📋 Tender Overview
The Minister of Transport Ivan Bednarik today held talks in Brussels with the Director General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) Magda Kopczynska and other representatives of European institutions on current key issues of European transport policy. The main topics were the financing of transport infrastructure within the next multiannual financial framework and strengthening the competitiveness of European rail freight transport.
Minister Bednarik emphasized that ensuring sufficient financial resources for the development of transport infrastructure is one of the main priorities of the Czech Republic in negotiations on the new EU multiannual financial framework. It is essential to ensure adequate co-financing for all key infrastructure projects. This is particularly crucial for the planned construction of a system of fast rail connections which can only be realized with significant support from European funds said Minister of Transport Ivan Bednarik.
For the Czech Republic a priority is the completion of projects of the main transport network TEN-T and the removal of bottlenecks on cross-border sections. In the upcoming period military mobility will also play an important role including dual-use projects that contribute not only to the development of civil transport infrastructure but also to strengthening the security and resilience of European states.
A significant part of the discussions was also dedicated to the deteriorating situation in rail freight transport in Europe. Minister Bednarik pointed out that the current developments do not align with the EUs goals aimed at shifting freight transport from roads to rail and waterways. Rail freight carriers across Europe are facing a significant increase in costs particularly due to energy prices and other systemic factors. This negatively affects their competitiveness against road transport said Minister Bednarik.
The Minister also informed about the Czech initiative in the form of preparing a so-called non-paper which was shared with other member states and aims to open a debate on specific steps to increase the competitiveness of rail freight transport in Europe. The Czech Republic intends to present the final version of the document at the June meeting of the Council of Ministers of Transport.
In addition to meetings with representatives of DG MOVE Minister Bednarik also met during the day in Brussels with Czech MEPs Ondrej Krutilek and Jana Nagyova and with the Executive Director of the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) Alberto Mazzola.
