Marjeta Jager: Northern Dimension region to become attractive for investments in transport

In assessing the role of the international financial institutions in the new partnership, we should have a 360° long-term view, not limited to the transport infrastructure but also seeking other measures to improve transport situation in the region, says Marjeta Jager, Director, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission, in an interview with the NIB Newsletter.

The new partnership was established more than a year ago. What have been the results so far?

The Memorandum of Understanding on the Northern Dimension Partnership for Transport and Logistics (NDPTL) was signed by the ministries responsible for transport in the framework of the 2009 “TEN-T days” on 21 October 2009. The main goal of the partnership is to improve, in compliance with the ecological needs of the region, the major transport connections and logistics in the Northern Dimension region to stimulate sustainable economic growth at the local, regional and global levels by focusing on a limited number of priorities that reflect both regional and national priorities in a balanced way.

The year 2010 has represented a turning point for the partnership in terms of key achievements. The agreement to set up the secretariat has been endorsed by all partners. The budget for 2011 and the running budget for the subsequent years have also been approved. Finally, on 16 December, it was possible to “symbolically” open the secretariat of the NDPTL in NIB premises, although the director was not appointed. These important achievements have made been possible because – this is my personal feeling – all partners are now fully engaged in the process of implementing the NDPTL and played a very constructive and active role.

Still, we have significant work ahead of us. In particular, we have to clearly identify a roadmap for the coming months which should be a basis to set up a comprehensive work programme as stated in the Memorandum of Understanding. I am, therefore, counting on the collective responsibility of the partners to give the necessary support to the NDPTL secretariat to implement the work programme.

What role do the international financial institutions play in the new partnership?

Regarding the role of IFIs, we should have a 360° long-term view, not limited to the transport infrastructure but also seeking other “soft” measures or projects to improve the situation with transport and logistics in the Northern Dimension area. In this context, NIB, other IFIs, as well as the European Commission, through their financial instruments, play a key role in supporting the projects identified in the NDPTL framework.

The Northern Dimension area is located at a crossroad of many pan-European axes and the logistical issues will play an increasing role in the future. It could become an attractive area for future investments, in particular, related to transport, under certain conditions. In this context, the NDPTL secretariat together with the Nordic Investment Bank – will have a crucial role to play: the financial validation of the projects proposed in the framework of NDPTL and to ensure that the following conditions are fulfilled to make attractive investments in view of IFI financing: efficient proceedings are set up to support the implementation of the Transport and Logistics partnership; priorities identified are based on true commitments of the partner countries and do not only seek to pursue national needs, but have a clear regional dimension; these partners countries provide a qualitative – not only quantitative -information on their plans and programmes.

My hope is that NIB, on top of its role in project validation, will also be a key partner in lending funds to the Northern Dimension countries to implement projects that will make the transport system of the Northern Dimension region highly competitive and ready to cope with the challenges of the 21st century.