On Wednesday 16 October, the European Rail Supply Industry Association (UNIFE) presented a plan to finance the next boom in European rail and equalise transport conditions between air and rail. UNIFE is also calling for more private funding and sustainable financial instruments to implement the recommendations of the ‘Draghi’ and ‘Letta’ reports on competitiveness and the future of the internal market.
As part of this plan, the next iteration of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) (see EUROPE 13498/4) - from which some EU flights are still exempt - should focus on redirecting the funds collected towards sustainable forms of transport, such as inter-city rail lines, metros and tram networks. These forms of sustainable transport should be financed as a priority by the Member States and the European Commission under the Social Climate Fund (SCF) and other revenues associated with the ETS.
In addition, UNIFE states that reforming the Energy Taxation Directive would allow fair competition between air and rail passenger services, as kerosene based jet fuel is currently exempt (see EUROPE 13481/4).
To read UNIFE’s priorities: https://aeur.eu/f/dwr (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)