Table Of ContentEUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT
31st Annual Report - 1984
ACTIVITY OF THE CONFERENCE
RESOLUTIONS OF
THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT
AND REPORTS APPROVED IN 1984
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EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT
31st Annual Report - 1984
ACTIVITY OF THE CONFERENCE
RESOLUTIONS OF
THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OFTRANSPORT
AND REPORTS APPROVED IN 1984
Oslo, 22nd-23rd May1984
Paris, 22nd-23rd November1984
ICIilC
THE EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT [ECMT]
The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT),an inter-governmental
organisation,establishedbyaProtocolsignedinBrusselson 17th October 1953,constitutesa
forum for the Ministers ofTransportof 19 European countries1. The workofthe Council of
Ministers is prepared by a Committee of Deputies.
The purposes of the Conference are:
a) totakewhatevermeasuresmaybenecessarytoachieve,atgeneralorregionallevel,
the most efficient use and rational development of European inland transport of
international importance;
b) toco-ordinate and promote the activities ofinternational organisations concerned
with European inland transport, taking into account the work of supranational
authorities in this field.
Major problems which are being studied by the ECMT include: transport policy; the
financial situation and organisation of railways and road transport; problems concerning
inlandwaterway transport andcombined transport; development ofEuropean trunk lines of
communication; problems concerning urban transport; the prevention ofroad accidents and
co-ordination,atEuropeanlevel,ofroadtrafficrulesandroadsignsandsignals;traffictrends
and long-term traffic forecasts.
Moreover, the ECMT organises Round Tables and Symposia. Their conclusions are
consideredbythecompetentorgansoftheConference,undertheauthorityoftheCommittee
ofDeputies,sothatthelattermayformulateproposalsforpolicydecisionstobesubmittedto
the Ministers.
The ECMT is equipped with a computerised Documentation Centre.
TheSecretariatisattachedfromanadministrativepointofviewtotheSecretariatofthe
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which distributes its
publications.
1. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia
(associated countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, United States).
Publieen francaissous le titre:
ACTIVITEDELACONFERENCE
RESOLUTIONSDU
CONSEILDES MINISTRESDESTRANSPORTS
ETRAPPORTSAPPROUVESEN 1984
© ECMT, 1985
ECMT publications are distributed by the OECD Publications Office,
2, rue Andre-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France.
FOREWORD
The annual report on the activity of the conference will no longer be
issued with the mention "Volume I".
This change is part of the process of remodelling the ECMT's publica¬
tions. It has been decided to publish separately:
The annual report on the activity of the Conference (issued as
Volume I up to now);
The ECMT's statistical reports (hitherto published together as
Volume II) which will now be published separately under the head¬
ings: "Statistical series on transport" and "Statistical report on
road accidents".
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE: A message from the Secretary-General (cid:9) 9
INTRODUCTION: Outline of the structure and proceedings of the Conference 12
Part One
ACTIVITIES OF THE ECMT
Chapter I: GENERAL TRANSPORT POLICY IN EUROPE (cid:9) 16
Chapter II: ACTIVITIES IN PARTICULAR FIELDS (cid:9) 19
A. Removal of obstacles to international goods transport . 19
B. Railways (cid:9) 20
C. The multilateral quota (cid:9) 24
D. Road safety and road traffic rules, signs and signals . 27
E. School transport (cid:9) 30
F. Inland waterways (cid:9) 32
G. Combined transport (cid:9) 32
H. Urban transport (cid:9) 34
I. New technologies (cid:9) 36
J. Investment (cid:9) 37
K. Transport for disabled people (cid:9) 39
L. Activities in the field of statistics (cid:9) 39
Chapter III: ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND DOCUMENTATION (cid:9) 42
A.' Overview (cid:9) 42
B. Seminar on measures for handicapped people in public
transport (cid:9) 44
C. Round Tables (cid:9) 46
D. Documentation (cid:9) .". (cid:9) 59
Chapter IV: EXTERNAL RELATIONS (cid:9) 61
Part Two
TRENDS IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR 1970-1983
Introduction (cid:9) 67
General situation (cid:9) 67
Freight transport (cid:9) 69
Passenger transport (cid:9) 70
Road accidents (cid:9) 71
Multilateral quota (cid:9) 71
Traffic on the river Rhine (cid:9) 73
Part Three
General Questions:
Resolution No. 50 on the removal of obstacles to international
goods transport (cid:9) 79
Resolution No. 51 on school transport (cid:9) 98
Resolution No. 52 on combined transport (cid:9) 125
CONCLUSIONS ON ROAD TRAFFIC RULES AND ROAD SIGNS AND
(cid:9)SIGNALS ADOPTED BY THE MINISTERS(cid:9)
Report on matters concerning road traffic signs and signals (cid:9) 169
REPORTS APPROVED BY THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
Report by the Norwegian Delegation on investment in the
transport sector (cid:9) 195
Report on commercial action in the field of railways
(freight sector). (cid:9) 199
Report on ways in which international passenger transport by
rail might be improved (cid:9) 227
Report on ways in which international freight transport by
rail might be improved (cid:9) 256
Adjustment of the multilateral quota and related questions (cid:9) 295
Transport, computers and telecommunications (cid:9) 299
ANNEXES
I. Resolution No. 815 of the Council of Europe (cid:9) 311
II. ECMT Organisation chart (cid:9) 316
III. List of officers of the ECMT (cid:9) 317
IV. List of delegates at the Oslo and Paris sessions (cid:9) 318
V. EUROFIMA report (cid:9) 324
PREFACE
As if to prove that Big Brother is not omnipotent, the year 1984 has
seen much emphasis on deregulation, on its advantages and disadvantages, on
actual deregulation measures and on an increasingly commercial attitude. Most
striking however, has been the demand by users of the infrastructures that the
Governments do something: remove obstacles at border crossings; facilitate the
movement of goods from one country to another; reduce costs by optimizing the
freedom of operation.
It is not impossible that 1984 will turn out to be the year in which
transport in Europe started to move again. Certainly, much remains to be done
and what has been achieved can only be praised if it turns out to be the
beginning of a lasting improvement. In their meeting in Lisbon in 1983 the
ECMT Ministers decided that a broad concept of transport in Europe may be one
aesthetic goal, but that practical political solutions are better. Consequen¬
tly, we have seen, in the year that followed, decisions on a number of practi¬
cal measures.
Five "Alpine" countries (Austria, France, Federal Republic of Germany,
Italy and Switzerland) have formed a Commission for the improvement of border
crossings of traffic in the Alps. Several concrete measures have taken effect
already and many others are being prepared, for goods transport by road and
rail.
Agreements have been concluded on the simplification of controls at
borders between France and the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Repub¬
lic of Germany and the Benelux countries, France and the Benelux countries.
The E.E.C. has decided to speed up the implementation of their Direc¬
tive of 1.12. *83, which should lead to a noticeable improvement in border
crossings as from January '85. The Community has also decided to simplify the
documentary formalities at border crossings. Beginning on 1.1. '87 the more
than 50 different documents presently required by the Customs will be replaced
by a single one, albeit with several pages.
At an intergovernmental meeting in Salonika the political will was
shown to make progress in transport facilitation for all modes in the
Mediterranean area. Several concrete decisions were made, so that there is now
a real hope of a more rapid development than heretofore towards an efficient
transport network.
