Officials convene in Budapest for talks on green paper

More than 200 high-level government officials met in Budapest on March 6-7 to discuss and develop a European green paper on urban transport, which will likely be prepared by the end of September.

The European Commission (EC) initiated the consultation in the hope that stakeholders, interested parties and citizens will all be involved in the preparatory phase of the paper. The EC is therefore organising an Internet consultation, two public green paper conferences and debates on key questions involving European stakeholder organisations during targeted technical workshops.

In addition, the EC welcomes input via writing or e-mail, Zoltan Kazatsay, deputy director-general of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, remarked when the conference opened.

During the first day, participants discussed how transport financing differs from city to city. Also discussed on day one were EU cohesion policy, fare and pricing strategies, and access-control schemes.

The second day was devoted to public transport, inter-modality and intelligent transport, while debates focused on the safety, security, environmental performance and efficiency of public transport.

The REC, a Paramount Project partner, hosted the event, together with the Hungarian Ministry of Economy and Transport and the EC. Municipal government representatives, research institutions and think-tanks from across Europe, the European Investment Bank and civil society all contributed to the discussion.