An informal discussion between the European Coordinator for the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Corridor Pat Cox and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Joe Mizzi was held today in Leipzig, Germany.
Minister Mizzi is currently in Leipzig for the International Transport Forum 2016 Summit: Green and Inclusive Transport.
During this meeting, Malta’s application for Phase II of the upgrading of the TEN-T road network at the Marsa Addolorata Junction was discussed.
Phase I of the project was among the projects selected by the European Commission to benefit from new European Funds under the Connecting European Facility (CEF) last year, after Malta had submitted the application in February 2015. The project submitted by Malta was considered to be of top quality and received high marks in all key areas during the evaluation process.
During the meeting with Pat Cox, Minister Mizzi asked about the possibility of Malta applying for Phase II of the TEN-T Marsa Addolorata project in stage 2 of the CEF 2016 call for proposals which is likely to be issued in November.
During his stay in Leipzig, Minister Mizzi also met a delegation from the Association of European Rail Industry (UNIFE) who had requested a bilateral meeting. UNIFE directly represents European companies responsible for the design, manufacture, maintenance and refurbishment of rail transport systems, subsystems and related equipment.
The main focus of this meeting was the TRIO Presidency Programme and, in particular, plans for Malta’s Presidency in the first half of 2017. Philippe Citroen, Director General of UNIFE, is heading the delegation, accompanied by Jean Philippe Peuziart, Head of Public Affairs.
Philippe Citroen had met Minister Mizzi during the TEN-T Days event held in Riga in June 2015 and they met again in Malta last December. For this follow-up meeting, a number of topics which UNIFE has identified were discussed. UNIFE explained the importance of the Shift2Rail Joint Undertaking which will be responsible with the issuing of calls for short-term projects and the importance of continued support for this initiative under the Maltese Presidency.
During the bilateral meeting, the European Investment policy and the importance of continued EU financing for rail projects were discussed. Another theme was the EU Railway Directives, focusing on the political pillar, which is likely to be closed during the Dutch Presidency.
UNIFE has also asked about the possibility of hosting an event under the Maltese Presidency, an event which would focus on different forms of transport.