Proposals from European regions
Strasbourg, 7 May 2003
The Commission came out with a communication titled “Developing the trans-European transport network: Innovation funding solutions, Interoperability of electric toll collection systems” on April 23rd. An essential component of this paper is Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).
The AER had held numerous consultations on the subject. The highlight of these initiatives to date being the Workshop on “Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): An essential tool in sustainable regional transportation policies” held in Lyon, France on April 11, 2003.
In Lyon, over 100 participants, including Regions from all over Europe and national authorities and experts, stated that PPP is an indispensable condition for the further development of the Trans-European Networks in an enlarged Europe. The workshop, however, demanded that a European legal framework for PPP be soon defined to serve Regional and citizen interests while reaffirming the importance of public services.
They also indicated some guidelines for a successful PPP:
- a transparent and clear definition of responsibilities between the private and the public sectors: in particular, establishing an accountable system for sharing of risks between the public and private sectors
- increase consultation between the Regions and the EU
- greater co-ordination between the EU cohesion and transport policies
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