient, sustainable
and safe maritime transport corridor both within the North Sea Region and
the Northern Periphery Area and between the North Sea Region and the Barents
Region.
Regarding
the southern part of the NMC (The
North Sea Region) the main objectives are:
·
to
transfer goods from truck to ship and thereby reduce congestion on road
systems in Europe and emissions to air
·
to
improve the efficiency of intermodal systems connecting sea - road and sea
- rail at all levels
Contact
information
For
further information please contact:
Norvald
Skretting (North Sea Region)
South and West of
Norway Assembly (SAVOS)
Telephone:
+ 47 51 51 66 00
Fax:
+ 47 51 51 69 44
E-mail:
nosk@rfk.rogaland-f.kommune.no
Eirik Fiva (Northern Periphery)
The executive
committee for Northern Norway (LU)
Telephone:
+ 47 75 50 34 20
Fax:
+ 47 75 52 67 27
E-mail:
fiva@lu.no
24/01:
The Orkneys as a HUB for transatlantic container transport - by Mr. Alf
Baird, Head of TRI Maritime Research Group, Napier University, Edinburgh
Mr.
Baird was invited to the meeting as he was already in Narvik to make a
presentation on this subject at the conference on East-West transport on
9-10 October (see meeting invitation).
On the Orkneys
The Orkneys have a strategic location on the shortest route between the
US and Northern Europe. All main ports in Europe are within 600 miles. It
has a natural deep-sea harbour with the necessary facilities to handle the
biggest ships. The entrance to the harbour is also relatively fast. The
Orkneys already have gas- and oil port. These characteristics are a great
asset to the Orkneys. The Orkneys also have the capacity to act as a hub for
traffic on the Far East and for South America. The Orkneys also overcome the
physical and environmental constraints faced by faced by land-based ports
Trends &
developments in container shipping
The
volume of container shipping has more than doubled the last 15 years and is
expected to double the next 15 years. This creates capacity problems in the
biggest urban harbours with hinterland connections. Such harbours face
physical and environmental constraints in relation to the expansion of
terminal capacity. Congestion on the major road- and rail networks in Europe
also represents a bottleneck in this respect. The trend therefore goes in
direction of increased transhipment with offshore mega hubs.
The case for the
Orkneys as a hub
·
Environmental
advantages
Transhipments
are more energy effective - avoiding empty running. This concept implies
less ship movements and less fuel consumption.
Sea to sea transfers will also reduce the need to allocate scarce
land to port expansions. In the longer run, increased use of island ports
like this could also reduce the need for road transport to land based ports.
·
More
effective transport - reduced congestion
A
reduced need for road transport to land based ports would serve to reduce
congestion on the roads as well as in major hubs.
·
Cost-effectiveness
Sea
to sea transfers is more cost effective. The cost reduction per TEU has been
estimated to $ 19,8 - equivalent to annual saving of $ 11 millions with
the current level of traffic.
European
perspective
Mr. Baird
pointed out that the Orkney concept can also be applied on inter-European
cargo, but that it will take some time to adapt the concept to a European
context, including how other
peripheral areas could be brought into it. The concept has already been
presented to the EU Commission. The concept also has a potential to trigger
development of other hubs or offer new business opportunities for existing
ports. The big ports on the continent might fear increased competition from
the Orkney concept, but it was stressed that the concept primarily is meant
to be a supplement to the big harbours at the continent.
More
information can be found at http://www.orkneycontainer.com/
or in communication with Mr. Baird at a.baird@napier.ac.uk
(e-mail).
Discussion
Group
members found the Orkney concept interesting - representing a potential
solution to the bottlenecks in congested hubs. In this way, it could be
regarded as an alternative within the basic EU strategy of
promoting non-road modes of transport (cf. Item 20/01). The concept
could also be considered in a TEN-context. The consequences for traditional
ports, congestion and and subsidies should be further investigated. One
should explore how such a study could be made eligible for Interreg funding,
or if necessary through contributions from interested regions.
Conclusion
The group agreed that
the potentials of a study as mentioned above should be further explored, but
found it premature to promote the Orkney concept already in our initial
feedback on the Eu White Paper (see item 20/01).
Follow-up
To be discussed
further at the next meeting. Group members are in the meantime encouraged
to exchange views and ideas on how the Orkney concept can be applied
in an European/North Sea context.
25/01:
Preparations for the NSC Sustainable
transport conference in Aarhus, 18-19 April 2002
State
and progress report
A
written report from Communication group Task force members Brian Sørensen
and Svend Tøfting was briefly referred and distributed at the meeting.
Dennis Freeman, who is the third member of the Task force from our group,
supplemented the progress report. The Task force also has two members from
the NSC Environment group.
The
first Task force meeting took place in Aberdeen 6th of July,
where an overall master plan and an action plan were discussed.
