Subject matter
This Regulation establishes a financing instrument, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Marco Polo II Programme’ or ‘the Programme’ in order to reduce congestion, to improve the environmental performance of the transport system and to enhance intermodal transport, thereby contributing to an efficient and sustainable transport system which provides EU added value without having a negative impact on economic, social or territorial cohesion. The duration of the Programme shall be from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 in order to achieve, by the end of the Programme, a traffic shift that is a substantial part of the expected yearly aggregate increase in international road freight traffic, measured in tonne-kilometres, to short sea shipping, rail and inland waterway transport or to a combination of modes of transport in which road journeys are as short as possible.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)
‘action’ means any project executed by undertakings which contributes to reducing congestion in the road freight transport system and/or to improving the environmental performance of the transport system in the territories of the Member States or participating countries; catalyst actions, modal shift actions and common learning actions may comprise several coordinated projects;
(b)
‘catalyst action’ means any innovative action aimed at overcoming significant structural barriers in the Community freight transport market which impede the efficient functioning of the markets, the competitiveness of short sea shipping, rail, or inland waterway transport, and/or the efficiency of transport chains making use of these modes, including the modification or creation of ancillary infrastructure; for the purpose of this definition, such structural barriers shall mean any non-regulatory, factual and non-temporary impediment to the proper functioning of the freight transport chain;
(c)
‘Motorways of the Sea action’ means any innovative action directly shifting freight from road to short sea shipping or a combination of short sea shipping with other modes of transport in which road journeys are as short as possible; actions of this kind may include the modification or creation of the ancillary infrastructure required in order to implement a very large-volume, high-frequency intermodal maritime transport service, including, preferably, the use of the most environmentally-friendly transport modes, such as inland waterways and rail, for hinterland freight transport and integrated door-to-door services; if possible, the resources of the outermost regions should also be integrated;
(d)
‘modal shift action’ means any action directly, measurably, substantially and immediately shifting freight from road to short sea shipping, rail, inland waterways or a combination of modes of transport in which road journeys are as short as possible, without being a catalyst action; this includes, where appropriate, actions where modal shift is brought about by the development of an existing service; the Commission shall examine the possibility of supporting ancillary infrastructure projects;
(e)
‘traffic avoidance action’ means any innovative action integrating transport into production logistics to avoid a large percentage of freight transport by road without adversely affecting production output or workforce; actions of this kind may include the modification or creation of ancillary infrastructure and equipment;
(f)
‘common learning action’ means any action aimed at improving cooperation for structurally optimising working methods and procedures in the freight transport chain, taking into account the requirements of logistics;
(g)
‘innovative action’ means any action which features elements which have hitherto not existed in a given market;
(h)
‘ancillary infrastructure’ means the necessary and sufficient infrastructure to achieve the goals of actions, including freight-passenger installations;
(i)
‘accompanying measure’ means any measure which seeks to prepare for or to support current or future actions, including dissemination activities and project monitoring and evaluation, and the collection and analysis of statistical data; measures devoted to the commercialisation of products, processes or services, marketing activities and sales promotion are not accompanying measures;
(j)
‘preparatory measure’ means any measure taken in preparation for a catalyst, Motorways of the Sea or traffic avoidance action, such as technical, operational or financial feasibility studies and equipment tests;
(k)
‘undertaking’ means any entity engaged in an economic activity, regardless of the legal status of the entity and the way in which it is financed;
(l)
‘consortium’ means any arrangement by which at least two undertakings execute together and share the risk relating to an action;
(m)
‘tonne-kilometre’ means the transport of a tonne of freight, or its volumetric equivalent, over a distance of one kilometre;
(n)
‘vehicle-kilometre’ means the movement of a truck, loaded or empty, over a distance of one kilometre;
(o)
‘close third country’ means any country not a member of the European Union with a common border with the European Union or with a coastline on a closed or semi-closed sea neighbouring the European Union.
Scope
1. The Programme shall cover actions:
(a)
involving the territory of at least two Member States,
or
(b)
involving the territory of at least one Member State and the territory of a close third country.
2. Where an action involves the territory of a third country, costs arising in the territory of that country shall not be covered by the Programme, except in the circumstances set out in paragraphs 3 and 4.
3. The Programme shall be open to participation by countries which are candidates for accession to the European Union. Participation shall be governed by the conditions laid down in the Association Agreements with those countries, and on the basis of the rules laid down in the decision of the Association Council for each country concerned.
4. The Programme shall also be open to participation by EFTA and EEA countries and close third countries, on the basis of supplementary appropriations in accordance with procedures to be agreed with those countries.
