Transport Minister Discusses 5th Transport Route with Commissioner Barrot
The European Commission would like to see as soon as possible the completion of the railway line between France's Lyon and Hungary's Budapest, which also crosses Slovenia, Transport Minister Janez Bozic told the press after meeting European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot and the head of the Commission's Transport DG Francois Lamoureux in Brussels.
The minister assured the Commission officials that Slovenia is already implementing the project, which is part of the fifth European transport route. Modernisation of the Divaca-Koper railway line on the Koper-Ljubljana route is already underway, and so is the modernisation of two railway stations on this section.
The timetable for the second part of the project, the construction of the second Divaca-Koper rail line, will be released in two weeks, according to the minister.
The minister highlighted that the European Commission this week granted EUR 5.47m for the construction of the second Koper-Divaca railway line, and EUR 1.5m for the modernisation of the Ljubljana-Budapest route on the Pragersko-Hodos section.
Slovenia will make efforts to receive more funds for transport from the new EU budget, according to Bozic, who also discussed the EU's financial arrangements between 2007 and 2013 with the Commission officials.
Slovenia supports the Commission's proposals on spending in the new budget period and would like to receive funds for transport in at least the same amount as in the 2000-2006 period, according to the minister.
Slovenia is also interested in the construction of the motorways of the sea within the trans-European transport network, Bozic said, adding that he suggested Slovenia organise a conference on the topic in Portoroz in spring.
The minister also met Victor Aguado, the director general of the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), discussing the implementation of the Central European Air Traffic Services (CEATS) Agreement, which came into force in August.
Slovenia has halted its ratification due to opposition by the flight control trade union, which argued that the flight control would be taken over by the Vienna centre according to the agreement, jeopardising the jobs of 45 to 60 air flight controllers in Slovenia. We are trying to solve that, said Bozic, who sees an option in a more balanced cooperation within the CEATS.
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