In April 2011, the European Commission published the new Transport White Paper under the heading "European
Transport Strategy 2050. The roadmap Transport 2050. Towards a single transport area". This document includes
various proposals to reduce the dependence on the oil sector and carbon emissions (European Community, 2011a).
In this regard, the Commission advocates a policy in which the modal shift of freight transport from road to rail has
special relevance, thus following the guidelines already included in the previous White Paper. The Transport 2050
roadmap also aims to remove major barriers and bottlenecks in many key areas across the fields of transport
infrastructure and investment, innovation and the internal market.
The extension of the main routes to the future Member States should contribute to the success of enlargement and
to offer the Union a new opportunity to reduce congestion by promoting intermodality.