The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has welcomed the European Commission's £160 billion package of proposals for expanded pan-European trade routes, although the body still has concerns.
The Trans-European Transport Network (TEN) programme has been updated with new projects in order to help ensure the success of enlargement when the 10 accession states join the European Union next year.
However, the Commission's transport infrastructure plans for 25 member states appear modest when compared to the overall cost of modernising Europe's transport network.
Simon Chapman, FTA chief economist, said: “There is considerable merit in the TEN project's aim to develop pan-European trade corridors. No one can dispute the desirability of the Commission's proposals to facilitate trade among member states but plans are based on a funding structure, which, at present, has no solid foundation.
“The industry has seen little in the way of delivery in the UK government's 10-year transport plan and we are wary that the European project could end up as little more than a mirage as well.”
