Baltic Sea Region Programme Priority 2 External and internal accessibility of the BSR BSR Programme Conference Ryszard Toczek, City of Gdynia - ARCA May Hanzeatic City Hamburg

Preface 70’. The idea of TransEuropean Motorway North – South was elaborated as TEM Project under the auspices of UN Economic Commission for Europe. The project has 13 partners (from Turkey to Poland) and 3 observers: Sweden, Ukraine and Serbia. It is the most developed European regional infrastructure project aiming at construction and operating the international motorway and expressway network linking the countries of Central and East European countries and connecting the Baltic, Adriatic, Aegean and Black seas. The total length of all roads is km.

TEAM of TEM

Within the scope of this project, the cities in Poland and Sweden decided to work together for the benefit of it. In 1995 there were established TEM cities associations in Sweden (seat in Karlskrona) and in Poland (seat in Gdynia). In the meantime in Czech Republic was established Union for Development of Moravian-Silesian Region (seat in Ostrava).

Union of TEM Cities in Poland decided to adopt the name “Amber Road Cities Association” as a preservation of the heritage of the “Amber route” in Roman times. Union of TEM Cities in Sweden accepted recently the name: “Baltic Link Association”. Amber is an important tourist mark, used in the branding the cities and regions mainly in Russia (St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad Oblast), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria - to Italy.

Last 7 years SEBTrans (Interreg IIC) project prepared the future scenario of Development Zone of the VI TINA Corridor

EC accepted the list of 30 transport priority projects. 3 of them were confirmed as the basic outputs of SEBTrans project: “ motorways of the sea (project 21), railway/motorway Gdansk – Brno/Brastislava – Vienna (projects: 23,25).

3. “SEBTrans-Link” (Interreg IIIB) project prepared about port and road/rail investments in Karlskrona, Gdynia (new ferry terminal), Klaipeda and Baltijsk. In Sweden, the road 22 as well as the “Coast-to-Coast” railway (Goeteborg-Karlskrona) were integrated as “Baltic Link”. Polish Government has decided to involve the investment “new ferry terminal in Gdynia” to the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment Poland, Lithuania Latvia and Estonia joined EC. The Baltic Sea is almost entirely within the EC territory.

The Polish Government has decided to build the A-1 motorway (priority project 25) until the end of the 2010 and E-65 railway (priority project 23) – until In Pomorskie Region, the A1 motorway ( called “Amber One” ) has a good progress and will be finished until The works started in Silesian Region as well. In ports of Gdańsk/Gdynia the new ro-ro and container terminals are under construction. The Amber Route Zone in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia is transforming into transeuropean development zone with fast increasing number of global investors (large scale investments, mainly in cities). Simultaneously, the modernization of the railway Gdańsk/Gdynia (priority project 23) was initiated.

Baltic Link Association (Sweden) and ARCA (Poland) „accepted „Joint Political Statement regarding upgrading of the TEN transport corridors in Europe”. Our cooperation is strongly supported by “Euroregion Baltic”. Baltic-Link 

ARCA, Pomorskie Region, Port of Gdynia and Maritime Institut in Gdańsk – acting together with Region Veneto (Italy) decided to submit the project Interreg IIIB CADSES “Adriatic – Baltic Landbridge” – Priority 2: Transport and information society) in order to assess the potential for creation of multimodal transport corridors connecting potentials of BSR and Adriatic Sea Region (Central Europe).

ARCA and Union for Development of Moravian-Silesian Region (City of Ostrava) agreed to support the realization of the development zone as “Amber Route Development Zone”.

After the VII Meeting of PETC VI Steering Committee (2006) in Graz (Austria) the area of the Corridor was extended to the Bolonia (Italy).

Polish Ministry of Transport declared full support for the preparatory works of the Transnational Development Zone along Amber Route. The Monitoring Committee, composed by 4 different unions of cities and rural communes was set up for joining the initiative.

10. Because of 20% annual growths of dynamic in the ferry link Karlskrona – Gdynia, the Swedish - Polish consortium: “Baltic Link Association”, Stena Line, Port of Gdynia, Maritime Institute in Gdańsk, Pomorskie Region and ARCA – along with other stakeholders - prepared the project “Motorway of the Sea Karlskrona – Gdynia”. New ferries were ordered.

