On the evening of Monday 3 October, members of the European Parliament Committee on Transport (TRAN) adopted the report by Ismail Ertug (S&D, German) on the future regulation for alternative fuels infrastructure (36 votes in favour, 2 against, 6 abstentions) (see EUROPE 12964/2).
“The position of the European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism contains undeniable progress compared to the position of the European Commission, especially with regard to electric charging points for road transport”, commented TRAN Committee Chair Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, French).
In concrete terms, the report sets minimum targets for the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure. For example, charging points for electric vehicles will be deployed and these should be no more than 60 km apart by 2026.
For heavy goods vehicles and other buses, similar requirements will be put in place, except that the obligations will cover the core Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) by 2026.
In addition, Member States will also have to present an action plan for the deployment of infrastructure by 2024.
Changes have also been made for hydrogen refuelling. On this point, the report wants to reduce the maximum distance between two stations to 100 km, as opposed to 150 km in the Commission’s initial proposal. Similarly, the deadlines have been revised and these targets should be met by 2028 instead of 2031.
The text also provides for exceptions to be made for low-traffic roads or for some individual charging points to be operational for both directions of traffic.
The report on alternative fuels infrastructure also looks at the maritime and aviation sectors. Concerning the maritime sector, the text specifies that only ships with a gross tonnage of more than 5,000 tonnes will be covered by the text for the calculation of the obligations regarding electricity at berth. The Commission is expected to look into the matter to review this threshold.
For air transport, commercial aircraft will have to be connected to the electricity grid at all gates from 2025 at airports and on the runway from 2030. There is an exemption from this obligation for short-term parking.
The European Parliament will vote on the text at its next plenary session, starting on 17 October, with a view to adopting a common position and starting negotiations with the EU Council. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)