My honourable friend the Minister of State for Transport (Dr Stephen Ladyman) has made the following Ministerial Statement.

I will attend the first Transport Council of the Finnish presidency which takes place in Luxembourg on 12 October. The main items on the agenda are: the mid-term review of the 2001 White Paper on transport policy; the Galileo satellite navigation project; the draft regulation on aviation security; and two aspects of aviation external relations.

There will be a policy debate on the mid-term review of the Commission white paper on European transport policy. The review, entitled Keep Europe Moving—Sustainable Mobility for our Continent, appeared in July. It reviews the EU's transport objectives between 2001 and 2010, as set out in the 2001 white paper. Evident in the review is a change of emphasis, the aim now being to get the best from each transport mode, rather than seeing present and future policy in terms of conflict between road and rail. Key themes are better regulation, competitiveness, transparency, innovation and logistics.

The UK's overall aim is to ensure continued emphasis on reducing regulatory burden, ensuring the proper working of the internal market and protection of the environment. This means that new Commission proposals should be based upon a rigorous impact assessment; that the rules of the internal market are monitored to see that they are working properly; that liberalisation of the domestic passenger rail market is treated as a priority; and that measures such as aviation emissions trading are brought forward to help mitigate environmental damage.

There will be a report from the Commission on its communication on freight transport logistics, entitled Freight Logistics in Europe—Key to Sustainable Mobility. The communication,

“examines whether and where the EU could offer added value to enhancing the development of freight transport logistics in Europe and the world”.

The Commission plans to present an action plan for freight transport logistics in 2007. The Finnish presidency will take forward consultation on the communication and prepare for the action plan. Logistics is Finland's central presidency priority in the transport field. The UK supports this initiative from the Commission and the proposal to develop an action plan. However, in future discussions on the action plan we will need to ensure that any regulatory proposals that emerge are proportional and supported by industry needs.

The presidency will aim for a general approach on two draft regulations related to management of the Galileo programme. The first amends the statutes of the Galileo Joint Undertaking (Regulation 876/2002 EC) to allow for its closure at the end of 2006; the second amends the regulation (1321/2004 EC) which established the Galileo Supervisory Authority, allowing it to take over the joint undertaking’s responsibilities for the current development phase. The UK supports these amendments, which aim to ensure that an appropriate management structure is in place, with an efficient transition of responsibilities for managing the Galileo programme.