October 28 (SeeNews) - Poor infrastructure, slow shipments and a small share of renewable energy in transport fuel consumption are the main problems facing the transport sector in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia, the European Commission said.
Romania has the most underdeveloped road, port and railroad infrastructure of all EU member states, the Commission said in a press release on Thursday upon the release of the EU Transport Scorecard, a benchmark which compares how the member states perform in different aspects of transport.
The number of road fatalities per capita is highlighted by the Commission as a problem in all four countries, with Bulgaria having the highest number of all EU member-states.
The employment share in high growth enterprises in transport in Croatia and Romania remains low, which is an indication of slower growth in the sector, according to the document.
Despite the high number of problematic indicators, the European Commission notes the low number of open infringement procedures related to EU transport law against the four countries, as well as their overall good rate of transposition of transport related directives. Bulgaria and Romania in particular are singled out as having one of the most open to competition rail freight markets.
The Commission also notes the high number of charging points for electric vehicles in Slovenia, even though the number of new cars using alternative fuels is relatively low.