The Official Journal of the European Union has published on February 10th 2009, a new Call for Proposals for for modal shift, catalyst, motorways of the sea, traffic avoidance and common learning actions under the Second Marco Polo Programme. The proposed budget for 2009 Call, which will close on May 8th , will be approximately 62 M€.

The European Commission has launched a call for proposals for the selection procedure 2009 under the Second Marco Polo Programme. The overall objectives of Marco Polo II Programme are to reduce congestion, to improve the environmental performance of the transport system and to enhance intermodal transport, thereby contributing to an efficient and sustainable transport system which provides EU added value without having a negative impact on economic, social or territorial cohesion.

These objectives follow the strategy which has been at the heart of the European policy and notably since the Gothenburg European Council in 2001, that is shifting the balance between transport modes to achieve a more sustainable development.

The Programme proposes to support actions to reduce congestion, to improve the environmental performance of the transport system and to enhance intermodal transport, thereby contributing to a more efficient and sustainable transport system which will provide EU added value without having a negative impact on economic, social or territorial cohesion.

Type of actions supported under Marco Polo II Calls for Proposals

• Modal shift actions, which focus on shifting as much freight as economically meaningful under current market conditions from road to short sea shipping, rail and inland waterways. They may be proposing start-up of new services or significantly enhance existing services. They shall be robust, but not necessarily innovative
• Catalyst actions change the way non-road freight transport is conducted in the Community. Under this type of action, structural market barriers in European freight transport are overcome through a highly innovative concept: causing a real break-through. This is essentially done in three steps by applicants: first the barrier must be clearly defined, then a highly innovative solution presented, and finally a modal shift service of great growth potential for freight transport is proposed for timely implementation.
• Motorways of the sea actions achieving a door-to-door service, which shift freight from long road distances to a combination of short sea shipping and other modes of transport. Actions of this kind are innovative at a European level in terms of logistics, equipment, products and services rendered.
• Traffic avoidance actions integrate transport into production logistics: reducing freight transport demand by road with a direct impact on emissions. Actions of this type shall be innovative and shall not adversely affect production output and production workforce.
• Common learning actions enhance knowledge in the freight logistics sector and foster advanced methods and procedures of co-operation in the freight market. Under this type of action, improvement of co-operation and sharing of know-how is encouraged.

Available Budget and Application Deadline

The proposed budget for 2009 is approximately 62 M€, with which the Commission envisages to fund around thirty-five projects.

The budget includes funding of administrative expenses of 225.000€, especially for meetings, information actions, publications and other administrative items that have to be accounted for. The proposed budget also includes a maximum of 600.000€ for dissemination activities and a study on improving the marketing approach for the Programme.

Applicants should submit their proposals by May 8th 2009, either by registered letter or courier service postmarked no later than this closing date for submission, or by hand delivery to the central mail service of the European Commission. In any case, the following address should be mentioned on the outer envelope:

European Commission
Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation - EACI21
Ref.: Marco Polo II Programme – Call 2009
Courrier Central
Avenue du Bourget 1
B-1140 Brussels

Information on the modalities of the call and guidance to proposers on how to submit projects, is available at the Marco Polo Calls website.