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Andrew

This article first appeared in Suffolk Focus and Huntingdonshire News of Autum 2003

Europe gets to do what the British, by ourselves, can't hack. For decades, railway links across our region have been woeful. For years, our lateral road links - the A47, A14, A12 and M25 - have been getting more and more clogged with lorry traffic, much of it generated by the expanding ports of Felixstowe and Harwich. A quarter of Britain's containers - about 35 million tonnes - passes through Harwich harbour, but only 11 per cent of them by rail. Successive failed transport ministers, cowed by the Treasury, have done nothing materially to shift the balance of freight from road to rail. First British Railways then Railtrack have come and gone, presiding gracelessly over the further decline of our train system.

Now the European Union is coming to the rescue. In an effort to stimulate the region's economy, the European Commission has proposed that the upgrading of the railway line from Felixstowe to Nuneaton should become a priority item in its new list of Trans-European Networks. These 'TENs' corridors are seen as a way to give practical expression to the enlargement of the Union to 25 member states as well as giving a shot in the arm to the competitivity of those of Europe's regions through which they pass. For the East of England, in particular, environmental considerations are to the fore. Controversy over the development of the science cluster around Cambridge is provoked largely by anxieties about increased traffic. A better rail service westward from Ipswich will strengthen the hi-tech corridor. Rail improvements at Ely will help the Fenland. Major investment in our rail freight infrastructure will spill over into the much-canvassed East-West passenger link through Bedford to Oxford. Better direct access to the Midlands from the East coast will relieve pressure on London's orbital routes.

The Commission, backed by the European Parliament, proposes that 20 per cent of the funding should come from the private sector. The rest will be co-financed by national and EU sources. I am meeting shortly with the Strategic Rail Authority to push for an early start to the serious preparation of the East of England's bid to enjoy its TEN.

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Andrew's work
in the European Parliament since 1999

Andrew is Vice-President of the European Parliament delegation to the Constitutional Convention on the Future of Europe.

Rights for EU citizens

Andrew drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights which has strengthened the rights of all the citizens of the European Union.

Turkey

Andrew is working for improved links between the EU and Turkey, to encourage improvements in Turkey's human rights record and to enhance its democracy.

Andrew's campaigning in the East of England

Airport Expansion

Andrew has led calls for the Air Travel industry to be subjected to the same rigorous environmental criteria as other modes of transport