MEPs on the European Parliament’s Transport Committee (TRAN) discussed the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure in the EU on Wednesday 1 December. The development of the latter is part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, presented by the European Commission on 14 July, which should enable a 55% reduction in net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 (see EUROPE 12843/12).
While almost all MEPs welcomed the European Commission’s proposal, a number of questions were raised during the speeches.
The deployment of charging points for electric vehicles was a major topic of discussion. In this respect, some, such as Jens Gieseke (EPP, Germany), stressed the differences between Member States.
“The Commission has been ambitious, but the deployment of infrastructure is very slow. About 80% of the terminals are currently located in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden. More needs to be done to achieve our goals”, he said.
In addition, the question of the criteria for the installation of charging stations also came up in the discussions. While the European Commission is proposing that charging facilities should not be more than 60 kilometres away, some are calling for a rethink of these criteria.
“Distance-based installation makes much less sense than a criterion based on population density”, said Caroline Nagtegaal (Renew Europe, Netherlands), echoing the words of other MEPs.
Furthermore, the notion of interoperability also came up several times during the TRAN Committee session.
“I have technical questions. Regarding interoperability, if someone does not own a Tesla, for example, they should still be able to access those terminals”, said Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France).
The French MEP also called for the life cycle of charging stations to be taken into account, while also including public transport in the discussion.
“If we make terminals that are not used, it is pointless”, she insisted. This view was shared by another French MEP, Dominique Riquet (Renew Europe), who spoke a few minutes before Ms Delli.
Beyond electric vehicles, some MEPs also highlighted that a lot of work needed be done in the maritime and aviation fields, where the European Commission also plans to provide alternative fuels and energies (see EUROPE 12762/1).
Finally, several members of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee regretted that the European Commission’s proposal does not take the railway sector into account.
“It is a real pity: there are still many trains in the EU that run on diesel”, concluded Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg (Greens/EFA, Germany) on this point. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)