On
23 July, a preliminary invitation and call for papers on best practice
examples in sustainable transport was sent to all NSC member regions. So far
the Task force has received approx. 20 best practice examples from different
regions around the North Sea. Svend Tøfting and Brian Sørensen will meet
shortly to look through the examples. Dead line for receiving best practise
examples was the 15th of October. It is desirable to have more
examples!
The
Task (TF) force will meet again in Copenhagen on 9 November to decide on the
final form of the conference and to examine the incoming best practice
papers. The TF will also select the papers to be presented at the conference.
After that, an invitation with a detailed conference package will be
presented to the interested regions. The TF hopes that this can be done in
January next year.
The
conference will take place in the Scandinavian Centre in Aarhus, 18-19 April
2002. The necessary facilities (meeting- and hotel rooms) have already been
booked.
2
main speakers have been invited:
·
Svend
Auken, Danish Environment Minister, and
·
Margot
Wallström, Swedish EU Commissioner for Environment
The
two invitees have yet to confirm their participation.
One
will also try to make an arrangement with a speaker from the "transport
sector".
Stephen
Byfield (some of you had the pleasure to hear his very interesting speech in
Brügge) has agreed to come to Aarhus to speak at the conference: He will
speak about "How to sell sustainable transport as a desirable commodity".
Basic structure of
the conference
The
TF has arrived at the following basic structure for the conference:
Day
1:
-Start
at lunch
-General presentation of purpose & background for the conference
-Split into
workshop groups with presentation of best practice examples in various
fields (parallel sessions)
Day
2:
-Workshops
continue
-Lunch
-Plenary session
-Study trip to relevant venue
Follow-up
The further
preparations for the conference are to be handled by the Task Force. The
Co-ordinators of the two involved groups (also Environment) shall be
informed on a regular basis and according to need. The Co-ordinator is
responsible to keep the Communication group informed on the progress of
conference preparations. The group shall be consulted on any possible
"critical" decision regarding the conference.
How
a best practice catalogue in sustainable transport can be made eligible for
Interreg-funding
Mr. Lars Dagnæs made
an introduction, prepared in collaboration with Mr. Freeman.
Mr.
Dagnæs choosed a broader perspective for his introduction than the title
above indicates. In this perspective a best practice catalogue is only one
of the elements. He stated that the overriding issue is how to define a
permanent programme for the promotion of sustainable transport in the
regions on a broadest possible basis. To achieve this one needs to be
ambitious. Furthermore, greater continuity in the efforts is required -
implying more activity between the meetings.
There
is also need to show concrete results - both to the NSC-regions and to the
EU Commission. Mr. Dagnæs then used a standard "input-output" model to
illustrate how different elements in this area can interact.
Fundamental
elements
-A
realistic budget
-Visible results in the short term
How to proceed ?
-The
sustainable transport conference in Aarhus in April 2002
-Concrete Interreg proposals
-A steering-group from the NSC-groups (preferably with basis in the current
Task force)
-Co-financing
through labour input from NSC-group members ("pay by working")
Mr.
Dagnæs suggested that we should work to convert the Sustainable transport
conference into a recurring event, if possible to be staged annually. This
would require a full time co-ordinator - costing about £ 25.000 -
30.000 in salaries per year. Financial contributions from the regions and
Interreg would be needed to sustain a full time position. We must try to get
a commitment from as many regions as possible to such a model. The
employment of a full-time co-ordinator was regarded to be at least 3 years
down the line.
Conclusion:
The meeting agreed
that the group should work in the direction of a "permanent sustainable
transport programme" along the lines presented above.
This
concept should also be included in the group's communication with the
EU-Commission on the White Paper (cf. Item 20/01).
Follow-up:
Dennis
Freeman drafts an Interreg-application on a permanent programme for the
promotion of sustainable transport in NSC-regions, including the concept of
a best practice catalogue and recurring conferences. He will carry out the
work in consultation with the Co-ordinator of the NSC Environment group, Mr.
Per Hørberg, and the Conference Task force.
Item
26/01: Follow-up of the Strategic Transport Study, introduction by Mr. Lars
Dagnæs
Mr.
Dagnæs made up status on the tasks that he was supposed to carry out to the
meeting (cf. The minutes from the previous meeting in Brugge 11 May, item
12/01).
·
The
report of the Strategic Transport Study (STS) will be made available on the
NSC web site as soon as the NSC Secretariat gives the necessary
"clearance"
·
Mr.
Dagnæs will make an introductory letter to the report, with necessary
explanations and clarifications
·
The
STS recommends holding seminars: this has already been done by the
Sustainable transport seminar in Brugge on 10 May.
·
The
STS recommends new Interreg-projects: The group has previously decided that
it should not it-self implement or act as a lead partner to
Interreg-projects, but rather serve as a forum for discussion and exchange
of ideas, information and experience.
·
We
should point to the STS as a basis for our input to the EU White Paper (see
discussions on item 20/01).
