Brussels, 05/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - German Green Michael Cramer intends to introduce a new working culture in this role as chair of the European Parliament's transport committee. He has been highly active on the committee for the past two European Parliaments and has now replaced another strong character, the fiery British S&D parliamentarian Brian Simpson at the helm.
A career in transport. Cramer already has a long political career behind him devoted to green mobility. A member of the Berlin regional parliament for 15 years, with responsibility for transport policy, he became an MEP in 2004 and has been on the transport committee ever since. His often thundering and impassioned speeches became unmissable on the committee, particularly in his role as spokesman for the Greens. Straight-talking Cramer is happy to criticise the inconsistencies within the single market for transport, such as subsidies, and tackle tricky subjects like mega-lorries head-on. He is also happy to defend lost causes like the bicycle. His thundering tirades are full of humour and he never fails to bring smiles to his colleagues' faces.
Putting his money where his mouth is. Green mobility is a way of life for this 60-year-old, who sold his car 30 years ago and travels by bicycle wherever possible. A former teacher, Cramer has a soft spot for the railways and he travels to the plenary sessions in Strasbourg by train. He was recently elected president of Rail Forum Europe, a group of MEPs working on the future of rail in Europe.
Will his ecological ideas influence the work of the transport committee? He says that climate change has to be reconciled with mobility needs: “We need to change our mobility behaviour to make sure that future generations will also be able to live on this planet”, he told EUROPE, confirming that sustainable transport and tourism will be top of his agenda in all its economic, social and ecological dimensions.
He has also made it clear that it is part of the EU's role to introduce balanced transport legislation, adding: “Prices need to reflect the true cost to the taxpayer and to the environment. We have to put an end to subsidies that benefit some but harm our societies and the environment. And we need to stop business models that are based on social dumping and ignorance of laws!”
Aviation, road transport and investment. Cramer explained: “In Europe, airlines benefit from subsidies worth €30 billion a year, as they are exempt from energy taxes and, on international connections, also from value-added tax. This is very costly, socially unfair and harmful to the environment. On European roads, fair road freight companies barely have a chance because many black sheep do not respect social legislation and limits for driving and rest time. Workers are exploited, tax rules circumvented and road safety undermined. We agree across all political groups that we need to put an end to this”. He added: “Looking at investment, we notice that European governments do invest a lot of money in transport infrastructure - but they often set the wrong priorities. Mega-projects that cost billions of euro and take decades to be realised are often favoured over smaller, more efficient projects. My pledge is: the EU needs to focus on real European added value, namely on re-establishing cross-border connections that have been cut since the Second World War.”
New working culture. The greening that the new TRAN committee chair is looking to impose on the files examined is likely, too, to be apparent in the “new working culture”. In order to boost transparency in the committee's procedures, he has already announced tangible changes, “for instance, by bringing important comitology files to the committee rather than discussing them behind closed doors”. (MD)