Representatives from the EU member states and southeastern European countries met here on Wednesday to discuss the planned pan-European transport community.
Slovenian Transport Minister Radovan Zerjav, who chaired the meeting on behalf of the Slovenian EU presidency, said that this successful meeting would further build on existing good cooperation with the aim of improving mobility in the region and with the European Union.
The Slovenian presidency supports to confer a mandate on the European Commission to open negotiations on the EU Transport Community Treaty with the countries of southeast Europe, said Zerjav after the conference dubbed "European Union and South-East Europe: A common vision for connecting people."
The planned transport community is to improve road, rail, maritime and inland waterway routes and transport safety in the region in addition to mitigating investment procedures.
Serbian President Boris Tadic said that he expects that the integration of transportation in southeastern Europe will pave the way for bigger investments in the region, and that the planned joint transportation agreement will provide strong impetus to the development of international river transportation along the Danube and the Sava.
Jacques Barrot, the EU commissioner for transport, said that the agreement on a transport community is to contribute to region's infrastructure compatibility with the EU's and help the countries meet EU transport standards.
The conference was organized by the Slovenian and Serbian transport ministries alongside the South East Europe Transport Observatory and the European Commission.
It was attended by representatives of transport ministries from the EU member states as well as Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and representatives of UN mission to Kosovo.
Source:Xinhua
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