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PARALLEL TEXTS
La Corte dei conti europea raccomanda di porre fine a programmi “inefficaci” volti a trasferire il trasporto merci dalla strada alle ferrovie
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_ECA-13-23_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_ECA-13-23_it.htm
Data documento: 16-07-2013
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End “ineffective” programmes for shifting road freight to rail, say EU Auditors
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La Corte dei conti europea raccomanda di porre fine a programmi “inefficaci” volti a trasferire il trasporto merci dalla strada alle ferrovie
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Marco Polo programmes, aimed at shifting freight away from the roads, have been ineffective and should be discontinued in their current design, according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA).
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Secondo una nuova relazione della Corte dei conti europea, i programmi Marco Polo, finalizzati a creare alternative al trasporto merci su strada, sono stati inefficaci e dovrebbero essere soppressi nella loro forma attuale.
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“To put it simply, the programmes were ineffective as they did not meet the targets, little impact was achieved in shifting freight off the roads and there were no data to assess the achievement of the policy objectives (e.g. environmental benefits)" said Ville Itälä, the ECA member responsible for the report.
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“In parole semplici, i programmi sono stati inefficaci in quanto non hanno conseguito gli obiettivi che si erano prefissi e hanno avuto scarso impatto nel trasferire il traffico merci dalla strada verso altre modalità di trasporto; inoltre, non vi sono dati per valutare se gli obiettivi della politica siano stati conseguiti (in termini, ad esempio, di benefici per l’ambiente)" ha affermato Ville Itälä, il Membro della Corte responsabile della relazione.
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Since 2003, the Marco Polo I and II programmes have financed transport service projects designed to shift freight transport from road to rail, inland waterways and short sea shipping.
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Dal 2003, i programmi Marco Polo I e II hanno finanziato progetti concernenti i servizi di trasporto volti a trasferire il trasporto merci su gomma verso altre modalità quali le ferrovie, le vie d’acqua interne e il trasporto marittimo a corto raggio.
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The programmes have been part of the EU transport policy objective to develop alternatives to road-only freight transport.
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I programmi rientrano nell’obiettivo della politica dei trasporti dell’UE che mira a sviluppare alternative al trasporto solo su strada delle merci.
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This generally accepted objective aims to reduce international road freight traffic, thereby improving the environmental performance of freight transport, reducing congestion and increasing road safety.
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Questo obiettivo generalmente condiviso mira a ridurre il traffico internazionale di merci su strada, migliorando in tal modo le prestazioni ambientali del trasporto merci, riducendo la congestione stradale e accrescendo la sicurezza stradale.
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But the audit found there were not enough relevant project proposals put forward because the market situation and the programme rules discouraged operators from taking advantage of the scheme.
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L’audit ha tuttavia riscontrato che non è stato presentato un numero sufficiente di proposte di progetti pertinenti, in quanto la situazione di mercato e la normativa del programma hanno scoraggiato gli operatori dall’avvalersi di tale regime.
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Half of the audited projects were of limited sustainability.
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La sostenibilità di una metà dei progetti controllati è limitata.
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One of the main findings of the audit was that there were serious indications of “deadweight” - that is projects which would have gone ahead even without EU funding.
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Una delle principali constatazioni dell’audit è che vi sono seri indizi di “effetto inerziale” – ossia, i progetti sarebbero stati avviati anche senza il finanziamento UE.
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In fact, 13 of the 16 beneficiaries audited confirmed that they would have started and run the transport service even without a subsidy.
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Infatti, 13 dei 16 beneficiari controllati hanno confermato che avrebbero avviato ed effettuato il servizio di trasporto anche in assenza di sussidi.
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In addition, there were no reliable data to assess benefits on the environmental impact of freight transport, road congestion or road safety.
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Inoltre, non vi sono dati affidabili per valutare i benefici sull’impatto ambientale del trasporto merci, in termini di riduzione della congestione del traffico e miglioramento della sicurezza stradale.
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Given the results of the current programmes, the ECA recommends discontinuing EU funding for transport freight services following the design of the Marco Polo programmes.
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Considerati i risultati degli attuali programmi, la Corte raccomanda di cessare il finanziamento UE ai servizi di trasporto merci che seguono lo stesso approccio dei programmi Marco Polo.
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In the future, such funding should depend on an impact assessment at the outset, showing whether and to what extent there is EU added value.
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In futuro, i finanziamenti dovrebbero dipendere da una valutazione d’impatto ex ante, che mostri se, e in che misura, si produca un valore aggiunto per l’UE.
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This should involve a detailed analysis of potential demand and best practice in the Member States.
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Occorrerebbe, a tal fine, una dettagliata analisi della domanda potenziale e delle pratiche migliori negli Stati membri.
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Notes to the editors:
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Note agli editori:
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European Court of Auditors (ECA) special reports are published throughout the year, presenting the results of selected audits of specific EU budgetary areas or management topics.
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Le relazioni speciali della Corte dei conti europea sono pubblicate nel corso dell’anno e presentano i risultati di audit selezionati su specifici settori del bilancio UE o su temi relativi alla gestione.
