Abstract
KEYWORDS:
sustainable transport, enlargement, TERM, environment, emissions.
ABSTRACT:
Progress towards a more sustainable transport system has become an imperative in the European Union (EU), as in many other parts of the world. The Gothenburg European Council has singled out the transport sector as one of the four priority areas where sustainability policy development has to be put on a faster track. The growth of gas emission from road transport is resulting in increasing threats to the environment and human health. To reach the Kyoto targets it is essential to reduce substantially the use of fossil fuels in transport.
In the same time, the last enlargement of the EU is one of the greatest challenges the EU will have faced. Transport policy will have a critical role to play in this. The early integration of environmental concerns into transport policies for an enlarged EU is a prerequisite for minimising these costs. With a rail share still well above the EU average, lower transport energy use and pollutant emissions per capita and less fragmentation of their land, the 10 new Member States and candidates countries still have lower environmental pressures arising from road transport that is currently the case in the EU. But the trends in these countries are worrying.
To the moment the candidates countries policy efforts are focusing mainly on bringing their legislation on vehicle, fuel and infrastructure standards into line with EU legislation, according to acqius communitere. The focus on implementation of EU legislation and infrastructure development means that they are lagging behind in implementing other instrument for environmental integration, but in next future it will be done.