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Political roundtable 2020
November 2nd, 2020, Virtual Meeting
iMONITRAF! will remain the common voice of the most affected transit regions in the Alps. During a virtual roundtable discussion, political representatives from the iMONITRAF! regions agreed on a new cooperation phase 2021-22 and discussed focus topics for further activities. Specific regional claims which are linked to these focus topics are highlighted in a new political resolution.
The recently published iMONITRAF! policy scenarios 2030 provided the basis for the future agenda of the partnership. The “Combined Scenario” taking into consideration the optimized development of modal shift policies as well as technological innovations emerged to be consensually pursued by all partners. In their discussion, the political representatives highlighted the additional need for action to reach this scenario, especially with respect to further efforts to improve pricing incentives for modal shift – as they have been proposed by iMONITRAF! in its Toll Plus proposal. Also, the approach of the Alpine Crossing Exchange was mentioned in the discussion, as potential steering instruments to support an ambitious modal shift strategy.
The roundtable also provided the frame for signing the new iMONITRAF! Resolution 2020 which highlights three focal fields of action:
The first element of the resolution includes all additional efforts to push forward the implementation of Toll Plus, including additional needs to support the revision process at EU level of the Eurovignette Directive.
The second element focuses on policies to foster innovations in rail and combined transport to ensure that combined transport can keep up in the innovation race. In this respect, iMONITRAF! will closely observe the revision process of the EU Combined Transport Directive.
As third element, technological change in road transport shall become a stronger focus within iMONITRAF!, especially to ensure that the best available technology is used within the sensitive mountain environment.
Because of the topographical characteristics of mountainous regions, particular challenges arise for Alpine regions, such as the high construction and maintenance costs of transport infrastructure and the higher emission rates compared to flat areas. Technological developments, by contrast, are not Alpine-specific and fall within the competence of other actors. This is why the focus of the iMONITRAF! network’s efforts should be the application of an ambitious modal shift policy along the proposals of a Toll Plus system focusing on the internalization of external costs.
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