EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR ENERGY AND TRANSPORT DIRECTORATE G - Maritime Transport Short sea shipping and port policy

REVISED
PUBLIC NOTE PROVIDING A NON-EXHAUSTIVE BRIEF OVERVIEW OF INSTRUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN AND COULD BE USED TO PROVIDE COMMUNITY FINANCING FOR PROJECTS WITH A DIRECT OR INDIRECT IMPACT ON SHORT SEA SHIPPING AND ITS INTERMODAL INTEGRATION

Background Policy

The European Commission has an established policy to promote Short Sea Shipping as a complement and alternative to congested land transport. The latest Commission Communication on the subject is available in all Community languages on the Internet http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/maritime/sss/communications_en.htm. It advocates a way forward to make Short Sea Shipping an integrated door-to-door concept with one-stop shops. It also refers to bottlenecks, such as complexity of administrative procedures, that impede the development of Short Sea Shipping and which the Commission - in co-operation with the Member States and industry - has started to identify and solve. Also the Commission White Paper of 2001 on European Transport Policy for 2010 emphasises the role of Short Sea Shipping in helping curb the forecasted substantial increase in heavy goods vehicle traffic, rebalance the modal shares and bypass land bottlenecks. Further to information available on the Internet (http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/maritime/sss/index_en.htm), information on the Short Sea Shipping policy can be obtained from the Short Sea Shipping Team in the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport (e-mail: SSS@cec.eu.int).

Marco Polo Programme

In 2003 Commission approved a regulation for a new intermodal support programme ‘Marco Polo’. The programme follows the footsteps of the earlier successful PACT programme (Pilot Actions for Combined Transport). Like its predecessor, the Marco Polo Programme covers rail and inland waterways in addition to Short Sea Shipping but it has a wider, intermodal scope and is intended to make a substantial difference in the market.
Marco Polo can grant support for; modal shift actions: start-up aid for new services in the non-road freight market (maximum aid level 30 % of eligible costs); Catalyst actions: grants for viable non-road freight services (maximum aid level is 35 % of eligible costs) and Common learning actions: support for initiatives that improve co-operation and the sharing of know-how in an increasingly complex transport and logistics industry (costs can be reimbursed up to 50 %).

Marco Polo proposals can be submitted by the private sector or, in other words, by undertakings that are engaged in an economic activity.

In July 2004, the Commission made a further proposal on Marco Polo, the so-called ‘Marco Polo II’. This new proposal, if adopted, will come into force on 1 January 2007 and will continue the actions eligible under the current Marco Polo programme but will feature two new types of actions to reduce international road freight transport over time – firstly Motorways of the Sea and secondly traffic avoidance actions.
The budget of Marco Polo II would be considerably larger than that of the current programme (up to 740 million euro for the period 2007-2013).
Information on the Marco Polo programme is available on the Internet (see the links above) or you can contact the Marco Polo Team by e-mail: tren-marco-polo@cec.eu.int.

Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T)

The Community policy on the Trans-European Transport Networks aims to develop an efficient transport system and related infrastructures in the Community. Certain financing is available to Member States under this policy. Up to 50% of infrastructure-related studies of common interest can be financed (including port infrastructure studies and multimodal network studies involving short-sea legs). In the case of infrastructure projects, the financing cannot exceed 10% of the total costs (in exceptional cases up to 20%). Constructing or upgrading port-hinterland connections can be eligible under the TEN-T.
Furthermore, the 2004 revision of the TEN-T Guidelines includes the development of Motorways of the Sea as one of 30 priority projects. According to article 12a of the TEN-T Guidelines sea motorway projects are intended to concentrate freight flows on sea-based logistical routes so as to reduce road congestion and/or improve access to peripheral and island regions and States. Eligible projects may receive financing of up to 20% and studies up to 50%. TEN-T projects are normally proposed by Member States but it should be noted that Motorways of the Sea initiatives must be proposed by at least two Member States in order to qualify for funding.
A Vademecum has been issued in conjunction with the call for proposals TEN-T 2005.
More information on the TEN-T can be obtained from http://europa.eu.int/comm/ten/transport/index_en .htm. You can also contact TEN-T by e-mail: TREN-TENT@cec.eu.int .

Research and Technological Development (RTD)
The European Union carries out a considerable number of activities in the field of research, technological development and demonstration. These activities include Transport RTD and, in particular, intermodal and waterborne transport.
General information about transport research can be found at:
Transport Research Knowledge Centre
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/intermodality/research/index_en.htm
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/logistics/rdn/index_en.htm

Projects carried out under the 5th Framework Programme (1998-2002) are currently being finalised. More information can be found at:
EUROPA - Directorate-General Energy and transport - RTD Framework Programme


The 6th Framework Programme is currently underway. The Programme covers, inter alia, the theme of sustainable surface transport (theme 1.1.6.2) that comprises both land and waterborne modes. For further information, see
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/rtd/index_en.htm
http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/intermodality/research/future_en.htm

In April 2005 the European Commission unveiled its plans for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), which has a proposed duration of seven years (2007 to 2013), a budget of 72.73 billion euro and a structure based on four specific programmes: Cooperation, Ideas, People and Capacities. Transport is one of the nine thematic areas identified for collaborative research.

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

The MEDA programme is the principal financial instrument of the European Union for the implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. It also provides budgetary resources for financial co-operation between the EU and its Mediterranean partners. Further information is available on
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/meda.htm.
Grants in the Field of Transport
Approximately once a year the Directorate General for Energy and Transport publishes a call for proposals with a view to obtaining grants in all fields of transport (see
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/grants/index_en.htm). That call provides a framework that can be used to apply for co-financing up to 50% of relevant studies. It has been occasionally used for projects relating to Short Sea Shipping.

Other Sources of Information

The information above does not in any way exclude the possibility of projects or studies relating to Short Sea Shipping being eligible for financing under other Community policies , such as regional development (e.g. Interreg III programme).
Further information on the European Regional Development Fund, Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund can be found on http://europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/index_en.htm.
Information on the Pre-Accession Strategy with its specific programmes, such as ISPA (Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession) and Phare can be found on http://europa.eu.int/comm/enlargement/financial_assistance.htm.
Information on the Tacis Programme for the Eastern European and Central Asian countries can be found on
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/ceeca/tacis/index.htm.
Under certain circumstances, the European Investment Bank (see http://eib.eu.int/) and its European Investment Fund (see http://www.eif.org/) might be able to grant loans relating to Short Sea Shipping.