Evaluation of Infrastructure Investments: The Case of the Southern Italian Transport Network

2010 ◽  
pp. 43-74
Author(s):  
Aura Reggiani ◽  
Luca Zamparini

The EU Community Support Framework (CSF), in the transport sector, aims at implementing a sustainable network characterised by a more balanced modal split and by integrated connectivity among the transport nodes. This study provides a concise description of the CSF, PON and POR programmes and tests - by means of a multicriteria approach - the degree of coherence among them. The results highlight that the strategy pursued during the 2001-2006 period sought to strengthen some priority nodes located in the TEN-T network and that there is a marked heterogeneity between the PON projects and the POR projects.

Author(s):  
Ryszard Rolbiecki ◽  
Dorota Książkiewicz

Significant backlog of transport infrastructure development in Poland is to a great extent a consequence of small capital spending on transport development. Since Poland entered the EU, European funds are an important source of support to infrastructure investments in transport sector. Financial support from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund optained by Poland in years 2004–2006 and 2007–2013, allowed for a substantial increase in investment expenditure on transport infrastructure and as a result, allowed for accelerating infrastructure modernization. Also in the current budgetary perspective of 2014– 2020 there are no delays in the use of the structural funds and the Cohesion Fund. The processes of signing funding agreements and the submission of applications for refund are smoothly covered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-511
Author(s):  
Valentine Lemonnier

Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the scheduled passenger air transport sector was already subject to several horizontal concentrations. The mix of free competition and strict regularization in the air transport sector in the EU raises the question whether the current framework will still be able to provide a level playing field to the market participants, notably airlines and airports. The study focusses on how EU competition law has influenced horizontal concentrations (i.e. mergers and horizontal co-operations) in the scheduled passenger air transport sector. The results of the discussion are the basis for a reflection of the effects of different types of horizontal concentrations on the negotiation power of airlines vis-à-vis airports. A third focus of the study is the identification of regulatory weaknesses with regard to airport financing under the Airport Charges Directive (Directive 2009/12/EC), how those weaknesses benefit airlines and how they might interfere with efforts made under the application of competition law.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 853-871
Author(s):  
Natacha Jesus Silva ◽  
Diamantino Ribeiro

The partnership agreement between the European Union and the Member States for the implementation of the European Structural and Investment Funds for the period 2014 to 2020 is in its final phase. This study analyzes the multiplier impact on regional investment of the European funds made available to the northern region of Portugal - NUTS III, until September 2018 and intends to answer the following questions: What is the amount invested in the regional economy for each euro of support allocated by the EU through the H2020 program, and what is the percentage distribution of community support versus investment per area of intervention?


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Berntsen ◽  
Simen Sæther ◽  
Jens Røyrvik ◽  
Mehmet Efe Biresselioglu ◽  
Muhittin Hakan Demir

There is broad agreement in literature and policy that the transport sector needs to maximise electric mobility, in order to lower both energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This ongoing transformation continues to require a high degree of technological innovation. Consequently, policymakers are striving to reward innovation in procurement tender contracts, in order to achieve sustainable innovation. At the same time, such contracts are often designed with a principle of technology neutrality in mind, to prevent any distortion of the market logic. This article suggests that it is misguided to try to perfect the logic of the tender system and that articulating contract that rewards innovation is no guarantee of a sustainable solution. Rather than being technological, the problem should be seen as moral: the mounting environmental challenge. Policymakers thus have clear ideas about the action needed based on what they, through moral conviction, consider to be appropriate action. This case study—conducted as a part of the EU H2020-funded ECHOES Project under Work Package 6—on the electrification of the Flakk–Rørvik ferry connexion reveals how policymakers were able to achieve the intended results: in this case, an e-ferry rather than a biodiesel ferry, in spite of, rather than because of, the tender system logic. They achieved this by involving stakeholders in the process with a continuous and uninterrupted dialogue. The project stakeholders were able to intervene in the tender system logic in favour of human considerations. We argue that this project was a success because human judgement, not system logic, was the driving force. By extension, we argue that systems will only allow policymakers to pursue moral issues to the degree that they allow human intervention.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1019-1055
Author(s):  
Richard Whish ◽  
David Bailey

This chapter deals with four issues. First it will briefly examine three sectors of the economy that are wholly or partly excluded from EU competition law, namely nuclear energy, military equipment and agriculture; the special regime that once existed for coal and steel products under the former European Coal and Steel Community (‘the ECSC’) Treaty is also mentioned in passing. Secondly, it will explain the application of the EU competition rules apply to the transport sector. Thirdly, the chapter will consider the specific circumstances of four so-called ‘regulated industries’, electronic communications, post, energy and water, where a combination of legislation, regulation and competition law seek to promote competition. Last, but by no means least, the current debate concerning digital platforms is discussed where it is likely that ex ante regulatory rules will be introduced, both in the EU and the UK, to address concerns about anti-competitive conduct and a tendency towards the monopolisation of markets.


