PLANNING FOR A SUSTAINABLE EUROPE? - TU Berlin

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shaped the final list of submitted transport projects and which types of projects ultimately
received priority funding are some of the key questions investigated in this chapter. In
how far the resulting ISPA transport infrastructure grants can then be interpreted as an
expression of EU “sustainable transport policy making” is a yet more daunting question. 5
Obviously, issues related to both the “Decisional-Power” and the “Multi-Level
Governance” propositions strongly frame this case study.
Of course, it will be impossible to cover all the manifold political controversies
surrounding each transport mode in detail in this chapter. As it turned out, motorway
plans were by far the most controversial types of investments in both countries, so I
dedicate a disproportionate amount of attention to them in both cases.
Finally, given my study’s declared focus on transport infrastructures, transport
regulatory issues are naturally not analyzed in detail here. Nevertheless, a few issues
need to be emphasized. In addition to the economic transition from a Communist to a
market economy, preparing for EU accession obviously entails profound policy
adjustments in all areas for the CEE candidate countries. Poland and Hungary are both
faced with taking over the EU’s acquis communautaire, i.e. the entire body of EU laws.
Transport law alone represents about 10% of the entire acquis, and it is comprised of
the selection of priority projects for ISPA support.” They can be changed over time, but are always
intended to be consistent with the Accession Partnerships, the National Programmes for the Adoption of the
Acquis, and relevant national planning documents, in particular the National Development Plans (which
candidate countries were still finalizing in 2002). The National ISPA Environment Strategies do not
concern us here. ISPA environment grants are focus on waste-water treatment, water supply and solid
waste management. Note that the ultimate, longer-term, post-accession goal for the ISPA program is a
complete devolution of grant selection responsibility towards national authorities similar to the Cohesion
program
5 As noted in earlier sections of this study, one of the seemingly most hands-on statements of EU transport
policy is the preference it seeks to give to more “sustainable” modes such as rail, combined transport and
public transit in stead of road or air. I will therefore also analyze the modal distribution of EU ISPA grant
investments. We will quickly realize, however, that other issues such as are the scale, the level, timing and
the procedural aspects of the planned investments, as well as the availability of funding from other sources
are equally important categories of analysis.