News
Remarks on railway safety to the plenary session of the EP
25/02/2010
"The train accident in Buizingen on Monday 15 February 2010 was a shocking tragedy. I understand that, in the aftermath of this serious accident, several technical and political questions concerning rail safety can be asked" said Vice-President Kallas today to the plenary session of the European Parliament.
Informal Meeting of Transport Ministers in La Coruña - Urban Mobility - Airport Security - Maritime Safety
13/02/2010
"I have a vivid memory of the dramatic pictures from Galicia in 2002, seen all over Europe. I was Prime Minister of Estonia at this time and I remember well the strong compassionate reaction from Estonia, contributing to the cleaning efforts" said Vice-President Siim Kallas today after listening to the presentation of the ecological catastrophe in "La Torre de Capitania Maritima" in La Coruña.
Commission launches a one-stop helpdesk for motorways of the sea
10/02/2010
The European Commission launches today a one-stop helpdesk on funding possibilities for "motorways of the sea" projects under the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) programme and the Marco Polo programme. It will also point to other relevant national and European Union funding schemes. The "motorways of the sea" initiative is a TEN-T priority project that aims to promote green, viable, attractive and efficient sea-based transport links integrated through the entire transport chain.
Debate on the use of body scanning technology in airport security
10/02/2010
Vice-President Siim Kallas, EU Commissioner for transport, today addressed the European Parliament on the use of body scanning technology in airport security, as part of a broader debate on the operation of intelligence services in the context of counter-terrorism strategies. In setting out the timetable for the debate on the regulation of body scanning technology, the Vice-President underlined that "to fight terrorism targeting civil aviation we need a variety of combined and coordinated measures – intelligence, profiling, different search methods and international cooperation. He stressed that "body scanning technology is not a panacea," and said that questions relating to the value-added of this technology to airport security, as well as health and privacy issues, needed to be looked at very seriously.
