A SEED Europe leaflet on TENs Dear friends, Here is the text of the campaign leaflet that you received by mail a few weeks ago. It would be great if you could forward it to all the transport activists you know. Many thanks Elisa Peter and Olivier Hoedema ########################################################### A SEED EUROPE PRESENTS TRANS-EUROPEAN NETWORKS - ROADS TO NOWHERE! European campaign against unsustainable transport policies Trans-European Networks - largest transport investments ever planned More than 15.000 kilometres of new roads, thousands of kilometres of high-speed train links and a few traditional rail links, numerous airport expansions, and a handful of waterways. These dizzying plans are the core of the Trans-European Networks (TENs), the infrastructure plans promoted by the European Union (EU). Such massive investments in unsustainable modes of transport are in sharp contrast to the EUs own official environ- mental goals. TENs in the current shape will destroy nature areas all over Europe and make it virtually impossible to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. No wonder that the resistance against the many TENs projects is growing. Campaigns all over Europe, especially in France and the UK, have already shown the potential impact of non-violent direct actions. The TENs campaign aims to build a strong network of action groups fighting unsustainable transport schemes. Main activities in the coming months include a seminar for transport activists (December 1995, in Spain) and a Europe-wide TENs action day (March 1996). In the meantime, action is urgently needed to influence the European Parliament (EP) during its second and final reading on TENs, this autumn. The European Parliament can prevent a TENs disaster In May 1995, the EP debated the Trans-European Networks. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) decided to add a long list of environmentally unfriendly projects (motorways, highspeed trains, etc.), but also voted for much stricter environmental criteria. However, a few months later, the Council of Ministers rejected the main environmental improvements proposed by the MEPs! Action needed Fortunately, the MEPs have the right to a so-called "second reading". A lot of pressure is needed to make them stick to the environmentally-friendly amendments. Letters and faxes coming from groups all over Europe could play a crucial role. Your letter/fax should be as personal as possible, preferably hand- written, and give examples of TENs projects under construction in your country to back up the arguments against TENs as a whole. Actions (like blocking the garage of MEPs opposing the environ- mental improvements) are also an essential part of the strategy, for instance as a way of getting media attention. TENGO, the coalition of international NGOs campaigning for greener TENs, was successful in lobbying the MEPs this spring. The TENGO partners (ALARM UK, A SEED Europe, Greenpeace, WWF, T&E, Birdlife and Friends of the Earth) will continue their joint efforts this autumn. Action Day A Europe-wide Action Day against TENs projects will take place on March 30, 1996. We hope that local action groups campaigning against TENs projects will all participate in this day of protest. It will be a decentralised event, with a common theme and common activities. It is up to you to decide in which way you want to get involved. Road blockades using bulldozers (or lighter material!), peaceful demonstrations, public information forums, bike or skate tours, activist exchanges between groups, or any other bright ideas are very welcome. If you have a brilliant idea but no money for your action, it might be worthwhile to get in touch with the A SEED Europe Office. transport vs. environment The transport sector is a major threat to the environment. It is causing irreversible disasters all over Europe. Vehicle exhaust emissions (CO2, CO, NOx, SOx, VOCs, particulates, and so forth) are the main contributors to air pollution and climate change. Forecasts predict that the share of CO2 emissions coming from transport will increase from the current 25% to over 50% by 2010. Transport also causes acid rain (which destroys forest areas), chronic health diseases, the creation of tropospheric ozone and photochemical smog. Moreover, the construction of infrastructure generates other kinds of damage, which are as harmful to humans and the environment as the traffic itself: destruction of wild nature areas, imperilment of valuable habitats and loss of biological diversity, water and land pollution, noise, etc. TENs Hot Spots The Somport tunnel and the accompanying road scheme through the Vallee d'Aspe in the French Pyrenees is probably the most wellknown Trans-European Road Network project, but this is only one of more than 140 new motorways in TENs. The long list of controversial projects include the OEresund bridge (between Denmark and Sweden), the motorway through the Nevia valley in Galicia (Spain), the Malpensa airport near Milano, the highspeed