Rail Baltica Growth Corridor: Transnational Roundtable on the Crucial Year

1. 2012 - crucial year for Rail Baltica -2? Rail Baltica Growth Corridor – First Transnational Roundtable Vilnius, Lithuania 24 November 2011 • Dr.Roberts Zile • MEP

2. Aecom FEASIBILITY STUDY • Capital Cost Summary Per Country

4. Social cost benefit appraisal gives a BCR of 1.75 • EIRR is 9.3% which is just below the 11% average for rail projects funded by the EU during the previous programming periods • 56% of the total investment cost can be financed by the EU. This would mean member state contribution of €1,608 million • Project Stakeholders have accepted the conclusions as presented in May 2011

5. TEN-T GuidelinesandConnecting Europe Facility • A Regulation and not a Decision any longer: changed context and clear addressees • Two layer approach: core network and comprehensive network • Comprehensive network will cover the entire EU territory, accessibility for all citizens and businesses • Core network: a selection of the most important parts of the network to be realised as a priority until 2030

6. Core Network Corridors • Starting from the main entry points into the EU: ports, airports and border crossing points • Integrating major missing links • Covering at least three Member States • At least one corridor per Member State • Taking into account Rail freight corridors and Priority Projects • Possibility of implementing Decisions • Coordinators

7. Grants: Transport: only projects of common interest core network, including deployment of new technologies and innovation • Traffic managements systems such as SESAR • Freight transport services • Reduction of rail noise • Studies in PCI in third countries to link with transport networks of third countries • Works for PCI in third countries covering border crossing points • Financial instruments: Transport: all projects of common interest identified in TEN-T Guidelines: core and comprehensive network • Annex contains list of pre-identified projects: binding for transport as it serves to program 80% to 85% of the transport financial envelope. Delegated act foreseen to amend list. • Co-funding rates vary depending on sectors, with flexibility to maximise leverage and accelerate implementation: • 50% for studies • 20% for rail and IWW, with 30% for bottlenecks and 40% for cross-border • 20% for inland transport connections to ports and airports, traffic management systems, freight transport services, reduction of rail noise, MoS, multi-modal platforms, secure parking for core network roads

8. Reason: difficulties to deliver complex cross-border projects with high EU added value, especially in rail in Cohesion MS. • Mechanism: transfer pro-rata of €10 billion from Cohesion Fund • Eligibility: only MS eligible to Cohesion Fund • Co-funding rate: like Cohesion Fund: up to 85% (80% for phasing-out, with possibility of top-up) • Implementation: separate competitive calls for projects with greatest possible priority given to national allocations under Cohesion Fund • Preparation: support from Commission services (specific call for proposals under TEN-T program prior to 2014) as well as Jaspers to develop adequate project pipeline

9. Therefore Projects of Common interest (in the EU interest) on territory on third countries can be supported through grants and financial instruments • In transport, support through grants is limited to three cases: • works to connect the core network at border crossing points; • Studies to ensure the connection between the core network and the transport networks, and the connection between two core network entry points through a third country • implement EU traffic management systems in third countries

10. What challenges do we still have? • What we have to overtake? • Coordinators of TEN-T projects - are they necessary?