FOLLOW-UP
OF MED-TRANS PROGRAMME
BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE MED-TRANSPROJET (1997-2000)
MED-TRANS Conference on transport statistics
Rome 25-26 September 2000
Aline PENNISI - CESD-Roma
FOLLOW-UP
OF MED-TRANS PROGRAMME
I. Introduction
Transport lies at the very
heart of the concerns of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. In this regard,
the Barcelona Declaration (November 1995) stresses “the importance of developing
and improving infrastructures, through the establishment of an efficient
transport system”. While setting the basis for a permanent and balanced
economic development, the 27 signatories of the Declaration – the Ministers
of Foreign Affairs of the 15 EU countries and of the 12 MED countries –
also note that “efficient interoperable transport links between the EU
and its Mediterranean partners, and among the partners themselves, as well
as free access to the market for services in international maritime transport,
are essential to the development of trade patterns and the smooth operation
of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership”.
It is within this framework that transport statistics were identified as a priority field of action in the MEDSTAT Euro-Mediterranean statistical co-operation programme, aiming at strengthening national statistical systems in MED countries and at harmonising definitions and methods for data collection in order to promote comparable data exchange.
In June 1997, the First MEDSTAT Management Committee approved the general Terms of Reference for the MED-Trans Project on transport statistics. The European Commission contracted the implementation of the MED-Trans Project to CESD-Roma for a period of three years. CESD-Roma is a non-profit organisation implementing technical co-operation projects in the field of statistics and it is supported by ISTAT (the Italian National Institute of Statistics), Eurostat (the Statistical Office of the European Commission) and the Italian Co-operation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The MED-Trans project is directed towards the national statistical systems of the twelve MED countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta). The National Statistical Institute (NSI) of each country is considered the main counterpart given its role as a co-ordinator of the different national institutions involved in the collection and production of transport data. Particular attention is paid to the enforcement of a profitable interaction between the many national administrations concerned, such as the Ministries of Transport, Airport Authorities, the Civil Aviation Directorates, Port Authorities, national railway companies and others.
The second phase of the project (November 1998 – up to now) was mainly devoted to the development of a common language on transport statistics through specialised one-week training courses, the provision of technical assistance to the MED countries during the implementation of pilot operations aimed at the development of harmonised data production systems and the creation of a regional MED-Trans database.
In the view of promoting data exchange and electronic transmission of data, the project also provided the opportunity of purchasing a minimal basic computer equipment for each country. Dissemination products such as CD-Roms and publications were produced all along the project activities with the aim of guaranteeing a widespread availability of reference documents on definitions and methodologies concerning transport statistics and of contributing to the exchange of the data collected within the project.
Harmonisation is a long process. The development of national databases responding to the more recent EU requirements for maritime, aviation and road statistics assumes an adjustment of national statistical systems that can take several years. In fact, this problem was also experienced by the EU Member countries, some of which are still working on the completion of the Maritime Directive and Aviation draft regulation themselves.
The experts and the Task Force of the MED-Trans project believe that, thanks to the active involvement of the MED partners and the co-operation of many individuals participating to this project, the work carried out through MED-Trans has contributed to the set-up of a framework for the realisation of the following results:
Development of a common language, re-enforcement of institutional co-operation and capacity building
Training seminars have provided knowledge on the EU directives/regulations for transport statistics; on the UN-ECE/ECMT/Eurostat Glossary and Common Questionnaire for transport statistics; on methodologies adopted in EU Member countries to produce harmonised transport statistics; on international classifications and on the most common users needs and requests. Moreover, they have contributed to the re-enforcement of institutional co-operation between the NSIs and the other data producers (in particular Ports and Airport Authorities) and to the exchange of experience among The MED countries.
An introductory training seminar was held in Cyprus (July 1998) on the EU directives/regulations and on available statistics on all transport modes. Three one-week specialised training seminars were held on maritime statistics (Turkey, March 1999), on aviation statistics (Spain, July 1999) and on surveys on the carriage of goods by road (Lisbon, December 1999).
In order to make the common knowledge produced as widespread as possible, the UN-ECE/ECMT/Eurostat Glossary for Transport Statistics was translated into Arabic.
Convergence to EU standards and harmonisation of transport statistics
A list of recommendations and a core set of common indicators has been the basis for the development of harmonised statistics in the MED countries. Technical expertise was provided, mainly through missions, in order to assist the MED countries in the adaptation of the existing systems or in the identification and evaluation of possible strategies to improve the harmonisation of transport data.
Maritime and aviation statistics are considered the main priorities of the MED-Trans project. Maritime transport is the main vehicle for external trade in the Mediterranean countries and represents over 83% of the EU-MED trade volume (1997 data, source: Eurostat). Air transport is of growing importance in the Mediterranean economies as it is strongly related to the development of tourism, services and the exportation of high-valued added goods.
However, improving the quality and quantity of statistics available in the MED countries on road transport- and in particular on the carriage of goods by road - is a clear necessity. From the point of view of the MED partners, road is the main mode of domestic transport. In addition, from the Euro-Mediterranean point of view, statistics of road transport are of great importance for the development of an efficient multi-modal transport network. Within the MED-Trans project, technical assistance was provided to set a methodological basis for traffic volume surveys in the Palestinian Territories. Specific expertise was also provided for the preparation of surveys for the carriage of goods by road in countries that were already planning to carry out pilot projects in this field (i.e., Cyprus, Malta).
