Expansion of the Mont Blanc and Fréjus road tunnels

15.1.2003

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0105/03
by Luciano Caveri (ELDR)
to the Commission

While the Turin-Lyons rail link unfortunately seems to have hit the doldrums yet again, the Italian government has embarked on the immediate expansion, in the shape of new shafts, of the current Mont Blanc and Fréjus tunnels, which are part of the Trans-European Transport Network. However, it has not taken into consideration the Transport White Paper or the Alpine Convention and its transport protocol, which state that priority should be given to rail in the Alpine Arc rather than to further development of the road system. At the same time, the local populations on both sides of the tunnels are completely opposed to this idea and the French Government is half-hearted about it. Does the Commission have any information on this matter and what is its assessment of it?

OJ C 242 E, 09/10/2003