14.02.2025

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TINA and TEN-T Roads – Engine of Wasting of Public Funds and Decline of Public Transportation in Slovakia

The purpose of this statement is to focus attention of the European Union authorities on the consequences of TINA/TEN-T on the overall transportation situation and strategies in Slovakia and on the risk of inefficient use of EU taxpayer’s moneys for economically unsound, environmentally damaging and regional differences deepening highways construction plans in Slovakia.

 
Statement of Friends of the Earth-Slovakia and CEE Bankwatch Network-Slovakia on the occasion of the conference ”Billions for Sustainability” Brussels, November 2002

The purpose of this statement is to focus attention of the European Union authorities on the consequences of TINA/TEN-T on the overall transportation situation and strategies in Slovakia and on the risk of inefficient use of EU taxpayer’s moneys for economically unsound, environmentally damaging and regional differences deepening highways construction plans in Slovakia. The absence of public discussion on the broader consequences of pan-European Corridors in Slovakia led to adoption of highly questionable highway program by the Slovak Government with serious economic, social and environmental impacts. Transportation infrastructure plans proposed by the Slovak Government to its EU partners at Crete and Helsinki conferences were developed during the period of authoritarian government in highly non-transparent manner lacking any independent cost-benefit analysis, least-cost studies as well as strategic environmental impact assessment. Slovakia’s motorway program represents the largest public infrastructure investment in the country. The program does not only contribute to growing fiscal unbalance and state debts, but it also blocks significant portion of public funds for development of more effective, less costly, socially acceptable, and sustainable alternatives. The utmost priority put on the motorway construction is facilitated by the EU policies and promises of massive support for construction of new infrastructure. It translates over many years consequently into massive flow of public funds to motorway construction at the expense of railroads and public transportation, but, as noted in the World Bank study on the reform of Slovakia’s transportation, also at the expense of maintenance of common roads. Due to this heavy preference for construction of motorways, the modal split is shifting towards more people traveling by personal cars and less by trains and buses. Most recent decisions of the government of Slovakia further accelerate this shift: in order to save on subsidies for public transportation 32 local railroads are considered for closing, while prices of bus and train tickets will increase by 15% and prices of weakly and monthly bus and trains tickets for commuting workers and students will double. By this measure government plans to “save” 800 million crowns (appr. 20 million euro) annually. At the same time public expenditures on motorway construction is planned to be 8,5 billion crowns (appr. 210 million euro). More people will be pushed from buses and trains to private cars, contributing thus to growing road congestions in towns and cities. On the other side public transportation will lost passengers and bus and train lines especially in economically depressed rural areas will became unprofitable and sentenced to close sooner or later. Part of workforce, especially in poorer and rural regions of the country, will be frozen at home without access to affordable transportation to workplace. In the country with average unemployment at the level of 18 to 20% and regional unemployment levels reaching 35%, policy supporting construction of motorways (encouraged by the EU policies and programs) and reducing at the same time support for public transportation represents, among other things, also serious social problem. Specific to Slovakia is an irony, that the fact that E 50 and E 75 roads were in the mid-nineties included in the European transportation networks (V.A and VI. corridors) became the major argument to justify extremely wasting construction program requiring construction of over 20 km of motorway tunels, despite the fact, that there exists significantly cheaper, economically more efficient and environmentally more sensitive alternative for motorway construction (e.g. on the E571 road paralell to E50). Internal rates of return (IRRs) for segments of the E50 roads were calculated by the government experts at the level of 9 to 11% for one tube (e.g. not four, but only half profile) tunels, while IRRs for the segments of the motorway on the E 571 were calculated at the levels of 14 to 19% for full motorway profile. It is expected that influential lobby groups that have been involved in development of the current motorway plans will use their power to attract foreign funds including EU pre-accession funds to finance a part of this economically unsound program. In order to prevent further channeling of EU taxpayers money for unsustainable and economically ineffective projects the Slovak branches of Friends of the Earth and CEE Bankwatch Network call for serious independent strategic, economic, social and environmental assessments of both TEN and TINA and the Slovakia´s motorway program prior to any decision to fund these programs by European public money is made. Pan-European corridors should not be used as powerful excuse for wasting of public funds in Central and Eastern European countries any more and should be review in order to contribute to the fair, balanced and sound economic development of the region.


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