Last week the European Commission has issued a further policy document related to the development of the European transport industry. The administration in Brussels has a tendency to develop 'common' policies that aim to standardise activity across the European Union. However one of the fundamental problems it faces in the implementation of such a goal is that transport markets are emphatically national in nature.

One key change of tone in the latest document is that the Commission has recognised road freight is essential to the working of any modern economy. Therefore the Commission has moderated its opposition to trucks on environmental grounds. Nevertheless it states that it intends to create 'Green Corridors' which are apparently "co-modal" although it remains unclear where these "Green Corridors" will be located. The Commission also re-stated its wish to create "Motorways of the Sea" which will apparently "play an important role in restructuring long-distance freight transport in Europe and improving its sustainability."

The EU favours rail and wants to create a "European freight network" for " a better quality of service in terms of journey times, reliability and capacity." Jacques Barrott, Commission Vice President, commented that, "The simultaneous adoption of all these measures gives a strong signal demonstrating the close links between logistics and the various modes of transport."

However many in the industry will struggle to take these proposals seriously. The EU does not control significant transport budgets, which remain firmly in the hands of the national governments. Many of its policies seem removed from the real world. In a key state such as France the national rail freight organization (SNCF Fret) is in crisis and losing market share rapidly. In the UK passenger volumes are increasing so fast that rail freight will have difficulty challenging for future capacities.

What Brussels seems not to take into account is that markets are vastly superior in providing solutions. For example the vigor of private sector short-sea shipping companies and the ability of the European port sector to provide additional capacity will marginalise the EC's "Motorways of the Sea" initiative. The European Commission would be better off focusing on areas where it can facilitate the private sector, rather than attempt to direct the industry from a centrally developed, and ultimately flawed, blueprint.