International

Until recently, taking the train from Amsterdam to Brussels or Cologne to Utrecht was no more complicated than it would have been to travel by rail between two Dutch cities. Increasing liberalization and the imposition of market conditions on rail providers has, however, hit international passengers hard. When timetables are revised, or delays and diversions foreseen, trans-frontier passengers are increasingly provided with inadequate information, making it difficult or impossible for them to rearrange journeys. Euro-MP Erik Meijer, a member of the European Parliament Committee on Transport and himself a regular user of international rail services, has asked the European Commission whether it is aware of these developments and, if so, whether it has any plans to deal with them.

Belgian Premier Guy Verhofstadt today made an ardent plea for the EU to push on with its proposed European Constitution. “Too much attention has been paid to opponents and not enough to supporters,” Belgium’s Prime Minister told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg.