Agreement between UNECE and the Slovak Republic secures the UNECE TER Project Office
Geneva, 27 July 2009 --
Ján Kubiš, Executive Secretary of the UNECE signed an agreement on 27 July with the Slovak Minister of Transport, Post and Communications, Ľubomír Vážny, for the Slovak Republic to host the Trans-European Railway (TER) Project.
The signing of this Agreement secures a stable and long-term functioning of the TER Project Office. It comes at a critical moment in the Trans-European Motorway (TEM) and TER Master Plan revision process as it will not only facilitate completion of the revision but also ensure efficient continuation of other activities and tasks of the TER Project.
The Master Plan outlines an investment plan which, if implemented, would contribute to economic growth for the countries concerned and to the well-being of their populations. Furthermore, it would greatly benefit the integration and harmonization of transport within Europe and beyond.
The TEM and TER Master Plan, first published in 2006, set out the priority infrastructure needs of 21 Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European countries. It identified the backbone road and rail networks in those countries and presented a realistic investment strategy to gradually develop them. As many as 491 projects with an estimated total cost of EUR 102 billion were evaluated and prioritized.
The current revision of the Master Plan will review the latest developments in the TEM and TER projects, and in particular;
- Update data related to traffic flows for TEM and TER networks,
- Check the conformity of new projects and regulations with the TEM and TER backbone networks, and review the original TEM and TER networks,
- Review border crossing issues,
- Improve data collection procedures,
- Update information about TEM and TER funding,
- Identify interrelationships of the TEM and TER Master Plan backbone networks with intermodal points and links and
- Draw up conclusions and recommendations.
The agreement between UNECE and the Slovak Republic provides the framework which will regulate the operational status and obligations of both signatories regarding the functioning of the UNECE TER Project Central Office as well as its staff, kindly hosted by the Slovak Republic until 31 December 2011.
Mr. Kubiš and Mr. Vážny took this opportunity to discuss in some details other emerging issues in the transport sector, including Slovak Republic’s participation in the Inland Transport Committee and its Working Parties, the status of important UNECE international transport Agreements and Conventions, as well as infrastructure initiatives and road safety activities.
Ref: ECE/TRANS/09/P08