STRENGTHS Dense network of maritime connections, especially in the western part of the BSR Dense network of maritime connections, especially in the western part of the BSR Advanced multimodal transport solutions in some parts of the area Advanced multimodal transport solutions in some parts of the area TEN-T network extending to countries neighbouring the EC TEN-T network extending to countries neighbouring the EC High ICT usage in some parts of the BSR (top leading countries) High ICT usage in some parts of the BSR (top leading countries) Relatively good coverage of the area by transnational development zones enhancing cohesion and integration in the BSR Relatively good coverage of the area by transnational development zones enhancing cohesion and integration in the BSR WEAKNESSES WEAKNESSES Peripheral geographical location of the BSR to important economic centres in Europe Peripheral geographical location of the BSR to important economic centres in Europe Poor accessibility to some parts of the BSR (especially in this north and east) due to deficiencies in land and air transport infrastructure and perserverance of functional and institutional barriers (e.g. national planning systems) Poor accessibility to some parts of the BSR (especially in this north and east) due to deficiencies in land and air transport infrastructure and perserverance of functional and institutional barriers (e.g. national planning systems) Decreasing road infrastructure capacity around some metropolitan areas Decreasing road infrastructure capacity around some metropolitan areas Disparities in IT endowment between urban and rural areas in the BSR Disparities in IT endowment between urban and rural areas in the BSR Background of the priority 2:

OPPORTUNITIES High potential to absorb future transport growth thorough maritime services High potential to absorb future transport growth thorough maritime services The gateway function of the BSR in serving especially flows to and from Russia and the Far East market The gateway function of the BSR in serving especially flows to and from Russia and the Far East market Rising penetration of air services and advanced communication to counteract peripherality and low population density Rising penetration of air services and advanced communication to counteract peripherality and low population density Widely used e-government practices Widely used e-government practices Strong potential to benefit from globalization due to highly developed businesses and advanced ICT technologies in some parts of the BSR and to sizeable BSR market THREATS Declining public passenger transport services and heavy increase of road transport due to weakness of more environment friendly modes Declining public passenger transport services and heavy increase of road transport due to weakness of more environment friendly modes Environmental problems associated with the growth in both road and sea transport including reliability of the transport means as well as preparediness and response issues Environmental problems associated with the growth in both road and sea transport including reliability of the transport means as well as preparediness and response issues Increasing territorial divide in access to ICT and absorption capacity of digital services Increasing territorial divide in access to ICT and absorption capacity of digital services

The objective of the Priority 2 is to increase the area’s external and internal accessibility through development of transnational solutions diminishing the functional barriers to diffusion of innovation and traffic flows. The goal is to jointly define and implement actions in order to: 1. Achieve smooth transport of goods and passengers using different transport means across the BSR 2. Improve traffic and ICT connections of disadvantage areas 3. Increase the sustainability of transport 4. Secure the further development of transnational development zones along the transport corridors

Areas of support 1.Promotion of transport and ICT measures enhancing accessibility and sustainable socio-economic growth 1/ Development and deployment of solutions to improve interoperability with regard to port – hinterland connections and links between transnational – national-regional networks (addressing worst cases, highlighting good examples and creating new ones) 2/ Planning and implementation schemes for the Baltic Motorways of the Sea as extensions and connecting sections of land-side transport corridors 3/ Action plans optimizing air transport connections in the BSR in the context or sustainable development, economic growth and accessibility 4/ Preparation of investments in and raising quality of public transportation catering for better connectivity of disadvantaged areas (e.g. remote areas, areas with low and scattered population pattern etc.) 5/ Promotion, elaboration and testing of BSR-wide models of sustainable transportation alternatives, including the use of biofuels and improvement of public transportation systems in urban areas 6/ Preparation of investments to increase absorption of ICT in peripheral and rural areas and to counteract the territorial digital divide 7/ Provision, testing and territorial impact assessment of solutions in transport and ICT adjusted to low population density in the North and to increased demand for transport infrastructure and services in the South 8/ Capacity building and harmonization of transport and ICT policies across countries and with translation to comprehensive regional development policies, supplemented with education actions 9/ Creating BSR – wide institutional arrangements for integrated policy and decision-making on transport, environment and health

2. Actions stimulating further integration within existing transnational development zones and creation of new ones 1/ Preparation of multimodal transport solutions aimed at combating bottlenecks and missing links along transnational transport corridors and allowing to transform them to transnational development zones 2/ Development of solutions safeguarding stability of existing transnational development zones (joint development programmes and thematic strategies, establishment of institutionalized structures for monitoring and counseling on investments, elaboration of common brand products etc.) 3/ Elaboration, testing and dissemination of models and tools for efficient management of transnational development zones

Expected results Each project must address at least one common (for each priority) and one specific (for priority) result Common results in the Priority 2 1/ Increased political recognition for transnational solutions improving BSR area’s external and internal accessibility 2/ Increased sustainability of co-operative networks aiming at improvement of accessibility in the BSR 3/ Unlocking public/private investments in transport and ICT Specific results in the Priority 2 1/ Accelerated increase of capacity and/or interoperability of different transport and ICT networks 2/ Speeded up integration of areas with low accessibility 3/ Influenced policies, strategies and regulations in the field of transport and ICT 4/ Increased role of sustainable transport

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