Transport sector coalition calls for more EU budget for transport

For rail freight, a renewed and expanded Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) will be of crucial importance to enable an increase of volumes by 50 per cent by 2030 and doubled volumes by 2050, two goals set out in the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA) said in a release.

As stakeholders and policymakers gathered in Brussels at the Connecting Europe Days from April 2 to 4, European transport organisations said a robust instrument like the CEF is much needed for Europe to deliver on its ambitions.

The transport sector is of strategic importance in responding to Europe’s environmental, geostrategic, and capacity challenges. Only with a strong transport at its core will Europe be able to reach its climate and resilience goals and safeguard its supply chain sovereignty, the ERFA release noted.

A renewed and expanded CEF will play a key role in helping to complete the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), solve bottlenecks on the European Transport Corridors and expand key infrastructure parameters for freight trains as recently agreed in the European Parliament.

Maintaining the CEF with an extended budget should be a priority of decision-makers in the next EU financial negotiations, the associations feel.

“CEF is of crucial importance to facilitate cross-border traffic, a key point for rail freight as more than half of the trains cross at least one internal EU border. Extending CEF budget for key priorities such as ERTMS on-board deployment, whilst ensuring funding is available to small and medium railway undertakings, is fundamental for enabling modal shift," ERFA secretary general Conor Feighan said.

The Airports Council International (ACI) called for a particular focus on airports and the broader air transport sector.

“Greater EU financing is a prerequisite for the sector’s ability to decarbonise by 2050. There is no escaping that transport modes incurring harder-to-abate emissions, such as aviation, do require more policy and financial support commensurate to the challenge they face. While ACI EUROPE joins the wider transport sector’s call for more EU budget for transport, we believe that there should also be a fairer allocation of the funds amongst different transport modes,” noted ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec in a release.

According to the independent study from the consultancies SEO Amsterdam Economics (SEO) and the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) commissioned by the DESTINATION 2050 alliance, fully decarbonising air transport by 2050 will require funding in excess of €820 billion (~$890.71 billion).

Europe’s airports did not benefit from the same level of support during the COVID-19 crisis at national level compared to other stakeholders. As a result, they had no choice but to pile on debt, which still remains close to €40 billion (~$43.44 billion) higher than pre-pandemic levels.

This has led to a significant reduction in capital expenditure, with airports investments reduced by €27 billion (~$29.32 billion) compared to plans over 2022-2024, the ACI release added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)