Roger Vickerman, Centre for European, Regional and Transport Economics
University of Kent
, Canterbury, United Kingdom
Multi-level policy making in transport - the problems for border regions (assigned to theme
Transport policy is formulated and implemented at many different levels. Although the EU has a Common Transport Policy, this sets only the broad framework of policy objectives and rules which affect competition, particularly in international transport. The implementation of policy relies heavily on the transport policies of national, regional and local authorities. In many respects this is correct in that it reflects the subsidiarity principle working such that decisions are taken at the most appropriate level: high level decisions concerning, for example, the appraisal and implementation of TENs projects need to be taken at a supra-national level to ensure consistency and allow for spillovers; decisions affecting local access to high-level networks are best taken at the local level to reflect better local needs and priorities. However, in practice it is not so easy to separate these various spatial dimensions: the relative provision of local connections can impact on the effectiveness of high-level networks (for example on the competitiveness of road and rail); the majority of traffic on high-level networks is typically local or regional in character. This has serious implications for the appropriate means of appraising such projects and determining not just the level at which such decisions should be taken, but also how to ensure the consistency of decisions taken at different levels. This problem is particularly acute in border regions where the balance between local, regional, inter-regional and international traffic is more critical. In this paper we look in particular at issues arising from a study of the North-West Europe macro-region of the EU which has a high incidence of both national borders and transit traffic. The paper draws on theories of multi-level governance as well as models of transport infrastructure appraisal and regional impact modelling to illustrate the problem and to propose possible improvements to the appraisal process which could achieve greater consistency in policy between different policy making bodies.
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