Responding to demand of times the Parties of the Basic Agreement, joined their efforts to elaborate the Strategy of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) TRACECA to take full advantage of their geostrategic locations and economic opportunities.
The transport corridor Europe – Caucasus – Asia with its wide network shall remain a stabilising long-term factor creating favourable investment climate and positively influencing regional and interregional integration processes.
The strategic framework comprises a number of pillars to set the process of change in motion and to achieve by 2015 the desired objective of delivering a sustainable, efficient and integrated multimodal transport system at both the EU-TRACECA and TRACECA-TRACECA levels. The strategy is meticulously tailored to fit the specific needs of the various TRACECA countries and is carefully designed to tackle the core problems constraining the regional transport system.
The pillars are:
Strengthening and Modernising the Institutional Dimensions of Transport: this is aimed at ensuring the existence of strong, competent and well-designed institutions in the various TRACECA countries that can guide, support and nurture the future progress and development of the regional transport system. The successful implementation of this pillar constitutes a prerequisite for achieving the other pillars and comprises the two instruments organisational restructuring and reinforcement of human resources.
Integration and Cohesion of Infrastructure Networks: this is aimed at putting in place a modern, compatible and interoperable physical infrastructure network that is well-connected across the different transport modes and across the various TRACECA countries, and having good links to the trans-European transport network.
Sound Multimodal Freight Transport Chain: this is aimed at ensuring the smooth and uninterrupted flow of trade, for all types of freight, across different modes of transport and across different countries. Given the complexity of multi-modal chains, it is necessary to design and implement a multitude of instruments with maritime transportation forming the nucleus of this pillar.
Exploiting the Full Potential of Air Transport and Boosting Air Passenger Traffic: this is aimed at enhancing the movement of passengers between the EU and TRACECA countries and therefore focuses on air transport as the predominant type of passenger travel in the region.
Making Transport Safer, Secure and Sustainable: this is aimed at ensuring that the regional transport system has both social and environmental faces, and that it actively promotes the safety, security and protection of users, property, general public and environment that might be involved in or affected by this system.
Secure Funding: this is aimed at tapping at different sources of financing to ensure that sustainable and sufficient funds will be available to successfully initiate and complete the investments that are required in regional transport infrastructure and other projects.
The proposed strategic framework provides the main guidelines that can direct and orient the process of turning around the TRACECA regional transport system from a state of fragmentation to a state of integration. It comprehensively tackles all relevant dimensions of transport including the institutional, regulatory and infrastructure dimensions.
For implementation of this strategy the 2-3 years terminated Action Plans will be set up containing short-term targets, project proposals and other specific actions.
The implementation of this strategy implies efficient operative structures for the coordination of TRACECA countries’ activities. Further enhancement, enlargement and institutionalisation of the TRACECA regional organisation will ensure consistency and contribute to the achievement of the set pillars.