A conference on planned guidelines for the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) 2013-2020 in Slovenia and beyond heard in Brussels that Slovenia believes its sole sea port in Koper should not only be connected with the east, as envisaged by new TEN-T plans, but also with Central Europe.
The conference, hosted by Slovenian MEP Tanja Fajon (SD/S&D), focused above all on Luka Koper. Under the planned guidelines, Luka Koper is to be included in the Mediterranean corridor on the rail axes of Trieste-Divača, Koper-Divača-Ljubljana-Maribor, Ljubljana and Maribor-Zalalövö, Hungary. Slovenia supports the plans of the European Commission in principle, but would like to see the Ljubljana-Munich section of the tenth pan-European corridor included among the priority axes. Sebastjan Šik, a spokesman for Luka Koper, pointed out at the conference that the port is not to be included in the Mediterranean-Baltic corridor, which would connect it with vital markets of Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, where Luka Koper expects to see highest growth in the future. Šik moreover said that the Trieste and Koper ports do not share the same interests. As regards to Slovenia's demand to incorporate Luka Koper into the Mediterranean-Baltic corridor, Jean-Eric Paquet of the European Commission said the port could be a kind of a bridge between the corridors, adding that the Commission would look into this possibility. Chair of the European Parliament Transport Committee Brian Simpson said that Slovenia's positions will have to be thoroughly examined, but warned that no radical changes can be expected. His visit to Slovenia on 20 February will be an opportunity to hold talks about the country's positions. Janez Požar, director general of Maritime Directorate at the Transport Ministry, pointed to the need to improve Luka Koper's connections inland. Meanwhile, Fajon said that Slovenia offers the shortest link between the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Far East. Slovenia is to promote its positions in the European Parliament and at the March and June meetings of EU ministers responsible for transport. The Transport Committee of the European Parliament is expected to decide on the planned policies before the summer break and the European Parliament is expected to take a vote at its autumn plenary, according to Simpson.
Source: The SloveniaTimes
