Roundtable discussion on future EU transport policy
On November 28, the North Sweden European Office organized a round table on the EU's future transport policy within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) financing mechanism and the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). The seminar was held in close collaboration with the Norrbotniabanan as well as the Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten.
On November 28, 2019, the North Sweden European Office organized a full day in Brussels on transport issues with the Transport Policy Dialogue Group and the Norrbotniabanan and Luleå harbor with several representatives of public authorities and industry in the northern parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Roundtable about CEF and TEN-T
On November 28, North Sweden organized a roundtable on "Extensions of the Corridor Network in CEF and revision of the TEN-T - What'a in it for Northern Scandinavia?" for discussions on trends and trends in the transport system linked to the development of the transport system in the northern parts of Sweden, Norway and Finland, with the participation of Martin Zeitler EU Commission DG Move, Carsten Horn-Hanssen Transport Council on Norway's delegation to the EU, Norrbotniabanan, Luleå port, Narvik Port, Region Norrbotten, Region Västerbotten, County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, County Administrative Board of Västerbotten, East & North Finland EU Office, North Norway EU Office, Kouvola Innovation, Flowers Consulting.
In a new proposal for the design of CEF, the EU Commission proposes an extension of TEN-T's corridor network, which includes an extension of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean (ScanMed) and North Sea Baltic (NSB) corridors to northern Scandinavia and northern Finland. The European Commission has also begun its work on revising the TEN-T Regulation. What are the trends and trends that influence the shaping of future transport policy? What opportunities are there for developing the system in northern Scandinavia within the framework of EU transport policy, both during the implementation of CEF 2021-2027 and through TEN-T post 2030? These issues, were discussed as part of ongoing brainstorming activities to identify and formulate the next strategic priorities for the transport system in northern Scandinavia and Finland. Martin Zeitler, adviser to the ScanMed corridor of the EU Commission DG MOVE, gave an opening speech on EU transport policy in relation to the recently adopted EU Commission's priorities regarding, for example, climate and digitalisation. Zeitler also developed around the design of CEF during the next budget period 2021-2027, where the focus was, among other things, on cross-border cooperation on renewable energy and increased synergies between different transport sectors. Carsten Horn-Hanssen, transport council of Norway's delegation to the EU, presented Norway's transport policy with a focus on investments in northern Norway. Elisabeth Sinclair, Norrbotniabanan together with Henrik Vuorinen, Luleå harbor highlighted the benefits of the extension of the ScanMed corridor. In addition to increased raw material transport and passenger traffic, the extension also leads to synergies in the form of other initiatives such as the Northvolt battery factory in Skellefteå. Northvolt, in turn, leads to a need for nearby subcontractors. In connection with the port of Luleå, industrial land is set aside today which is expected to be linked to the Norrbotniabanan for transport to Skellefteå and Northvolt.
In Narvik harbor, the long-term goal is to build a new harbor. The strengthened transport routes are expected to lead to increased iron ore transport from LKAB and Kaunis Iron, increased fishing exports and increased tourism. Micael Blomster, a consultant to, among others, the port of Narvik and Railgate in Sweden, Finland and Norway, talked about what is called “The Salmon New Silkroad” which aims to simplify the export of Norwegian salmon to China. Simo Päivinen from Kouvola Innovation further built on the subject with a presentation on the project "One Belt, One Road" (OBOR), which is a 900 km long railway between Kouvola in Finland and Xi'an in China.
The subsequent discussion, led by Mona Mansour of the North Sweden European Office, revolved around the next budget period and the importance of continued infrastructure investments in northern Scandinavia.
Other activities during the day
Mikael Bergström informed the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten's chairmanship in the regional Barents cooperation for the next two years. North Sweden held an internal meeting with its Transport Policy Dialogue group and with the participation of the Norrbotniabanan and Luleå harbor. The day ended with a meeting at the Airport Regions Council for discussions on possible future collaborations.
Take a look at the roundtable presentations here:
Presentasjon Narvik Havn 28.11.19
Zeitler Roundtable Northern Scandinavia 2019
For the full program, click here:
Program Roundtable November 28
/Isak Sidenstam