23/10/2020 (Agence Europe) – On Friday 23 October, the Environment Council formally adopted conclusions calling on the Commission to “swiftly draw up” an emergency plan for European freight transport in case of a pandemic or major crisis. On Wednesday, the Member States’ Ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) gave their approval to adoption of these conclusions – as described in one of our articles at the time (see EUROPE 12587/14). In essence, the Member States expect this plan to ensure that cross-border transport operations are maintained, workers can move freely within the industry and exemptions that have been modified specifically for each means of transport are implemented swiftly. They also want the text to be extended to passenger transport. This initiative by the German Presidency of the Council of the EU was welcomed by Adina Vălean, the Commissioner for Transport (see EUROPE 12577/5). The text adopted by Coreper can be found at: https://bit.ly/31zNpKF (AC)