Conclusion:
It
was concluded that the group is in the business of implementing the
STS-recommendations that can reasonably be implemented within the context of
the Communication group.
Follow-up:
There will be no follow-up of the STS beyond what is listed
above. This should also be reflected in the Action plan (see item 27/01
below).
27/01:
Adoption of action plan
The Co-ordinator, Mr.
Jon Halvard Eide, presented a draft for Action plan (AP), together with an
explanatory paper. Both items had been distributed to the group before the
meeting.
The
purpose of the action plan (AP) is
to give the group members (as well as other interested parties in- and
outside the NSC) a clearer picture of the activity, to implement the Terms
of reference (TOR), and to promote a rational division of labour. The use of
AP's is said to have promoted efficiency in other NSC thematic groups.
Conclusions:
·
The
group decided to include the issue of "Information & Communication
technologies (ICT)" in the AP
A
relevant and interesting point of departure for the group's work in the
ICT-field could be to examine the consequences of E-trade on freight
transport. This could be a theme for the autumn meeting in 2002. It was also
agreed to explore the possibilities for co-operation with other NSC thematic
groups in this field, for instance the Business Development and the
Education & Research group.
·
The
Strategic Transport study should be deleted from the "active" part of
the AP as soon as the remaining tasks have been carried out
·
The
different parts of the AP must be updated according to the discussion and
decisions on other items at this meeting (e.g EU-transport, Sustainable
transport conference/catalogue).
·
Completed
issues/projects should be put in a separate table for "completed issues".
In this way we can more easily keep track of the progress.
Decision:
The
draft Action plan was adopted with the above mentioned changes and
specifications.
Follow-up:
The
Co-ordinator implements the adopted changes to the draft AP and distributes
an updated Action plan to the group. The Co-ordinator also sees to that the
AP is uploaded to the Communication group's section of the NSC web site.
28/01:
General NSC-information
A
representative of the NSC Secretariat usually handles this item.
Unfortunately nobody from the Secretariat was able to attend this meeting
due to a heavy workload and collision with other NSC thematic group
meetings. However, the Secretariat had kindly provided the group with all
the requested information in beforehand in order to compensate for their
absence. Nevertheless, we are looking forward to have someone from the
Secretariat with us at the next meeting in January 2002.
Private
discussion forum on the NSC web site
The
Secretariat informs that a private discussion forum for the Communication
group has now been established on the NSC web site. "Private" in this
context means that the access is restricted to the members of the group
according to a system of usernames & passwords.
The
members of the group are advised to mail/send a username and a password of
their own choice to the Secretariat at crbkgs@vibamt.dk
This is because it is easier to remember these things when you have
invented them your-self.
It
is hoped that this discussion forum will stimulate to debate and to exchange
of ideas and experience within the group.
Draft Paper on revised strategy for the NSC
The
Executive Committee has initiated a revision of the NSC strategy adopted at
the GeneralAssembly in 1999. The purpose is to adapt the strategy to
changing circumstances and to improve the standing/status of the NSC within
Europe.
A
working group has been set up with participants from the Secretariat, a
representative from the Co-ordinators (Jon Halvard Eide), and a
representative of each member of the Executive Committee. The group met in
Copenhagen on 23 October to discuss the draft paper. The revised strategy
plan will be submitted to the NSC Executive Committee for approval at their
meeting in Fife in December.
The
draft Strategy paper was distributed at the meeting and the participants
were asked to submit eventual comments to the Co-ordinator. The paper will
be attached to the minutes for those who didn't attend the meeting.
NSC Newsletter,
Vol. 10, September 2001
In order to get a
better picture of the activities within the different parts of the NSC, the
participants were advised to read the latest edition of the excellent NSC
Newsletter - available at the NSC web site. The minutes of the General
Assembly in Aalborg in June were also recommended in this respect.
29/01:
Next meeting(s)
·
Aberdeenshire
Council, Scotland, 24 -25 January 2002
·
Aarhus
region, Denmark, 17 - 18 April 2002 (ends just before the Sustainable
transport conference)
·
Schleswig
& Holstein region, Germany, 24 - 25 October 2002
30/01:
Any other business
·
A
list was passed around to update the e-mail addresses of the participants
·
The
status of Nordland County in the NSC
Nordland
has participated as an observer in the NSC during 2001. This has been part
of an ongoing consideration on Nordlands role and engagement in
interregional co-operation. Per Strømhaug has prepared a political case on
this issue for the County Council. The case will be decided in a couple of
weeks. Per S will duly inform the Secretariat and the group about the
outcome of the Council's decision as soon it has been made.
Per
S informed that he in week 42 would participate as an observer in a meeting
of the Baltic Sea Commission Spatial-planning group (equivalent to the NSC
Communication group).
A
lunch and excursion to the port of Narvik rounded up the meeting. More
information on the port can be found at http://www.portofnarvik.com/
or e-mail at rune.arnoy@narvik.kommune.no
Start
