§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on the discussions and resolutions of the Barcelona Summit related to transport. [45349]
§ Mr. SpellarI am pleased to report that there was substantial progress made at the Barcelona summit in a number of areas related to transport, consistent with Her Majesty's Government's objectives.
The summit outcomes and discussions will advance the liberalisation of the transport sector, in particular, the calls to: progress work on the Second Railway Package; liberalise public transport more generally; achieve a Single Sky in air traffic management in 2004; take decisions on the proposed rules on airport slot allocation by the end of 2002; and, adopt by December 2002 the pending proposals on port services.
In addition, the summit called for the Council and the European Parliament to adopt revised guidelines and financial rules on the Trans-European Networks (TEN) and welcomed progress on the Galileo satellite navigation system. The Council was requested to conclude its work on the proposed Regulation on HGV Drivers' Hours. There were also discussions on the proposed directive for fairer transport tariffs across different modes of transport by 2004.
955WI should also refer the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell to the Prime Minister's statement to the House on 18 March on the outcomes of the summit.