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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (3053)	7/6/2003 2:05:16 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10965

Business - Reuters EU Ministers Push Transport Plans Sat Jul 5,11:31 AM ET NAPLES, Italy (Reuters) - Transport ministers from 27 European countries on Saturday urged the EU to quickly adopt proposals for big transport projects aimed at boosting the bloc's competitivity as it enlarges east- and southward. Related Quotes DJIA NASDAQ ^SPC 9070.21 1663.46 985.70 -72.63 -15.27 -8.05 delayed 20 mins - disclaimer Quote Data provided by Reuters Their call dovetailed with an Italian idea to revive sluggish European growth through investment in infrastructure via European Investment Bank (EIB) bonds -- a proposal that has rekindled interest in so-called Trans-European Networks (TENs). "Europe has a gaping need for better transport links... and Italy is saying investment in infrastructure can improve growth. These two points go together very well," said EU Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio after talks in the southern Italian city of Naples. EU experts last week unveiled a list of transport priorities needing billions of euros of funding and the ministers said they wanted the EU Commission to present its own binding list soon, which could form the basis for Italy's spending plan. Rome's so-called "New Deal" sees the EIB borrowing up to 70 billion euros a year to invest in big projects. Italy, which took over the rotating EU presidency last Tuesday, wants to get financing for TENs approved before the end of its six months at the helm. Many of the TENs on last week's experts list aim to improve rail, road and water links between the bloc's 15 members and 12 countries joining in 2004 or soon after. They include projects such as a Madrid-Barcelona high-speed rail link, a road bridge linking Sicily to mainland Italy, railways in eastern Europe, and motorways between Greece and Hungary and Poland and Austria. At the same Naples meeting, five EU countries also agreed to work together to develop "motorways of the sea" to try to divert traffic away from increasingly crowded and polluted roads. The Italian, French, Spanish, Greek and Portuguese transport ministers signed a joint declaration saying they wanted to create short sea shipping routes in southern Europe, though they did not provide any funding figures or mention a timescale.