Background

Motorways of the Sea are an initiative for better intermodal freight options, relying on integration of short sea shipping into the transport logistics.

The Trans-European transport Network (TEN-T) Guidelines proposed a network of 4 Motorways of the Sea and fixed three main objectives for these motorways:

• freight flow concentration on sea-based logistical routes
• increasing cohesion
• reducing road congestion through modal shift

The High Level Group on the “extension of the major trans-European transport axes” to the neighbouring countries was established in September 2004. The mandate is to make proposals for better connecting the European Union with the neighbouring countries.

Motorways of the Sea axis