13 countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus adopt joint initiative for safe, secure, prosperous and environmentally friendly transport
Geneva, 27 April 2010 --
The national coordinators for the Trans-European Motorway (TEM) and Trans- European Railway (TER) projects from 13 countries from Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus unanimously adopted the “Innsbruck Initiative for safe, secure, prosperous and environmentally friendly transport” on 23 April 2010.
The Innsbruck Initiative was adopted on the occasion of the 53rd session of the TEM Steering Committee and the 28th session of the TER Steering Committee, which took place at a joint project meeting held from 19-23 April 2010 in Innsbruck, Austria.
The Initiative focuses on achieving the following four objectives:
Objective 1: Development of transport infrastructure which improves safety, environmental performance and security, including the realisation of clean and efficient public transport, intermodal connections and infrastructure for environmentally friendly transport.
Objective 2: Promotion of policies and measures conducive to secure and safe transport through the proper design of transport infrastructure;
Objective 3: Supporting interoperablity between transport modes, intermodal connections and combined transport systems;
Objective 4: The wide introduction and development of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), especially those which increase transport safety, security and contribute to minimising traffic congestion and air pollution.
Both the TEM and TER steering committees decided to include objectives and activities related to the Innsbruck Initiative in their programmes of work for the period 2011-2015. A request was made to UNECE, as the executing agency of both projects, to ensure support for the Innsbruck Initiative as a tool for cooperation between participating countries and as a platform for the exchange of knowledge on policies, activities and measures aimed at safe, secure, efficient and environmentally friendly transport systems.
The Initiative will make use of strategies and programmes recently developed by many European countries to improve environmental protection, safety and security in the transport sector. Experience gained to date shows how efforts aimed at making transport more sustainable could enhance security, safety, reduce environmental impact and contribute to the economy. Investment in safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transport systems and infrastructure help to reduce congestion, accidents, crime and pollution, and thereby contribute to sustainable mobility and to combating climate change.
In order to achieve these goals, the Project Central Offices of TEM and TER in Warsaw, Poland, and Bratislava, Slovakia, in close collaboration with UNECE, will provide a platform for the exchange of good practices amongst policy makers, high-level officials and experts from the countries participating in the Initiative. Furthermore, this exchange will involve non-governmental organizations that deal with transport security, safety and protection of the environment.
The next meeting of the Innsbruck Initiative - which will review progress made in the pursuit of its objectives, new activities and programmes, as well as plans for the year 2011 - will be held in Vienna, Austria in November 2010.
The http://www.unece.org/trans/main/temtermp/Joint_EG_4th.html
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Eva Molnar
Director
UNECE Transport Division
Email: [email protected]
or
Mr. Helmut Meelich,
TransEuropean Railway Project Central Office
Phone: +42 1 259 494 786
Email: [email protected]
Note to editors
The 13 signatories of the Insbruck Initiative are: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Romania and the Russian Federation.
UNECE’s Trans-European Motorways (TEM) project was established in 1977 as a sub-regional cooperation platform among Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries.
Its main objectives are:
- To facilitate road traffic in Europe,
- To improve the quality and efficiency of transport operations,
- To balance existing gaps and disparities between motorway networks in Western, Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe,
- To assist the integration process of European transport infrastructure systems.
It counts 16 member countries: Armenia, Austria (associate member), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Turkey.
UNECE’s Trans-European Railway (TER) project was launched in 1990 as a sub-regional cooperation platform among Central, Eastern and South-Eastern European countries.
Its main objectives are:
- To improve the quality and efficiency of transport operations,
- To assist the integration process of European transport infrastructure systems, and
- To develop a coherent and efficient international railway and combined transport system in accordance with the UNECE Pan-European infrastructure agreements: European Agreement on Main International Railway Lines (AGC - May 1985) and European Agreement on Important International Combined Transport Lines and Related Installations (AGTC - Feb. 1991).
It 18 members include: Armenia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Turkey.
Ref: ECE/TRANS/10/P08