Northlink guidance group visited Brussels

The guidance group of Northlink visited Brussels in March. During their visit there, the group members met with officials responsible for short sea shipping and harbour policy at the EU commission’s main department for traffic and energy issues.
They described the Commission’s policy, its aim of replacing road transportations by rail and sea transports, the removal of structural obstacles and EU support programmes aimed at boosting this development trend.

New harbour safety requirements, opening up harbour services for competition as well as different funding programmes of the Commission supporting the replacement of land transportation by sea and railway traffic were also focused on during the discussions.

The Northlink Seminar arranged by the EU office of Oulu and Lapland, in which officials of the main department responsible for traffic and energy issues and officials working at EU representations in Brussels took part, focused on the opportunities provided by the new transportation route between north-western Russia and Europe. Another theme was looking into possibilities for finding funding for the completion of the track’s safety and communication systems and the development of the border station on the Russian side so that it is suitable for international traffic.

Valeri Shlyamin, commercial representative of the Russian Federation in Helsinki, presented the opportunities provided by the new transportation corridor as part of the economic area of the Russian Federation and the European Union. According to Mr Shlyamin, October Railways, subsidiary of Russian Railway Company, is prepared, in cooperation with the European Development and Reconstruction Bank or the European Investment Bank, to apply for a loan needed for the completion of the track and the development of the border station so that it meets the needs of increasing international traffic.

At the seminar, Commission officials presented the Marco Polo programme and the priorities of EU’s transportation policy.

Northlink representatives described the current state and problems of the new transportation route. They pointed out that funding is needed to complete the track for commercial use, and drew attention to the double tariff system employed by the Russian Federation.