The Minister of Communications and Works Mr Efthemios Flourentzou participated in the Informal Meeting of European Union Ministers for Transport held yesterday in Sopot, Poland. At the meeting the main issue of discussion was the promotion of private investments on transport infrastructure and particularly the further promotion of the Public-Private Partnership formula.
In his intervention, Mr Flourentzou noted that the utilization of private investments in the design and completion of infrastructure projects, both on community and national level, should be seriously assessed, especially during this period, when ways to effectively overcome the economic crisis should be found.
Mr Flourentzou noted the need for the better coordination of all EU financing mechanisms, as well as the absence of an appropriate community financing mechanism with relevant implementing measures, through which the preconditions for the implementation of projects with the partnership of public and private sector could be created. Mr Flourentzou also underlined the fact that the particularities of the regional island member states, such as Cyprus, which face objective difficulties in promoting road network development projects with the collaboration of the public and private sectors, since the possibilities of using tolls does not exist, should be taken into consideration.
Mr Flourentzou praised the important role of the European Investment Bank in implementing infrastructure projects, since its presence constitutes a guarantee for the sustainability and the high quality of the projects, stressing that it should also help for the implementation of smaller scale projects.
The above positions were expressed by many member states and consequently the Polish Presidency formed conclusions, through which the European Committee and the European Investment Bank are called upon to intensify their effort, so that the formation of new financing mechanisms could create the appropriate preconditions for a more effective involvement of the private sector in the implementation of projects.
On the sidelines of the Meeting, Mr Flourentzou exchanged views with his counterparts from other EU member states, as well as the Vice-President of the European Committee and Commissioner for Transport Mr Siim Kallas and the President of the Committee on Transport and Tourism of the European Parliament, British MP Mr Brian Simpson, on issues of common interest, and especially concerning the European transport policy, which will be dealt by the EU during the assumption of the Presidency of the Council by Cyprus in the second half of 2012.