Call for proposals for proposals for modal shift, catalyst, motorways of the sea, traffic avoidance and common learning actions under the Marco Polo II Programme
The European Commission has published a call for proposals for modal shift, catalyst, motorways of the sea, traffic avoidance and common learning actions under the Marco Polo II Programme. Shifting the balance between transport modes to achieve a more sustainable development strategy has been at the heart of the European policy since 2001. Current policy goals, aim to optimise the performance of multimodal logistic chains, including by making more use of more energy-efficient modes. This should lead to shifting 30% of the road freight over 300 km to other modes such as rail or waterborne transport by 2030, and more than 50% by 2050. The Marco Polo II Programme seeks to help these policy goals. It is running between 2007 and 2013 with a global budget of 450 million. The programme proposes to support actions to reduce road congestion resulting from freight traffic, to improve the environmental performance of the transport system and to enhance intermodal transport, thereby contributing to a more efficient and sustainable transport system which will provide the EU added value without having a negative impact on economic, social or territorial cohesion. Covering initial stage losses resulting from freight transport in new or enhanced intermodal services or resulting from freight traffic avoidance actions is also part of Marco Polo II's objectives. In 2012, the programme supports five distinct types of action: - modal shift actions; - catalyst actions ; - motorways of the sea actions; - traffic avoidance actions integrating transport into production logistics; - common learning actions.To see the official call announcement, please consult: OJ No C 177 of 20 June 2012(opens in new window)