Conveying a transversal and complementary vision of transports and logistics in the Mediterranean

The approach of transports according to a multimodal and complementarity logic remains under-developed in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Countries (SEMC) but also in South/South exchanges. Today, in the Mediterranean region maritime transport accounts for more than 95% of exchanges of goods. Other transport modes play a minor role: road freight accounts for 4% of exchanges, while air and rail transports account for less than 1% in overall exchanges. As regards national transport in SEMC, goods are mainly transported by road. The same observation can be made for passenger flows.

As for intra and intercity transports, several observations call for a true reflection on the implementation of a sustainable urban mobility:
- fast growth of motorisation rate with consequences on the environment and public health;
- poor offer of quality public transports;
- insufficient spatial cover, etc.

These challenges call for the development of an adapted, efficient, safe, reliable and cheap transport system in the Mediterranean region, as a prior condition to any regional integration and to the prosperity of the concerned spaces.