2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 1095-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis Koliousis ◽  
Dongmei Cao ◽  
Panagiotis Koliousis

Purpose This paper aims to examine the impact of deregulation on the European transport industry in the form of privatization, on the managerial efficiency of a panel of deregulated transport companies. Design/methodology/approach This research examines a data set of 25 deregulated transport companies from a sample of 12 EU nations from 1988 to 2015. Some studies have analyzed deregulation by using non-parametric models. However, only a limited number of studies focus on the impact of deregulation on the managerial efficiency. This study answers two questions: whether deregulation, in the form of privatization, in the transport sector has any effect on the managerial efficiency, on the profitability and on the investment decisions of the firm, and whether this premise is robust enough across the European transport industry. This study formulates a multivariate regression framework utilizing data from major privatized European transport companies. The final panel includes 25 companies, from 12 EU - Member States for the period 1988-2015, equaling 375 firm-year observations based on a rigorous selection methodology. Findings The study confirms that transport companies, post-privatization, are more efficient regarding operating efficiency and profitability. The authors find no evidence that deregulation improves investment efficiency. Social implications The study addresses the regulators’ dilemma, whether to deregulate, by focusing on analyzing the improvement of the managerial efficiency. Originality/value This study contributes to the transport industry management literature in three ways. First, the authors update the literature of the economic theory of regulation with an empirical examination which covers the latest years across the EU Member States. Second, the authors introduce a comparison of the effects of deregulation on different components of the managerial efficiency, namely, investment, profitability and operating efficiency of the incumbents in the EU transport industry. Third, they examine deregulation by using two approaches: a traditional one where deregulation is a dummy variable assessing the overall effect on incumbents’ efficiency performance; and a novel approach where the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s deregulation index is used to measure the regulation intensity, accounting also for industry-wide impact assessment. This two-sided approach increases the robustness of the results.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violeta Makareviciene ◽  
Egle Sendzikiene ◽  
Milda Gumbyte

Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are leading to increased production and use of biofuels. The industrial development of biodiesel production and the use of biodiesel in the EU transport sector have been ongoing for almost two decades. Compared to mineral diesel production, the process of producing biodiesel is quite complex and expensive, and the search for new raw materials and advanced technologies is needed to maintain production value and expand the industrial production of biodiesel. The purpose of this article is to review the application possibilities of one of the new technologies—simultaneous extraction of oil from oily feedstock and transesterification (in situ)—and to evaluate the effectiveness of the abovementioned process under various conditions.


OCL ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Philippe Dusser

GHG reductions are a major focus of the EU policy. Several regulations have been set in order to meet the EU commitments under the Paris Agreement with an overall reduction of 40% from 1990 level. For the transport sector which is responsible for around 20% of the total GHG emissions, the GHG reductions obligations have been translated by i) reinforced GHG reduction thresholds for biofuels into the recast Renewable Energy Directive RED II; ii) an ambitious target of 30% GHG emission reduction target from 2005 level in the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) common to “non-ETS sector” (not covered by the Emission Trading System – ETS) as agriculture, building, waste… and transport. Furthermore, other EU regulations directed to Cars, Vans as well as Heavy Duty Vehicles set GHG emission reduction targets for new vehicle up to 2030. Finally, in its communication “A Clean Planet for All” the EU Commission describes A Strategy for 2050 to achieve a carbon neutral economy. This article addresses also the case of the German “GHG quota” which is a national support system for biofuels and as such is parallel to the European obligations stemming from the RED II renewable energy mandates that are to be met by Germany.


Author(s):  
Ryszard Rolbiecki

An increase of the energetic efficiency of the economy is one of the priority goals of EU policy. In all the sectors of the EU-28 countries this goal has been achieved. However, in the transport sector, which is especially dependent on the supplies of crude oil, the energy consumption continues to increase. This is why, a wider use of alternative fuels is one of the ways of increasing the transport energy efficiency and decrease the dependency on crude oil. In transportation, there is a chance to increase the use of electricity and natural gas. However, the use of these energy sources in transport depends on the development of appropriate infrastructure. The requirements regarding the technical specification of the alternative fuel infrastructure and the time horizon for the construction of these facilities have been described in the European Parliament and Council Directive of 22.10.2014 on the development of alternative fuels infrastructure. In Poland, the development directions regarding the use of alternative fuels in transport and the goals of the transport infrastructure development have been set out in the year 2016 in the national framework for the policy of alternative fuels infrastructure development.


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