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EU Transport Scoreboard

10 April 2014
by eub2 -- last modified 10 April 2014

The first ever EU Transport Scoreboard compares the performance of EU Member States in 22 transport-relevant categories and highlights for most categories the five top and bottom performers. Its aim is to give a snapshot of the diversity of Member State performance in transport matters across Europe and to help Member States identify and address shortcomings. The scoreboard brings together data from a variety of sources (such as Eurostat, the European Environment Agency, the World Bank and the OECD).


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The scoreboard can be consulted either by mode of transport (road, rail, maritime, air) or by one of the following categories:

    Single market — This assesses the level of market integration for each mode of transport. For transport by road and rail, the assessment is based on the OECD indicator of regulation in energy, transport and communications (ETCR). For rail, it is based on the market share of all but the principal railway undertakings, both for freight and passenger transport. For maritime transport, the geographical circumstances of Member States with seaports differ widely, so the scoreboard does not give any ranking, but shows the volume of maritime cabotage (transport by sea between ports of the same Member State) where this is applicable.

    Infrastructure — For rail, maritime and air transport, the scoreboard uses indicators based on surveys by the World Economic Forum. The proxy chosen for comparing road infrastructure is motorway density (given that motorways are generally the most developed and best maintained roads).

    Environmental impact — For road transport, the scoreboard relies on data from the European Environment Agency (average CO2 emissions of new passenger cars). For rail, the assessment is based on the share of electrified railway lines among all railway lines (source: International Union of Railways, UIC). For maritime and air transport, there is at present no suitable indicator to compare Member States' environmental performance.

    Safety — The scoreboard includes the provisional EU road safety fatalities for 2013. Figures on railway victims are very small in comparison, they include injured persons. Fatality figures for maritime and air transport are extremely small and cannot always be attributed to a specific country.

    Transposition of EU law — This scoreboard shows the percentage of EU transport directives for which Member States have notified transposition measures to the Commission by 31 December 2013, even with delays.

    Infringements of EU law — The Commission was dealing with a total of 202 infringement proceedings in the area of transport on 31 December 2013. They are shown separately for each mode of transport (and in addition, cases that are not mode-specific, in particular concerning passenger rights). The Commission may open infringement proceedings if it considers that a Member State does not apply EU law properly. However, only the Court of Justice can rule definitively that a breach of EU law has occurred.

    Research and innovation
— This category, which spans all modes of transport, covers two aspects: private investment in transport research and development (source: FUTRE report) as well as the number of innovative transport companies (from the Community Innovation Survey).

    Logistics — The Logistics Performance Index, developed by the World Bank, is based on six dimensions and rates the relative ease and efficiency with which products can be moved into and inside a country. The scoreboard includes the newest figures which the World Bank officially released at the EU Transport Business Summit on 27 March 2014 (http://lpi.worldbank.org).

The Commission's intention is to refine the indicators further in the years to come, in dialogue with Member States, industry and other stakeholders.

How is each country performing?


Belgium has a high share of electrified railway lines and a port infrastructure that is considered very efficient. It ranks in third position in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index. Belgium has a relatively high number of pending infringement cases.

Bulgaria records high average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars, but performs well from a maritime perspective. Its innovation scores are low, but it is doing well on transposition and infringements.

The Czech Republic is found in the middle of the table for many indicators, with a relatively high number of pending infringement proceedings in air transport and passenger rights.

Denmark receives top scores for a low environmental impact of road transport and ranks amongst the best performers for road safety. Denmark and the Netherlands are the only countries that are not amongst the bottom performers in any category.

Germany tops the World Bank's ranking for logistics (the Logistics Performance Index). It is amongst the top performers in 11 categories including both innovation indicators. However, it is amongst the bottom performers in open infringements in air transport.

In Estonia, competitors in rail passenger transport have a high market share. Estonia is among the bottom performers for the environmental impact of road transport. It has a perfect 100% transposition record.

The railway market in Ireland is closed, with the lowest share of electrified railway lines in the entire EU. However, Ireland records few pending infringement cases.

Greece needs to improve its performance in a number of categories, with a highly regulated (restrictive) market in air passenger transport and no competition in the railway sector. However, it scores highly for the environmental impact of road transport.

Spain's rail and aviation infrastructure is rated highly, and it ranks amongst the top performers for road safety. However, it records a relatively high number of pending infringement cases, especially concerning air transport.

France receives good ratings for its rail and aviation infrastructure. It also records the third highest private investment in transport research and development and a transposition rate of EU transport directives of 100%. However, it is facing a high number of infringement cases concerning rail transport.

Due to its recent accession, Croatia has not been included in all assessment categories. It has a high motorway density, but needs to improve its road safety score.

Italy is among the countries with the highest share of electrified railway lines. It has the lowest transposition rate of EU transport directives and a number of pending infringement cases.

The port infrastructure of Cyprus is rated amongst the best in the EU. Cyprus receives low scores for the environmental impact of road transport.

Latvia faces a challenge concerning the environmental impact of road and rail transport. It has a clean 100% transposition record, but low scores in innovation.

Lithuania's rail market is closed to competition, with a low share of electrified railway lines. Lithuania needs to improve its road safety record. It is amongst the countries with the lowest number of pending infringement cases.

Luxembourg has the highest percentage of electrified railway lines in the EU (95.3%). It has only a few infringement cases pending.

Hungary ranks in the middle of the table for many indicators. However, it receives low ratings for aviation infrastructure and logistics.

Malta does not feature in a number of categories, due to the absence of railways and motorways. It is amongst the top performers for the environmental impact of road transport.

The Netherlands scores highest across the EU for the quality of its port and air transport infrastructure. The Netherlands and Denmark are the only countries without any appearance among the bottom performers in any category. The Netherlands is also runner-up to Germany in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index.

Austria ranks in the middle for most categories, with good scores for innovation and a low level of regulation (few restrictions) in road freight transport.

Poland is among the countries with the biggest market share of competitors in rail passenger transport across the EU. However, its transport infrastructure is rated amongst the least efficient. It also faces challenges in road and railway safety and records a high number of infringement cases about rail transport.

Portugal scores highly for its high percentage of innovative transport companies. It is among the countries with the most pending infringement cases.

Romania has the highest market share of competitors in rail freight transport. However, its rail infrastructure is rated poorly. It has the EU's highest number of road fatalities per million inhabitants.

Slovenia has the EU's highest motorway density and very few pending infringement cases. It also has the highest percentage of innovative transport companies. It is amongst the bottom performers for logistics.

Slovakia is among the countries with the least restrictive regulation of air passenger transport. Its air transport infrastructure however is rated poorly.

The rail market in Finland is closed both for freight and for passenger transport. Its transport infrastructure is rated very highly.

Sweden reports the lowest number of road fatalities per million inhabitants across the EU. Sweden also has a high share of electrified railway lines.

The United Kingdom recorded the second lowest number of road fatalities in 2013. It has the biggest market share of competitors in rail passenger transport across the EU. It is among the countries with the biggest private investment in transport research and development.

EU Transport Scoreboard

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