HC Deb 30 January 2002 vol 379 cc325-6W
Chris Grayling

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what the status is of the Ireland/UK/Benelux road link in the Essen list, with particular reference to the proposed route west of the M6 motorway. [31544]

Mr. Jamieson

The Ireland/UK/Benelux road link is one of the 14 transport trans-European network (TEN) projects to which the Essen European Council attributed particular importance. There are no plans to change this status. Decision 1692/96/EC provides guidelines for the development of the TEN and Annex 1 to the Decision contains a map of the TEN road network in the UK. The European Commission has recently published proposals to amend the guidelines and in negotiations the Government will seek to ensure that all routes on the UK road map—including the one west of the M6 motorway—are, if appropriate, updated to reflect current circumstances.