WRITTEN QUESTION E-2443/00

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(19 July 2000)

Subject: Linking Galicia with the Peninsular and the rest of Europe by high speed train

The President of the Xunta de Galiza, Manuel Fraga Iribarne, recently publicly announced that he had signed an agreement with the Spanish Minister of Public Works, Francisco Álvarez Cascos, on the building of a high yield rail link, to be co-funded by the European Union, linking the cities of Galicia with Madrid via Valladolid in the year 2006.

Does this decision form part of the Community Support Framework which the Commission agreed with the Spanish Government for the 2000-2006 period? Is this to be a high-speed link, like those which already exist and those planned for the links with the south and the Mediterranean part of the Iberian Peninsula? What budget has been allocated, and what annual programming do the investments to be made come under?

Answer given by Mr Barnier on behalf of the Commission

(6 October 2000)

Following negotiations with the Spanish authorities the Commission is now finalising the Community support framework for the Objective I Spanish regions, which include Galicia, for 2000-2006.

The CSF does not itemise projects to be financed during this programming period. It is too soon therefore to say anything precise about the projects that will be selected for inclusion in the CSF operational programmes.

It should however be said that the Commission and the Spanish authorities consider improvement of rail links between the main cities of Galicia and Valladolid to be one of the transport infrastructure priorities for the period.