AG4 - 10th Action Group Meeting

The 10^th AG4 Action Group Meeting took place on 18 and 19 March 2019 in Bolzano. The Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol Mobility-Councilor Daniel Alfreider opened the meeting with a warm welcome and encouragement for the AG4 to continue to promote cooperation in transport and mobility in the Alpine area.

The Action Group Leader informed the members about the Region Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur’s request for co-lead of AG4. The AG4 members welcomed the request unanimously and agreed to a transition towards co-leadership.

In the frame of the Italian Presidency’s programme a conference on “Smart Villages - A common perspective through different visions” will be held on 23 and 24 May in Courmayeur (Aosta Valley). The event will look at the Smart Village concept as an innovative perspective to provide better services and improve the quality of life in Alpine villages, also by means of innovative mobility solutions.

A preparatory study to investigate and optimize multi-modal logistic chains from and to the Alpine Region is currently being carried out by LINKS Foundation on behalf of the AG4. As a part of the AG4 work plan activity C2 this study aims to understand issues in multi-modal logistic chains and combined transport by collecting practices in order to find suggestions to optimize logistic processes and reduce the ecological footprint of goods. Outputs from this study will include a geodatabase visualizing the collected data and several dialogue events with strategic implementation partners.

After the process towards a new Work Plan for the period from 2019 to 2022 had been launched at the previous meeting, a considerable part of this AG4 meeting was dedicated to continue the development by means of input presentations as well as interactive workshop sessions. Building on the AG4 results achieved so far, participants discussed the three proposed thematic areas with the draft titles “Smart Logistics and Combined Transport to support modal shift”, “Accessibility on local and regional transport links (secondary networks)”, and “Smart Mobility and Public Transport”. The AG4 might potentially be restructured into subgroups according to the thematic areas. Additionally, traffic monitoring, assuming a more active role in policy development, better alignment of funding opportunities, and improved external communication of AG4 activities and results are being considered as horizontal activities in the AG4. For the 11^th AG4 Meeting on 4 June 2019 in Innsbruck, it is intended to proceed towards the finalization of the new Work Plan, while always retaining the flexibility necessary in the AG work.

Back to back with the AG meeting, the dedicated task force developing a systematic project assessment methodology (AG4 work plan activities C1, C2, D1) met for the 4^th time. To identify and evaluate major projects meriting wider EUSALP support, the task force is further elaborating and testing the multi-criteria analysis comprising a project factsheet and two assessment sheets. Currently, test runs of project assessments are being carried out in order to optimize the methodology.

An update on the ARPAF project CrossBorder was given, including the ongoing study on innovative solutions for public authorities and transport operators by KCW. The study’s first steps include a collection of projects with different levels of cooperation intensity all over Europe ranging from classic projects over innovative projects including digitalization to projects involving new players in mobility. Local workshops in cross-border commuter hot spots are scheduled in the coming months.

Paolo Dileno (Central European Initiative) provided the AG4 with an update on current pilot actions of the project CONNECT2CE such as a cross-border integrated ticket covering the areas of Trieste and Ljubljana. Eventually, the project aims at proposing to the relevant political stakeholders and bodies territorial strategies to improve regional and cross-border accessibility in Central Europe with the objective of creating a long-term governance coordination network for the harmonization of mobility strategies in peripheral and cross-border CE regions. Additionally, Roberto Cavaliere (EURAC Research) gave an update on the LIFE project BrennerLEC with its aim of developing a “Low Emissions Corridor”.

Helen Lückge presented implementation potentials and possible next steps resulting from the study towards an integrated incentive system for modal shift (AG4 work plan activity B2). The AG4 discussed the identified recommendations including devising a common strategy to improve modal shift policies as output of the new Work Plan’s thematic area 1 and putting forward a political statement as a political output of the Italian presidency or in the scope of the Action Group.

Within the process of close cooperation between the existing bodies and structures in the Alpine Region, the Alpine Convention informed about current developments: the presidency will be transferred from Austria to France, who will focus on air quality. Furthermore, the XV. Alpine Conference on 3 and 4 April 2019 in Innsbruck will adopt the Alpine Climate Target System 2050 as well as the next mandate.

Finally, at this Action Group Meeting, key messages from the latest Report from the European Commission on the implementation of EU macro-regional strategies were discussed. These include recommendations regarding communication, political capitalization, and visibility in the ongoing discussions on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework post-2020.

The 11th AG4 meeting will take place on 4 June 2019 in Innsbruck.

For further information on contents and presentations please do not hesitate to contact the EUSALP AG4 Lead Team: eusalp.mobility@tirol.gv.at