20th Economic Forum Panel Discussion: The Central European Transport Corridor (CETC-ROUTE65). A new macro-regional concept for increasing the competitiveness and cohesion of the EU

• Date: 10.09.2010
• Venue: Krynica
• Research area: Economy & Finance
• Projects: 20th Economic Forum in Krynica
• Participants: Legutko Antoni Ryszard – prof., Polish MEP, Moderator and patron of the panel; Lantz Tomas – Memeber of the Steering Committee CETC-ROUTE 65, Skandia Region; Gróbarczyk Marek – Polish MEP, former Minister of Maritime Economy; Danson Mike - prof., Expert for Regional Policy, University of the West of Scotland; Gschnitzer Michael - Director of International Sales, Kapsch TrafficCom; Sadowy Jacek - President, Office of Procurement
• Partners: Economic Forum in Krynica

In the future, CETC will create expressways, highways, bus stations, river transport and airports located near this corridor, creating new opportunities for development in trade and tourism and establishing strong economic and social links between the countries in its path. For Poland, its realization would mean significant progress in the development of the transport infrastructure, the low level of which is among the fundamental factors of our economic backwardness. The project needs the strong support of the Polish government or it will not be given priority in the European Union.

These are the main conclusions of the panel discussion organized by the Kosciuszko Institute at the XX Economic Forum in Krynica on September 10, 2010. The panel considered the concept development of a modern Central European Transport Corridor – CETC-ROUTE65 – which would link the north and south of Europe, running uninterruptedly from Sweden to the Balkans and, in the long run, also to the Black Sea Region.

During the panel discussion, experts from Poland, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Austria, including Polish MEPs, discussed the concept of CETC, the state of its implementation and the connection between this initiative and EU policies: its coherence regarding transport and the current state of the debate to include the CETC to the list of priority projects TEN-T network. 2010 is when existing transport corridors were updated and the priority projects of the TEN-T was reviewed. However, there is strong competition with a similar project supported by the German government called Scandria, which would link Scandinavia and the Adriatic. In Berlin, the Community of Interests, a lobbying group supporting this idea, was formed. If two corridors were created at the same time, they would be competitive rather than complementary. This would place a question mark over the realization of the CETC international project.

The patron of the panel, Professor Ryszard Legutko, stressed the importance of the support of the Polish government for the successful realization of the project: “From the Polish point of view, the project is a key asset – it puts into practice the idea of consistency in Central Europe and, in addition, with Polish as a central part of this consistency. Thus, the success of these types of concrete undertakings depend on a strong Polish position in the region and not on general declarations.

Professor Mike Danson, an expert in regional policy at the University of the West of Scotland, stated that the phenomenon of the increasing movement of people and goods requires the implementation of such investments as the CETC, and that it is an absolute necessity for the development of a cohesive Europe. Tomas Lanz, a member of the Steering Committee of the CETC, emphasized the direct involvement of the regions in creating the concept of the CETC, and the fact that initially it was a regional initiative. He agreed, however, that with the signing of the Declaration in Szczecin the project has now entered the intergovernmental phase. Analyzing the technical conditions of the implementation of the CETC, Marek Gróbarczyk, an EKR MEP and a former Minister of Maritime Affairs, pointed out that the navigability of the Oder is crucial to the creation of the corridor just as the policy of water retention on both the right and left banks was crucial to the creation of the road on the Rhine. He emphasized its great competitive advantage over the corridor supported by the German government. “The amount of transported goods is growing all the time, and the use of a road on the Oder could reduce car traffic. This should be an important argument for the EU. The competitive corridor known as Skandria can only develop by improving the roads but this would have a very negative impact on the environment. Transport on a well regulated Oder would not constitute such a threat,” said Gróbarczyk. For now, nobody knows what the investment costs will be. As Gróbarczyk explains, “CETC is not yet a project with a feasibility stage. For the time being it is only a concept favouring EU cohesion and the single market. That is why CETC should be a priority for the EU.”

Jacek Sadowy, President of the Public Procurement Office, said that the inclusion of CETC in the set of priority infrastructure projects of the TEN-T is a necessity for its further development.

Sadowy remarked that it is now understood that the total cost of the realization of the CETC will not be covered by the EU and will have to be provided by individual countries. Poland does not have enough money to cover all of the costs, but wants to use private-public partnership structures that would be able to raise funds. However, being a high-risk investment, he expressed concern that the project might face a lack of interest by private firms. Unfortunately, Professor Ryszard Legutko noted, the European Commission has not accepted the invitation of the organizers and did not send a representative to Krynica. He declared, however, that the CETC initiative could rely on the support of Polish MEPs, including the EKR faction.

Files

• Watch

Social Media

Visit Us in:

Multimedia

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Copyright by Instytut Kościuszki

Realization:Interactive Agency