For an environmentally-friendly and socially acceptable transport policy

In view of the avalanche of lorries on European roads and mountain valleys, the signatory organisations

• note that the impact of transport has clearly gone beyond a non-harmful level. This applies to big transit roads and mountain areas;

• note that the transfer of freight traffic from road to rail, announced following the Mont Blanc and Gotthard tragedies has not yet been implemented;

• note that an increase in traffic increases the risk and the number of serious accidents and think for these reasons that additional roads cannot be the solution;

• denounce the endless growth of freight traffic, in particular where its only objective is to cut production costs (relocation);

• recall the Mountain manifesto 2001, signed by 126 organisations, launched after the accident of the Gotthard tunnel and submitted to the ministers of the Alpine countries on 30 November 2001 (“group of Zurich”);

• recall that, in accordance with ratification of the Alpine Convention, the European Union and the Alpine countries are legally obliged to reduce the volume and danger of inter-Alpine and transalpine traffic to a to a level which is not harmful to humans, animals, plants and their habitat.

For these reasons, the signatory organisations:

• demand a real transfer of freight transport from road to rail and waterways through better use of existing railways the development of maritime transport to limit lorry traffic;

• demand that true costs are paid by all transport modes, by introducing a per-kilometre charge for lorries, which incorporates external costs and in turn will reduce unnecessary transport and empty trips;

• demand the strict application of existing regulations: driving time, loading, speed, pollution limits…;

• demand the introduction of a night ban for lorries in all mountain valleys;

• oppose the construction of new road tunnels (including the twinning of existing tunnels) on international transit routes;

• demand the introduction of a crossing exchange for lorries through mountain regions ( www.alpine-crossing-exchange.ch )

• denounce the working conditions and in particular the hours for lorry drivers and call for a drastic improvement of the respective legislation and a plan to eradicate social dumping in transport;

And, in view of the above point, demand:

• an international debate on transport policy in which citizens can participate and the adoption of a package of strict and harmonised European measures, in particular for sensitive regions;

• the immediate creation of an international working group, composed not only of representatives of all transport ministries (“group of Zurich”), but also of ministries of health and the environment of the countries concerned, as well as representatives of the General Directorates Transport and Environment of the European Commission and a collective of organisations having signed this manifesto. This group is to define the measures which are to be taken to implement the points of this manifesto. These must be adopted in a legally binding form by the authorities concerned.

launched on 28 July 2005 at the foot of the Mont Blanc by

CH - Switzerland Iniziativa da las Alps, F – France ABS – Association du Bassin de Servoz, ARSMB - Association pour la protection du Site du Mont Blanc, Association citoyenne de Passy, Mountain Wilderness France, Réagir ! I – Italy ADMB – Associazione Difesa Monte Bianco, CIPRA Italia, Legambiente Italia

signed by several thousand indivduals of the Mont Blanc valley

Sign Manifesto