EU and China Set to Collaborate on GALILEO
An agreement has been reached between the European Union and China on its participation in the GALILEO program. This agreement was initialled in Beijing on September 18 by F. Lamoureux, Director-General of Energy and Transport at the European Commission, and M Shi Dinghuan, Secretary General of China's Ministry of Science and Technology. “China will help GALILEO to become the major world infrastructure for the growing market for location services,” said Loyola de Palacio, Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for the GALILEO programme. Her counterpart in the negotiations, China's Science and Technology Minister Xu Guanhua highlighted that “China supports GALILEO and plans to participate actively in its construction and application for mutual benefits”.
Transport Committee backs ‘Motorways of the Sea’
The Transport Committee voted on the draft report tabled by Philip Bradbourn (EPP-ED, UK) on Community guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network. Following the report last year on these guidelines by the High Level Group under Karel Van Miert, the Commission submitted to Parliament an amended proposal, adding nine new projects to those already adopted by the EP at its initial first reading. MEPs warmly backed the introduction of "motorways of the sea" to launch new regular transnational cargo shipping lines. These routes are intended to improve links with islands and enable goods traffic to avoid natural barriers such as the Alps and the Pyrenees.
Lamoureux Outlines EC Transport Priorities
The European Parliament's new Transport and Tourism Committee held its first meeting on 28 July 2004, where François Lamoureux, the Director General of the European Commission's DG Transport and Energy (second in command after Commissioner Loyola de Palacio), presented the Commission's long-term objectives. Lamoureux said that essential to improving and progressing security measures for EU transport is to establish who will bear the costs involved - the ship operators or the public authorities. The Commission feels that public authorities should fulfil this role, a standpoint not shared by EU Member States who are disinclined to foot the bill. On the question of improving safety standards, Lamoureux felt that the idea of creating a European coast guard needs further exploration.
