Bankwatch's input into the European Commission's current review process of the trans-European transport network policy (TEN-T) emphasises the need for future TEN-T investments to contribute to decreasing car dependency, noise and air pollution, urban sprawl and chronic congestion.

Public funds support for TEN-T via the EU Funds, the EIB and the EBRD has contributed to a one way subsidy street over the last 15 years in central and eastern Europe, one that has resulted in disproportionate spending on new motorways. In spite of the climate intensity of such spending trends, and as our most recent analysis details, alarmingly the CEE countries are still fixated on spending twice as much EU funds for roads than for railways in the 2007-2013 period, while funding for public urban transport is set to be marginal.

TEN-T, a central plank in EU transport delivery, must get into gear with the EU’s official sustainable development strategy that insists on reducing the growth of transport, shifting it from road to rail and modernising public transport. As Bankwatch's conception of how TEN-T can get on a more sustainable track makes clear, public investments should follow only for well grounded, climate-beneficial projects, and where public-private partnership schemes are being considered there should be appropriate strict scrutiny applied to counteract the financial alchemy favoured by the PPP evangelists. Read our input here.