Transport Infrastructure Regional Study (TIRS) in the Balkans

The Transport Infrastructure Regional Study in the Balkans, commonly referred to as the TIRS study, has been undertaken in the context of the Stability Pact. The French Government, through the "Agence française de développement" (AFD), provided the grant resources, ECMT being responsible for the supervision of the work.

The full terms of reference for the study, published in December 2000, have been established by the European Investment Bank (BEI), the European Commission and the ECMT.

The French consulting firm, Louis Berger S.A., carried out the work from March 2001 to January 2002. A Steering Group, chaired by ECMT, supervised the conduct of the project.

The final report of the study as well as Main Political Messages and Executive Summary were submitted at the Bucharest session of the Council of ECMT Ministers of Transport.

The TIRS study is only the first phase of a body of work that will be undertaken over a period of several years. The second phase has been launched under the auspices of the European Commission. In this phase, a new study entitled REBIS Transport (Regional Balkan Infrastructure Study-Transport), for which a contract was signed on 27 May 2002, has been realised by COWI and completed in 2003.

Further information on Transport in South East Europe.