On Tuesday 14 December, the European Commission presented a package of four proposals in the field of transport aimed at contributing to the development of “efficient and green” mobility and fostering the equitable transition to climate neutrality.
“Europe’s green and digital transition will lead to major changes in the way we travel. Today’s proposals put European mobility on the path to a sustainable future”, said European Commission Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans.
“The revolution will be social or it will not be. It won’t be easy, but we have to make sure that no one is left by the wayside”, he added.
In detail, the Commission intends first to tackle the completion of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). For example, in order to encourage a modal shift to rail, the Commission proposes to require passenger trains to run at a speed of at least 160 km/h on the main TEN-T lines by 2040. Freight trains would be set at 100 km/h.
The number of transhipment terminals should be increased and nine new transport corridors, integrating rail, road and inland waterways, would be created, including a new connection between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and the extension of the high-speed rail (HSR) network to the north and south of the EU.
In addition, an intermediate deadline of 2040 is also set for the completion of important parts of the TEN-T that cannot wait until 2050, such as the rail links between Budapest and Bucharest or between Oporto and Vigo.
“We want to make travel in the EU more efficient and safer for drivers, passengers and businesses. Cities connected by the EU’s infrastructure are our economic engines, but they must also be lighter cities for residents and commuters”, stressed Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean.
Simplifying long-distance and cross-border rail transport
The Commission also presented its action plan on long-distance and cross-border rail transport. The roadmap is designed to meet the EU’s targets of doubling high-speed rail traffic by 2030 and tripling it by 2050.
Noting that only 7% of rail kilometres travelled by passengers between 2001 and 2018 were cross-border, the Commission wants to encourage the use of rail by removing existing barriers for passengers.
For example, a legislative proposal will be made in 2022 to develop multimodal and “user-friendly” ticketing systems. In the same vein, the Commission’s proposal aims to make the train more attractive by supporting passengers facing disruptions and by working on the issue of prices. In this respect, the Commission has undertaken to consider a Europe-wide exemption from VAT for train tickets.
Finally, the regulatory structure will also be simplified by repealing redundant technical and operational rules in the Member States and the EU.
Beyond rail transport, the Commission also presented its strategy to adapt to the emergence of new means of road safety, mobility applications or connected mobility.
In order to stimulate the deployment of new intelligent services, the Commission has announced its intention to revise the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Directive (2010/40/EU), which introduced common standards and specifications for interoperable and intelligent ITS services.
A sustainable mobility plan for the EU’s major cities
Finally, the fourth pillar of this mobility package is urban mobility. In this area, the focus will be on public transport, walking and cycling. A recommendation will be proposed to EU Member States to draw up national plans to help cities develop a mobility plan, the Commission announced.
The obligation to submit a mobility plan will affect some 424 major cities along the TEN-T. “Almost 70% of Europeans live in cities and generate more than 20% of emissions in the transport sector”, Timmermans summarised.
Still on the subject of urban mobility, the Commission’s proposal also wants to push Member States to reflect on an urban mobility strategy for logistics.
“We know that deliveries have increased, so this means more pollution. We need to think about sustainable logistics and data sharing among stakeholders”, Vălean insisted.
All this will have a cost. So far, the Commissioner for Transport has announced that an additional €247 billion will be needed. “€467 billion in GDP, new jobs and reduced costs through lower emissions and less traffic congestion”, she said.
“Some sectors will flourish and generate jobs, others will lose them. There will be no automatic transfer of jobs from one sector to another for the unemployed. The sectoral and regional dimension will have to be taken into account”, concluded the Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)