train link from Amsterdam to Brussels, and many more. TENs are also a financial disaster. The EU claims that investing billions of tax payers' ECUs in transport infrastructure is a good way of creating jobs. However, it has failed to produce convincing studies to support this assumption. In fact, there is extensive literature indicating that the effects might be the opposite. In numerous cases new infrastructure for highspeed transport has lead to centralised production damaging local markets and causing the loss of local jobs. Concrete Action Concrete Action is the newsletter for activists fighting unsustainable infrastructure projects. It comes out every second month and aims to improve communication between groups working on apparently isolated campaigns that are in fact part of a wider European plan. For this purpose, Concrete Action brings updates on planning in the European Union, follows campaigns in various countries, gives background information and serves as a letter- box for contacts and discussions on strategy. You'd better subscribe right now if you are looking for the latest valuable news on TENs! Also, your contribution (articles, news, views and ideas, etc.) is very welcome. Seminar for transport activists: don't miss it! An international seminar for activists campaigning against TENs projects will be held from 7-11 December in Basque Country (Spain). During the days, we will discuss: transport infrastru- cture -- why they want it, why we might not need it; transport and economy (do TENs create jobs and boost regional economies? What are the alternatives?); strategies for resistance and much more (media training, camcorder training, email training, country studies, etc.). After the seminar, everybody is warmly invited to the Alternative Forum taking place in Madrid parallel to the EU Summit (11-16 December). A perfect opportunity to show the EU leaders that their transport plans are heading down a dead end road. European anti-roads video & campaign handbook Another element in the TENs campaign is to publish a campaign handbook full of original ideas for transport actions. But we need your help: please send us your success stories (and educative failures!). Another tool in campaigning against TENs projects will be a video compiling European anti-road actions. So please send us video material from your site of resistance! Climate Change: it's Time for Action The TENs campaign is part of a common campaign of the 3 European environmental youth networks (A SEED Europe, EYFA and YEE) to combat the causes of climate change. The campaign also includes the bimonthly campaign magazine CLIMAX, subcampaigns on urban ecology and alternative economies, the Sustainable Europe bus Tour (that will visit local groups all over Europe during the summer of 1996), as well as the 4th annual Climate Action Day, which will take place on May 15th. FILL IN AND SEND TO: A SEED Europe Office P.O. Box 92066 1090 AB Amsterdam Netherlands tel. 31-20-6682236 fax. 31-20-6650166 email aseedeur@antenna.nl YES, I want to receive: Concrete Action TEN-pack (essential articles on TENs) regular updates and action alerts on the EU's decision making on TENs addresses of MEPs in my country more information about: the transport activist seminar the TENs action day the campaign handbook the video project the climate campaign A SEED Europe Name: Organisation: Address: Telephone: Fax: E-mail: What is A SEED? A SEED (Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and Development) Europe is the European branch of a worldwide network of committed young people who feel an urgent need for change. We are active in environmental movements, in solidarity groups, and in the youth and student movement. We work at the local, national and regional level, against domination and exploitation of people and of nature. Fundamentally, A SEED exists to facilitate co- ordinated actions among young organisers in all parts of the world that address the global environment and development crisis. A SEED Europe is an open network that can be used as a vehicle for co-operation among groups. It does not have a hierarchical structure, so participating in A SEED Europe does not mean compromising your identity or your ideas. Within A SEED Europe, there are several working groups co- ordinating the actions of people around Europe working on the following issues: Multilateral Development Banks; the European Union and the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT); Inform me about that Multinational, Please! (IMPs); Climate Change; using the media; gender. So whether you are working on Third World debt, pollution, transnational corporations, human rights issues, or protesting against a local road-building plan, participating in A SEED Europe can connect you up with others around Europe working on the same issue, provide useful resources and contacts, and benefit your work in many ways... A SEED is open to any group or individual so why not find out more? | |Please always reply to: aseedeur@antenna.nl !!!! |