Linking Georgia to Europe though better transport

On, 07 July 2011 the European Commission published a new Neighbourhood Transport Action Plan to strengthen transport links with neighbouring regions to the East and South of the Eropean Union. What does the plan propose? 20 concrete measures, in the short and longer term, to make transport connections smoother, safer and more reliable. It will deepen market integration to the advantage of both the EU and its neighbouring regions. It will strengthen connections to the east and brings together regional transport cooperation into a single policy.

Concrete key measures: Extending the EU's internal aviation market and Single European Sky to neighbouring regions; Develop priority transport projects; Making better use of rail freight potential by opening markets and by alleviating technical barriers; Establishment of an Eastern Partnership Transport Panel to oversee cooperation with neighbours to the east; Making sea transport with the neighbouring countries more efficient through their inclusion in the “Blue Belt” of free maritime movement in and around Europe; Helping neighbouring countries to improve road safety;

What are the next steps? In October 2011, the new Eastern Partnership Transport Panel which will oversee the implementation of the measures to the East, will be launched at a ministerial conference organised under the Polish EU Presidency (24-25 October 2011 in Krakow.)

Georgia is an important partner for the EU, in transport as in other important economic and social fields of activity. Regarding transport, as we learnt from our own respective experiences growing up behind the former Iron Curtain where people needed a passport just to move around inside their own country, free movement is crucially important. It is a strong element of European liberty and a massive achievement; it changes and opens minds. It’s time now to extend that achievement to our neighbours just outside the EU’s borders, and to do that we need more transport ‘building blocks’ to link us better together. That means more and improved infrastructure to create strong transport corridors – air, rail, road and sea – to facilitate the flow of goods, business and people across borders.

Since transport cooperation with our neighbours goes beyond infrastructure, one of the first challenges will be to slice through the bureaucracy and bottlenecks which can sometimes take up 40% of total transport time. If there is no regard for safety, security or the environment, or if border procedures are inefficient, then there is little point in building a new highway or high-speed rail link.

In the European Union, we have already managed to make much of our transport system more efficient by opening markets and developing our Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). By being faster and cheaper, these improved connections across the EU have led to more trade, tourism, transport of goods and investments. We would like to extend similar benefits to our neighbours, building on the good work that has been going on over the last few years to strengthen transport links with nations on the EU’s southern border, the chain of countries stretching from Morocco to Lebanon. Now we want to add more focus to the east: Ukraine, Moldova and the countries of the southern Caucasus.

The EU transport network does not, and should not, stop at our borders. We want to join up our network with the infrastructure of our eastern neighbours, drawing them more into Europe, politically and economically. But our assistance also means that these countries should align gradually with EU and international standards in road, aviation and maritime safety. We would like to see a better level of road safety throughout the European continent, for example.

At present, the annual EU average is 6.1 deaths per 100,000 persons and in Georgia 16.8 . Those rates are much lower in specific EU countries of similar population, like Ireland (4.8), Lithuania (9.0) and Slovakia (5.2). Improving these standards will also help ensure that equally safe and secure vehicles, ships and aircraft operate in the EU and in neighbouring regions – to the benefit of all.

Based on its own experience and through technical assistance projects, the EU can help neighbouring countries make necessary transport reforms. We are ready to develop closer links with the countries that are prepared to do so.

Concretely, we want to integrate all the countries which border the EU to the south and east into a wider common aviation area and also assist them in modernising their air traffic management systems. This will provide more business opportunities for operators and more choice for passengers.

With Georgia, we have already signed an air transport agreement that will help achieve this integration so that we now expect more flights per week between Tbilisi and EU capitals, arriving at more convenient times and with tickets at lower prices.

In the rail sector, we want to explore the possibility of making rolling stock and track gauges compatible so that an east-west journey between capital cities - which now might take up to one day or more - could be reduced drastically after the necessary streamlining of border and customs formalities. We have similar ideas for road and sea transport: all designed to improve efficiency, remove bottlenecks and ‘join up’ the missing transport links between east and west.

The wider economic benefits of doing this are clear.

Georgia and its regional neighbours play an important role in the transit corridor for goods moving between Asia and Europe and are themselves a significant market place. With better infrastructure connections and extension of the TEN-T, there is a solid potential for growth in bilateral trade between them and the EU’s Member States. We would assist Georgia to define regional networks and identify priority projects.

However, it is clear that neither the EU nor the partner countries alone have the resources to finance those connections. So we will work together with the international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to mobilise funding from the existing resources.

Our help to the neighbouring countries will depend on what they want to do, and will need effort from both sides.

Improved trade flows need improved and connected infrastructure. And connecting infrastructure means connecting people. That’s what we intend to deliver. As a result, we hope to see more economic activity with Georgia – trade, tourism, transit of goods and investment.