Integrating Europe's Transport System: Practical Proposals for the Mid-Term Review of the Transport White Paper (Centre for European Policy Studies)

This study investigates EU progress toward a single market for transport. Until recently, EU transport policy had been firmly wedded to the twin ideas of "decoupling" transport from economic growth and encouraging a "modal shift" from road to rail, especially for freight transport. With economic growth in the doldrums, however, and an urgent need to reinvigorate the "Lisbon strategy" to encourage competitiveness, many in Europe now believe that transport policy should play a central role in this process. Unfortunately, progress toward an EU-wide transport coherence has been rather disappointing over many years. This new report by the CEPS transport group puts forward a few clear, businessfocused proposals designed to improve all this--and allow all modes to play their part in meeting Europe's escalating transport needs.