On Tuesday 3 May, MEPs debated the draft resolution on the impact of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine on the EU’s transport and tourism sectors. The final vote on the text is scheduled for Thursday 5 May.
“European transport, already subject to the consequences of the pandemic, is suffering the consequences of the war in Ukraine. We must react quickly to help the sector and maintain mobility”, said Marian-Jean Marinescu (EPP, Romania).
To this end, the MEP called for an increase in the budget for military mobility through the Connecting Europe Facility, while regretting that “these funds have been cut” in the past.
In addition, the issue of energy dependency was also raised by some members of the Parliament.
“We need to end dependence and prepare for the storage of gas and oil, especially for the winter”, insisted José Ramón Bauzá Díaz (Renew Europe, Spain), suggesting that part of the solution to this problem could be found in Spain, “which has unique storage capacities”.
Also regarding energy dependency, Petar Vitanov (S&D, Bulgaria) called for “showing solidarity of Member States with workers in the sector”, through “proactive measures” and “direct support measures”.
For others, like Ciarán Cuffe (Greens/EFA, Ireland), the priority is to “rebuild Ukraine and its infrastructure”, where the amount of destroyed infrastructure is already “in the billions of euros”.
“The transport sector must remain intact and functioning. We can rebuild and keep the channels open with the EU. The Commission and the Member States must come up with a Marshall Plan, bring in renewable energy and fuels and eliminate dependency”, he said.
For its part, the Commission also stressed the solidarity shown in the transport sector since the beginning of the war and called for more to be done.
“We have applied maximum flexibility on road transport with the abolition of tolls and the simplification of border controls. But we need to help even more, with special lanes for lorries, for example”, said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.
Furthermore, she recalled that negotiations should be conducted “as quickly as possible” with Ukraine and Moldova, in order to reach agreements on the transport of goods between the EU and these two countries (see EUROPE 12927/5).
As a reminder, the mandate requested by the Commission from the EU Council on 6 April aims, in the context of traditional transport routes being closed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to allow Ukrainian, Moldovan and European carriers to transit and operate between their respective territories “in a flexible manner”. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)