ERC Lunch Meeting with Mr. Maurizio Castelletti

Welcome by

Klaus Milz , Chairman of the European Rail Circle

Dear friends of rail transport in Europe,

I am very glad that the new head of unit “ Rail transport and Interoperability” of DG TREN, Mr. Maurizio Castellettiwill be with us today and inform the members and guests of the European Rail Circle about the current status of European Transport Policies.

The ongoing debate about Climate Change, Global Warming contributes additional dynamics into our important subject Transport and Environment. As we all know there are many reasons, why the European Transport Policy plays an ever increasing role on the overall political agenda. As we discussed already several times, also within the ERC,

- Efficient transport systems are a necessary basis for economic development, social welfare and last not least

- Our transport systems, the modal shift and the inter- modal cooperation must be modified in such a way that this sector is no more a threat but an opportunity to the future development of our environment.

All these aspects have been considered carefully also by the European Commission since several years. A lot has been achieved meanwhile, however a number of open issues still wait for their solution. The liberalization policy in European Rail Transport by example shows first motivating successes, but the complex topic of developing a fair level playing field between the modes remains an unfinished task of European and National Transport Policy. Just today DG TREN organized a Workshop about the Internalization of External Cost. This is encouraging, but results are not expected before 2008. Do we have sufficient time to postpone and delay such an important question? Answers must not be given alone by the Commission. The hampers in this case lay on the road of the European Council.

Before Maurizio Castelletti starts with his presentation I would like to follow good practise and say some words about his professional career.

Mr. Castelletti is a transport engineer from the Polytechnic of Milan He spent the first part of his professional life in a private consultancy company in Italy, between 1984 and 1995, in the quality of transport planner and manager of various projects covering the economic and technical feasibility of new transport infrastructures, in particular in the railway field.

This is an excellent precondition for becoming a friend of the ERC. But his career continued with other modes.

In 1995, he joined the European Commission dealing with aviation safety and air traffic management issues.

Then from 2000 until 2003, he was employed in the Single Sky Unit of the Directorate for Energy and Transport, in charge with the development of general and specific policies in relation to Air Traffic Management, including the funding programme under the Trans-European Transport Network. He was the author of the Single Sky legislative proposals.

In 2003, he was called in the team of the Director-General of DG TREN to work on programming and planning aspects. At this time Maurizio was also responsible for the supervision of all initiatives in the nuclear sector.

In April 2004, Mr. Castelletti was asked to manage a new horizontal unit "Strategy, Coordination, Information & Communication". Then in 2006 he was appointed head of the unit responsible for planning, coordination and interinstitutional relations.

And now since October 2006, Maurizio Castelletti is the head of the "Railway and interoperability" unit in DG TREN.

Now, dear friends, let us listen what Maurizio Castelletti has to report to us about the status of transport policies in Europe and the way forward.

Dear Maurizio, the floor is yours!

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