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This special report (SR 03/2013) is entitled “Have the Marco Polo programmes been effective in shifting traffic off the road?” The ECA assessed whether the Commission had planned the programmes, and was managing and supervising them, in such a way as to maximise their effectiveness, and whether the funded projects were effective.
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In questa relazione speciale (RS 3/2013), intitolata “I programmi Marco Polo sono stati efficaci nel trasferire il traffico merci su strada verso altre modalità di trasporto?” la Corte ha valutato se la Commissione avesse pianificato i programmi e li stesse gestendo e controllando in modo tale da massimizzarne l’efficacia e se i progetti finanziati fossero efficaci.
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The audit work focused mainly on the programme level by analysing impact assessments, evaluations and survey results, evaluations of project proposals, desk reviews of the monitoring of signed grant agreements and surveying Marco Polo Programme (MP) Committee members on national support schemes.
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Il lavoro di audit si è concentrato principalmente a livello del programma, esaminando le valutazioni d’impatto, i risultati delle valutazioni e delle indagini, le valutazioni delle proposte di progetti, la documentazione relativa al monitoraggio delle convenzioni di sovvenzione stipulate e intervistando i membri del comitato del programma Marco Polo (MP) in merito ai regimi di sostegno nazionali.
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This programme level work was complemented by an on-site verification of project achievements for 16 completed modal shift projects, 8 for both programmes (MP I, which ran from 2003 to 2006, and MP II, which runs from 2007 to 2013).
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Tale lavoro a livello di programma è stato integrato da una verifica in loco dei risultati conseguiti da 16 progetti completati rientranti nell’azione “trasferimento modale”, 8 per ciascuno dei due programmi (l’MP I, che ha riguardato il periodo 2003 - 2006, e l’MP II, per il periodo che va dal 2007 al 2013).
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The audit found that the programmes were not effective:
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L’audit ha rilevato che i programmi non sono stati efficaci:
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the outputs achieved did not meet the targets set by EU policymakers and little impact was achieved in shifting freight off the roads.
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le realizzazioni non sono state all’altezza degli obiettivi fissati dai responsabili politici dell’UE e l’impatto ottenuto nel trasferire il trasporto merci su gomma verso altre modalità è stato modesto.
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Moreover, there were no reliable data to assess benefits towards the environmental impact of freight transport, road congestion and road safety.
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Inoltre, non vi sono dati affidabili per valutare i benefici attesi dalla riduzione dell’impatto ambientale del trasporto merci, dalla riduzione della congestione del traffico e dal miglioramento della sicurezza stradale.
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Not enough good quality proposals were made because the programmes were not well designed for businesses;
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Non è stato presentato un numero sufficiente di proposte qualitativamente valide in quanto i programmi non erano ben concepiti per le imprese;
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and management inflexibility and implementation difficulties made beneficiaries decide either not to implement approved projects, to stop them prematurely or to cancel or reduce the scope of the service funded, once the project period was over.
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la rigidità gestionale e le difficoltà di attuazione hanno portato i beneficiari a decidere di non attuare i progetti approvati, di terminarli anticipatamente o cancellare la portata dei servizi finanziati una volta concluso il progetto.
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This provided poor project results and poor sustainability of the funded transport services.
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Di conseguenza, i risultati dei progetti e la sostenibilità dei servizi di trasporto finanziati sono stati scarsi.
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Moreover, the modest quantities reported to have been shifted are uncertain and include deadweight.
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Per di più, non vi è certezza sulla quantità, modesta, del traffico su strada che è stata effettivamente trasferita tenendo anche conto dell’effetto inerziale.
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While the Commission has improved day-to-day management of the programmes over time, it has not carried out a fundamental assessment of the programmes’ market potential to achieve the policy objectives;
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Anche se la Commissione ha migliorato la gestione quotidiana dei programmi nel corso del tempo, essa non ha tuttavia valutato in maniera approfondita il potenziale del mercato in rapporto al raggiungimento degli obiettivi dei programmi;
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it did not consider new developments and it did not take timely corrective action to remedy the apparent flaws in programme design.
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non ha preso in considerazione i nuovi sviluppi e non ha adottato per tempo misure correttive per porre rimedio agli evidenti difetti di concezione del programma.
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Given the results of the current programmes, the ECA recommends the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission to consider discontinuing EU funding for transport freight services following the same design as the Marco Polo programmes (“top-down supply-push”) which led in particular to the weaknesses identified in this report (insufficient market uptake, absence of evidence of achieving the objectives, high administrative burden, poor sustainability and deadweight) and making continuation of such funding conditional upon an ex-ante impact assessment showing whether and to what extent there is an EU added value.
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Alla luce dei risultati degli attuali programmi, la Corte raccomanda al Consiglio, al Parlamento europeo e alla Commissione di considerare l’eventualità di cessare il finanziamento UE ai servizi di trasporto merci secondo lo stesso schema dei programmi Marco Polo (processo top-down di incentivazione dell’offerta) che ha causato in particolare le debolezze identificate nella relazione (scarso assorbimento da parte dei mercati, mancanza di elementi probatori per quel che riguarda il conseguimento degli obiettivi, oneri amministrativi eccessivi, sostenibilità limitata ed effetto inerziale) e di subordinare l’eventuale prosecuzione del finanziamento di tali progetti a una valutazione d’impatto ex ante che mostri se, e in che misura, essi producano un valore aggiunto UE.
