On Monday 27 September, MEPs on the Committee on Transport debated the impact of the ‘Fit for 55’ package presented by the European Commission on 14 July. This package of proposals should lead to a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 in the European Union (see EUROPE 12762/1).
While a large majority of political groupings recognised the urgency of the climate change issue and the challenges ahead, MEPs also expressed their concerns over several issues. Starting with the issue of charging points for electric vehicles.
On this point, the Commission intends to deploy a network across the EU in which charging stations could be no more than 60 kilometres apart.
“The situation is different in each Member State, due to population density or geographical constraints. How could this be taken into account?”, asked Johan Danielsson (S&D, Sweden).
The European Commissioner for Transport, Adina Vălean, who was answering MEPs, remained discreet on the subject. This issue was also raised by Member States on 23 September at an informal meeting of EU Transport Ministers in Brdo pri Kranju (see EUROPE 12797/3).
“Every proposal is about flexibility. What we are proposing is a minimum so that people don’t have to worry about finding infrastructure when they drive through the EU”, she said in Slovenia.
Furthermore, as hydrogen is an integral part of the European Commission’s plan to achieve the objectives set, some MEPs also recalled their attachment to the principles of technological neutrality and sovereignty.
“Europe is in the process of replacing its dependence on oil exporting countries with a dependence on countries that control the extraction and refining of raw materials. Europe is stronger when innovation is not restricted by regulation. We must keep this in mind”, commented Barbara Thaler (EPP, Austria).
Fears for airline competitiveness
In addition to the road transport issue, the attention of the MEPs was also largely focused on the air sector. In particular, some MEPs are concerned that limitations on CO 2 emissions trading will harm European airlines (see EUROPE 12764/10).
“This will mean higher costs for the companies, affect their competitiveness and potentially affect the mobility of our citizens”, said José Ramón Bauzá Díaz (Renew Europe, Spain).
“I insist on competitiveness. We must be able to move freely, provided we have the means”, agreed Benoit Lutgen (EPP, Belgium).
Other MEPs said that the Commission lacked ambition regarding the 5% target for alternative fuels used by airlines by 2030. At present, the share of these fuels is 0.05%.
“Having goals is a good thing. But according to your own assessment, an 8% share could be achieved by 2030. Why settle for 5%? “, asked Johan Danielsson.
“If we opt for over-ambitious targets, this may have a negative impact on the competitiveness of companies. If some airports or airlines want to go beyond the targets set, that is possible”, Ms Vălean retorted. “Despite the costs, ticket prices should not increase by more than 0.8%”, she estimated.
The maritime sector was also the subject of several comments. In particular, the European Commissioner reiterated its call to shipowners to reduce the carbon intensity of ships and to base the electrification of ports on existing infrastructure.
Finally, Ms Vălean also stressed the importance of investments to achieve the objectives. “We have estimated that we would need more than €100 billion per year for energy and transport between 2021 and 2030, in addition to what is needed to implement the programmes advocated for at national levels”, she said. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)