A resolution on the Commission’s new mobility strategy (see EUROPE 12616/12) is currently being prepared in the European Parliament by Ismail Ertug (S&D, Germany). The first draft of the text, published on Monday 22 March, generally advocates strengthening the commitments made by the Commission.
In particular, it calls on the institution to raise its target of putting at least 30 million zero-emission vehicles on the road in the EU by 2030. The same applies to the objective of making regular collective travel of less than 500 km carbon neutral within ten years. Possibilities should also “be offered for journeys of up to 1,000 km”, the MEP says on this last point.
Fuels. Ertug also plans to call for binding measures on the deployment of recharging infrastructure for alternative fuels. He would even like to see the directive on the subject transformed into a regulation.
The Commission, in its strategy, has committed to present this year a proposal to revise this directive adopted in 2014, the implementation of which remains incomplete (see EUROPE 12674/20).
“The main problem is still - and all automotive stakeholders tell us that - that there is not enough infrastructure, especially public charging points and hydrogen refuelling stations”, Mr Ertug commented, saying it was “of utmost importance” that this issue be addressed in the review. This position is defended as well by Italian MEP Patrizia Toia, also an S&D member, in the draft opinion she has drawn up for the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE).
Another initiative called for by Mr Ertug and supported by Ms Toia is the phasing-out of “direct and indirect fossil fuel subsidies by 2022 in the Union and in each Member State”. This is an issue that has already been fiercely defended by the Socialists, who at the time had come up against outright opposition by other political groups (see EUROPE 12663/14).
Workers. Anticipating possible negative consequences of the shift to sustainable mobility for travellers, the rapporteur also calls for a dedicated strategy. Or, more precisely, a “strategy for re- and upskilling as well as the redeployment of workers”.
The rapporteur also called for social dialogue to be strengthened in order to eliminate any form of unequal treatment in the transport sector. The Commission, for its part, had mentioned the need to make the profession more attractive to women.
It is likely that Mr Ertug will have to drop some of his demands in the forthcoming negotiations between the political groups on this text, as many in the Committee on Transport had already considered the Commission’s strategy to be too ambitious in many respects (see EUROPE 12644/12).
To consult the draft report: https://bit.ly/31rr0Ph and the draft opinion of the ITRE Committee: https://bit.ly/3dghS5l (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)