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Much was at stake, but finally the concerns regarding the validity of the traffic protocol have been dismissed. How a declaration on a declaration saved the principle at the heart of the Alpine Convention, but cannot exorcise the ghost of the Alemagna autobahn.

On October 4 the European Transport Initiative ITE is once again co-ordinating a European-wide day of protest action against transit traffic in mountain regions.

The A13/E43 network has commissioned a study in the border region between Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein with the following basic requirements for the future provision of public passenger transport services: Rail links to the large agglomerations in southern Germany and from the upper Rhine valley to the central areas of southern Germany and western Austria; expansion of the S-Bahn network in the region comprising eastern Switzerland, the eastern area of Lake Constance and the upper Rhine valley; development of tram/suburban railway systems such a half-hourly S-Bahn link between Feldkirch/A and Buchs/CH.

The International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA International) very much welcomes the fact that the EU now intends to set a course that reflects the true costs of transport and is taking a first step by amending Directive 2006/38/EC ("Eurovignette III"). The Directive must also relieve the burden on the Alpine region, which is particularly sensitive ecologically and whose population has to bear particularly high external costs; it must also contribute more to sustainability in freight transport. One important step is a sound directive on transport infrastructure costs, i.e. one that includes the efficient and consistent allocation of all relevant costs. Everyone stands to benefit from its success: the population, with a healthier, safer and better quality of life, and the transport industry, with more reliable transit routes. Indeed, the risks affect the local population as much as they affect those travelling through.

Trade has been the driving force behind cultural and social development in the Alpine region. Transit traffic in its current form, on the other hand, mainly benefits regions away from the Alps. To ban noise and exhaust fumes from the Alpine valleys we need more than a watered-down EU directive, says Stephan Tischler, President of CIPRA Austria.