On 28 November, ScanMed RFC Managing Director Stefano Marcoccio attended the 1st Forum meeting of the Scandinavian – Mediterranean European Transport Corridor in Brussels. After the opening statement by EU Coordinator Pat Cox, who welcomed all stakeholders and provided an overview of his activities in the past year, DG MOVE Advisor Martin Zeitler presented the political priorities of the European Commission for 2024-2029 based on President von der Leyen’s mission letter to Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas.
Afterward, Uwe Sondermann from KombiConsult presented the results of the first phase of the Corridor study tackling new ETC lines and KPIs, infrastructure resilience, and traffic flows. In this context, the consultant conveyed the worrying message that due to the relatively low compliance rate of decisive infrastructure components, it is difficult to foresee an effective shift of further freight volumes to rail. Mr Sondermann also focused on the future activities relating to Task 2 and 3 – the project list update and project implementation report, respectively. Finally, he explained the way towards the next generation of Corridor Work Plans, which will rely on the three documents mentioned above.
Later, CINEA’s official Thomas Lazzeri took the floor, showcasing the results of the 2023 CEF Transport calls and outlining the 2024 call, whose deadline for proposal submission is 21 January 2025. From then onwards, various stakeholders discussed recent achievements and issues. Daniel Smirat, Chair of the Port of Luleå, articulated the challenges resulting from the greening of industry in Northern Sweden. His presentation was followed by that of Alberto Milotti, Project Manager at Consorzio ZAI, who talked about the outcome of the completed CEF project “Veneto Intermodal.” To conclude, Christopher Farrugia from Transport Malta detailed past and future activities towards onshore power supply in the ports of Valletta and Marsaxlokk.
We thank the EU Coordinator and all stakeholders for their insights and look forward to attending the second Corridor Forum meeting on 26 June 2025!
