Traduction de «Grand projet de STI » (Français → Anglais) :

The draft TSI has been examined by the Committee set up by Directive 96/48/EC on the interoperability of the trans-European high-speed rail system and referred to in Article 21 of Directive 2001/16/EC.

While studies will play an important role in the costly further technical, environmental and geological preparation of major projects, such as the Alpine and Pyrénées crossing rail tunnels, most of the high-speed passenger rail "Essen projects" will experience their construction peak and are expected to be ready by the end of 2006.

An overall assessment of the estimated costs and benefits of the implementation of the TSIs shall be attached to the draft TSI; this assessment shall indicate the likely impact for all the operators and economic agents involved.

The report thus makes recommendations to facilitate the establishment of substantial funds, of both equity and loan capital : - by freeing the movement of bonds issued by the promoters of large projects, increasing their negotiability by giving them the status of "specially favoured bonds" - even by giving them in certain cases specific fiscal advantages on the model of American "tax exempt bonds". Other measures are proposed so the Commission can play an active role in the financial framework for a project : - by making available to the Commission limited budgetary resources to attract starting finance, through the creation of a special ...[+++] section of the European Investment Bank which would be partly funded from the Community budget, so making possible various means for financing the project.

The new role the Commission could play would be threefold : - to guarantee the conditions necessary to the emergence and launch of major projects through a budgetary contribution to the financing of feasibility studies and preparatory work and to the actual financial implementation of projects; - to improve conditions for private investors through arrangements ensuring free movement of capital and through a tax regime favourable to securities issued by entities undertaking major projects; - to mobilize market resources through a renewed form of Community assistance resembling in some respects "project financing" techniques.

This directive prescribes that whenever a major infrastructure project is being prepared, then a proper, formal assessment must be made of the likely effect of that project in its construction and operation on the surrounding physical world, wildlife, sites of natural beauty, etc. Critics say that this directive is not nearly strict enough and leaves too much licence to individual governments, but to me it provides a way of forcing planners at all levels in society to compute the costs of any ecological damage into their project estim ...[+++]ates".