The Hungarian Minister of State for Infrastructure Mr. Pál Völner received in Budapest the Acting Secretary General of Central European Initiative Mr. Giorgio Rosso Cicogna 20 February 2013 for an in depth consultation on the activities to be promoted by the Hungarian CEI Presidency in the field of transport. Most specifically the implementation of the European Strategy on the Corridors was reviewed. Special attention was paid to the still persisting bottlenecks, delays and difficulties, after an accurate evaluation of the contribution of Hungary in terms of rail and road infrastructure being realised on its territory, and as a complementary contribution to the plans of the other surrounding countries.
Minister Pál Völner emphasized the prime strategic role of transport and logistics for the overall development of the European Union and expressed sincere appreciation for many activities of regional cooperation carried out by CEI in this field.
Rosso Cicogna made a detailed inventory of the latest projects implemented by the CEI, mentioning its remarkable multiplier effects in terms of resources and mobilisation and illustrating a few other projects still in pipeline.
They both agreed on the opportunity for the CEI to establish at its headquarters in Trieste a Permanent Observatory on the implementation on the above Corridor Strategy, in view of the in-house expertise built by the Secretariat during the last year.
The Hungarian Minister of State assured he would provide the necessary support to the operation of this Observatory.
The increasing difficulties encountered in the field of the air-connections with and within the Balkans, despite the still unexpressed traffic potential of the region were also discussed. In this regard, the State Minister suggested that an international conference already planned to take place in Budapest next May could provide an opportunity for a specific session dedicated to this issue. Commercial representatives from airlines, airport executives and ministerial high officials from South Eastern European countries could openly exchange views on this occasion in the format of an open brainstorming.