Design and creation of the MED-Trans database on the transportation of passengers and goods
The MED-Trans database is a regional database containing data on transport infrastructure and equipment and statistics of passengers and goods carried by all modes of transport in the 12 MED countries. It was created with a view to providing a detailed quantitative basis for decision-makers in the Euro-Mediterranean area concerned with the development of an efficient transport network and with the measurement of the impact of the progressive establishment of a free-trade area in the whole of the Mediterranean basin.
In order to enable effective analysis and to guarantee comparability among different MED countries and with EU Member States, the data included in the MED-Trans database are produced within a harmonised framework and adopt international/EU standards, definitions and classifications (to the extent where it is possible). Thanks to the active involvement of the statistical institutes (NSIs) and other administrations responsible for transport in the Mediterranean countries, the MED-Trans database now contains the first regional collection of detailed statistics on transport for a period going from 1997 to 1999. More aggregate data are available for previous years. [see reference documents: Guidelines for the Collection and Transmission of Data; Overview of the data availability, providers, comparability, formats and reception status for each MED country and General scheme of data availability in the MED-Trans database for 1997-1999 data]
The MED-Trans database currently contains about 90 Mediterranean “reporting airports”. Statistical information on the total traffic of passengers, freight and mail and commercial movements is available for all of them, either on a yearly or on a monthly basis. About 14 of these airports also report detailed statistics on traffic by partner airport traffic according to the flight stage scheme. It also contains about 80 Mediterranean “reporting ports”. Aggregate statistics on the annual traffic of cargo, passengers and vessels are available for all of them. More information on the port or country of loading/unloading is available for about 40 ports although at various levels of detail for the type of cargo, commodity and country of registration of the vessels.
Before archiving the data transmitted by the MED partners into the MED-Trans database, a series of standard and specific validation tests are run in order to detect possible errors or inconsistencies and provide a minimum standard of quality. These tests concern the coding of the data and the completeness of the information, as well as intra-dataset and inter-dataset comparisons. A preliminary version of these tests has been designed and should be further complemented [see reference documents: From the pilot operations to a regular production of data]
Development of a comprehensive information system
The implementation of pilot operations in the field of aviation and maritime databases, the development of electronic questionnaires and standard formats for electronic transmission of transport data and the provision of some basic computer equipment have contributed to the preparation of a satellite information system on transport statistics in the MED countries.
This satellite system should continue to feed the MED-Trans database yearly. Although it maintains anautonomous status, the MED-Trans database is integrated into a wider EU-MED harmonised information system.
Dissemination through publications and CD-Roms
Dissemination of available transport statistics, of short papers from the MED countries on their transport statistics system and of methodological notes on the harmonisation of aviation and maritime statistics has been widely encouraged through publications and CD-Roms. A short publication on “Key figures for transport in the MED countries, 1997” (only in English), a detailed volume on “Transport Trends in the Mediterranean countries” (available in English and French) and a Statistics in Focus (available in English, French and German) were printed by Eurostat.
Four CD-Roms were produced to serve as a reference for the implementation of harmonised databases(in particular for aviation and maritime statistics). Among a large amount of other material, the CD-Roms contain all the documentation distributed during the training courses. A preliminary CD-Rom with the first collection of statistics from the MED-Trans database was also produced. It presents the data a user-friendly environment where simple dynamic searches can be performed.
While evaluating the short- and medium-term expectations of the MED-Trans project, several other issues should be taken into account, among which the different level of motivation and the different availability of IT, technical equipment and trained staff in the MED countries.
Although in all MED countries the NSI is designated to the co-ordination of the the wider National Statistical System, the development of transport statistics (and of maritime and aviation statistics in particular) has meant the direct involvement of many other institutions and authorities. In the past two years, the MED-Trans project has enforced inter-institutional co-operation in each country and created links and contacts with institutions such as the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Administration or Airport Authority, the Port Authorities, etc. In order to guarantee that the process initiated within the MED-Trans project continues successfully, it is essential to keep these relations effective and to encourage debate and exchanges between the MED countries and with the EU.
In some countries, a serious constraint is the lack of computer facilities, the absence of professional support and the general shortage of staff and financial resources. This applies not only to the National Statistical Institute (NSI) but even more to the actual source where the data is produced (i.e. ports, airports, etc.). While training courses and technical assistance were addressed to both the NSIs and the actual data providers, the beneficiaries of MED-Trans computer equipment were only in the NSIs. This adds to the fact that in a small number of countries confidentiality restrictions and/or a culture of protecting information make it very difficult to have access to up-dated and detailed data.
The development of origin-destination databases for maritime and aviation statistics (port-to-port/airport-to-airport) requires in several cases appropriate administrative registers and databases to be set up. Although in most cases the response of the various institutions involved has been positive, we must consider that they may not be able to cover or/nor willing to provide for the additional use of human and financial resources needed. A fortunate coincidence is that in several countries, computer databases are being currently planned, implemented and/or improved. In these cases the contribution of the MED-Trans project has been very punctual in presenting international and EU standards, in providing (indirect) technical support and in shaping the future data availability to fit users’ needs.
In order to achieve a regularly updated, reliable and harmonised database, future work is needed to regularly collect the data from the MED countries, analyse their consistency, improve the degree of harmonisation and perform basic validation tests.
Three sub-regional monitoring meetings were held in May-June 2000 to evaluate the results of the pilot operations and discuss actions needed to assure the sustainability of the process initiated at the national level, as well as the regional MED-Trans database. According to the conclusions of such meetings, it is a common opinion among the MED partners that:
