In their written questions ahead of the hearings of the Commissioners-designate, MEPs will be asking Apostolos Tzitzikostas about the competitiveness of the transport sector, according to a draft set of questions obtained by Agence Europe on Monday 30 September (see EUROPE 13484/1).
According to Ursula von der Leyen’s mission letter, the European Commissioner-designate for Sustainable Transport and Tourism is to present to Parliament his strategy for “making European transport more competitive, more sustainable and more resistant to future shocks”. It also mentions the duty to “ensure that transport is safe, accessible and affordable for all EU citizens”.
First of all, the MEPs on the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) will be asking Mr Tzitzikostas what concrete legislation he envisages to accomplish his task, and within what timeframe. They will also ask: “What are in your view the most pressing challenges and how do you intend to address them?”.
They will then question him on the measures he is thinking of to ensure that the EU achieves its climate objectives, both in terms of implementing and/or adapting current legislation and proposing new legislation. MEPs are insisting on a level playing field for European transport companies, a competitive European transport sector and high-quality, attractive jobs in Europe.
Bearing in mind the Draghi report (see EUROPE 13478/1), MEPs will ask Mr Tzitzikostas what measures he intends to take to achieve modal shift and multimodality targets, for both passengers and freight, in line with the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. They also want to know what the Commissioner-designate will do to improve the efficiency of rail and inland waterway transport and multimodality, and within what timescale.
In addition, MEPs will want to know how the implementation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) will be financed, and how the European Commission can stimulate public-private partnerships.
Finally, they will ask how he intends to promote a resilient, sustainable and competitive tourism sector, in line with the 2030 Agenda and the Palma Declaration, while ensuring economic growth and better management of tourism flows in line with the needs of local communities (see EUROPE 13080/13, 13282/16).
To read the project: https://aeur.eu/f/dnk (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)