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This would imply making a detailed market analysis of the potential demand and taking up the experience and best practices of Member States similar national support schemes.
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Ciò richiederebbe una dettagliata analisi di mercato sulla domanda potenziale e di tener conto dell’esperienza e delle pratiche migliori concernenti regimi di sostegno analoghi a livello nazionale.
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Only in the event of a positive assessment as to a meaningful EU action in this area, the Court recommends that the Commission take a series of actions to strengthen performance in future schemes.
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Solo nel caso in cui vi sia una valutazione positiva in merito alla ragionevolezza di un’iniziativa UE in tale settore, la Corte raccomanda alla Commissione di adottare una serie di iniziative volte a rafforzare la performance dei futuri regimi.
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
End “ineffective” programmes for shifting road freight to rail, say EU
Auditors
Marco Polo programmes, aimed at shifting freight away from the roads,
have been ineffective and should be discontinued in their current design,
according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors (ECA).
“To put it simply, the programmes were ineffective as they did not meet
the targets, little impact was achieved in shifting freight off the roads and
there were no data to assess the achievement of the policy objectives (e.g.
environmental benefits)" said Ville Itälä, the ECA member responsible for the
report.
Since 2003, the Marco Polo I and II programmes have financed transport
service projects designed to shift freight transport from road to rail, inland
waterways and short sea shipping.
The programmes have been part of the EU transport policy objective to
develop alternatives to road-only freight transport.
This generally accepted objective aims to reduce international road
freight traffic, thereby improving the environmental performance of freight
transport, reducing congestion and increasing road safety.
But the audit found there were not enough relevant project proposals
put forward because the market situation and the programme rules discouraged
operators from taking advantage of the scheme.
Half of the audited projects were of limited sustainability.
One of the main findings of the audit was that there were serious
indications of “deadweight” - that is projects which would have gone ahead even
without EU funding.
In fact, 13 of the 16 beneficiaries audited confirmed that they would
have started and run the transport service even without a subsidy.
In addition, there were no reliable data to assess benefits on the
environmental impact of freight transport, road congestion or road safety.
Given the results of the current programmes, the ECA recommends
discontinuing EU funding for transport freight services following the design of
the Marco Polo programmes.
In the future, such funding should depend on an impact assessment at
the outset, showing whether and to what extent there is EU added value.
This should involve a detailed analysis of potential demand and best
practice in the Member States.
Notes to the editors:
European Court of Auditors (ECA) special reports are published
throughout the year, presenting the results of selected audits of specific EU
budgetary areas or management topics.
This special report (SR 03/2013) is entitled ““Have the Marco Polo
programmes been effective in shifting traffic off the road?” The ECA assessed
whether the Commission had planned the programmes, and was managing and
supervising them, in such a way as to maximise their effectiveness, and whether
the funded projects were effective.
The audit work focused mainly on the programme level by analysing
impact assessments, evaluations and survey results, evaluations of project
proposals, desk reviews of the monitoring of signed grant agreements and
surveying Marco Polo Programme (MP) Committee members on national support
schemes.
This programme level work was complemented by an on-site verification
of project achievements for 16 completed modal shift projects, 8 for both
programmes (MP I, which ran from 2003 to 2006, and MP II, which runs from 2007
to 2013).
The audit found that the programmes were not effective:
the outputs achieved did not meet the targets set by EU policymakers and little
impact was achieved in shifting freight off the roads.
Moreover, there were no reliable data to assess benefits towards the
environmental impact of freight transport, road congestion and road safety.
Not enough good quality proposals were made because the programmes were
not well designed for businesses;
and management inflexibility and implementation difficulties made
beneficiaries decide either not to implement approved projects, to stop them
prematurely or to cancel or reduce the scope of the service funded, once the
project period was over.
This provided poor project results and poor sustainability of the
funded transport services.
Moreover, the modest quantities reported to have been shifted are
uncertain and include deadweight.
While the Commission has improved day-to-day management of the
programmes over time, it has not carried out a fundamental assessment of the
programmes’ market potential to achieve the policy objectives;
it did not consider new developments and it did not take timely
corrective action to remedy the apparent flaws in programme design.
Given the results of the current programmes, the ECA recommends the
Council, the European Parliament and the Commission to consider discontinuing EU
funding for transport freight services following the same design as the Marco
Polo programmes (“top-down supply-push”) which led in particular to the
weaknesses identified in this report (insufficient market uptake, absence of
evidence of achieving the objectives, high administrative burden, poor
sustainability and deadweight) and making continuation of such funding
conditional upon an ex-ante impact assessment showing whether and to what extent
there is an EU added value.
This would imply making a detailed market analysis of the potential
demand and taking up the experience and best practices of Member States similar
national support schemes.
Only in the event of a positive assessment as to a meaningful EU action
in this area, the Court recommends that the Commission take a series of actions
to strengthen performance in future schemes.
|