A practical and profitable means of integrating the rail system into the urban fabric would be to avoid abandoning railway stations in metropolitan areas where they can be useful for urban transit as well as intercity travel.

The GVTA endorses recommendations also made by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, urging the federal government to: establish a new program of investments in multimodal integrated transportation systems, including urban transit, in collaboration with provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, with up to $1 billion in federal funds per year within five years; consider funding its contribution to such systems by allocating a portion of the fuel tax and encouraging provincial and territorial governments not yet doing so to match the federal contribution; supporting municipal governments' investments i ...[+++]n comprehensive transportation management plans, including assessments of financial options, low-cost solutions, user fees, and vehicle and parking restrictions; and committing to eliminating excise taxes and the GST on fuels used in municipal transit systems and on transportation and initiatives aimed at increasing the use of public transit, such as making employer-provided transit passes a non-taxable benefit.

Research will focus on: high efficiency propulsion systems and their components, based on alternative and renewable fuels, taking into account the fuelling infrastructure; development of zero or near zero emission propulsion systems and components, in particular those integrating fuel cells, hydrogen combustion and their fuelling infrastructure into the transport system; integrated concepts for clean urban transport and rational use of the car in urban locations.

Research will focus on: the integration of alternative motor fuels into the transport system, particularly into clean urban transport; the cost-effective and safe production, storage, and distribution (including fuelling infrastructure) of alternative motor fuels; the optimal utilisation of alternative fuels in new concepts of energy efficient vehicles; strategies and tools to manage the market transformation process for alternative motor fuels.

The contents of the ten programmes on which agreement was reached today may be summarized as follows. - Transport Objectives: - to improve the efficiency of the individual transport modes and speed up their integration into European transport networks and to support Community transport initiatives at both national and European levels; - to contribute to the optimization of trans-European transport networks, improved productivity of modes of transport and individual operators, the capacity of each mode of transport to be integrated with the others, accessibility for users and the development of a multimodal transport ...[+++]system at urban, rural, regional and trans-European level.

Amount deemed necessary: ECU 240 million Indicative breakdown by area: Area % Strategic research for a trans-European multimodal network (definition, demonstration and validation) 20 Network optimization 80 Railways 16 Integrated transport chains 7 Air transport 16 Urban transport 11 Maritime transport and inland waterways 19 Road transport 11 TOTAL 100 % ECU 240 million Biotechnology Objectives: Contribute to ensuring: - a strong and innovative science base; - a highly trained and skilled workforce; - the efficiency of technology transfer from the scie ...[+++]nce base to industry; - the rapid incorporation of novel and innovative techniques into established practices; - a multi-disciplinary approach to biotechnology-based processes; - the cross-linking of connected topics and the integration of groups of experts on an international scale; - the validation of scientific principles to underpin a unified market of biotechnology-derived products; - the harmonious application of bioprocesses as beneficial alternatives to promote the environment, human health and welfare; - a high degree of social acceptance and transparency in biotechnology research and its applications.