South East European Transport Axis Cooperation
The existing SEE transport framework & network are inadequate to actual requirements. For too long the relevant institutions were concentrating on national infrastructures where most of the investments have been made to the detriment of the trans-national implications. Current transport facilities, mostly in the non-EU countries are way beneath international standards mainly because of insufficient investment & inadequate maintenance.The development and completion of the Trans European Transport Network (TEN-T) will definitely improve this situation and facilitate the full integration of the region into the rest of Europe. Better spatial integration & transport connection means major investments, stronger economy, higher employment & larger opportunities for the citizens. Pan-European Corridors (PECs) can be integrated in the South Eastern Transport Axis (SETA) as an essential part of the TEN-T fulfiling a complementary role as a priority transport network outside of the EU territory. During the PEC meetings the project idea to strengthening the transnational cooperation among SEE Ministries of Transport, PEC Steering Committees and Secretariats was developed. To reach this overall objective, the project has been articulated in the following Work Packages (WPs) that correspond to the project specific objectives: WP1: institutional coordination to build an effective SETA framework and network in compliance with recent EU transport policies (i.e. HLG Report and COM(2008) 125 final); WP2: establishment of an institutional and transparent communication system; WP3: implementation of a coordinated database management system; WP4: definition of multi-modal traffic scenarios and common mobility standards and environmental (EIA & SEA) guidelines; WP5: identification of necessary financial resources and financing mechanisms; WP6: finalisation of SEE Spatial Planning.