Facilitated conditions to participate in Marco Polo II
| Simplified access to funding for transport shift As of 2010 access to Marco Polo II-funds will be much simpler. This is provided by the amendments of the Marco Polo II regulation, which will affect the application stage 2010 for the first time. Substantial changes will be e.g. lower minimum traffic amounts that have to be shifted and the acceptation of intermodal transport units as freight. “The amendments will allow also small and medium sized enterprises to apply for support at Marco Polo. So far their petitions have often failed because of the (clients’) medium sized structure and because their transport volumes were not big enough to be promoted“, the Marco Polo contact office in Lower Saxony announced in a press release. Past experience with the Marco Polo II funding programme have prompted the European Commission to adapt legal conditions corresponding to the market requirements. In addition to the reduction of subsidy thresholds the Member States have agreed upon further improvements that will raise attractiveness of the funding programme. Thus it is now possible to apply for subsidies of transport shifting from a transport volume of 60 million ton kilometres per year at average (previously 250 million tkm in three years). This change is particularly advantageous for the inland shipping industry: only 13 million tkm of annually shifted transport volume has to be proven to be able to obtain subsidies. Catalytic actions of innovative character have to shift 30 million tkm per year, without adhering to a minimum subsidy no more. Marco Polo II offers European enterprises an opportunity to financially compensate start-up losses of new or expanded transport services. They have to contribute actively to the shift of transport from road to rail or to the waterway, or reduce road transport volumes at its source. Transport flow that crosses at least a border within the European Union or an external border with a neighbouring country, can be subsidised. The amount of the subsidy is determined by the transport performance that is taken off the road, measured in ton kilometres. Each 500 tkm that are shifted can be paid a specific support of EUR 2 (previously EUR 1). It is no longer required, although still possible, to form consortia for applications. Quelle: Österreichische Verkehrszeitung |