CLECAT INSTITUTES IN BRUSSELS
In conjunction with its General Assembly, CLECAT held this week various Institutes meetings. Among other topics, members took stock of the results of the European elections and its implications for freight transport policies.
On Monday 17 June, members of the CLECAT Road Logistics Institute met to exchange views on developments affecting road transport and logistics at national and EU level. Members discussed the outcome of the European elections and its implications for the current and upcoming legislative files, namely the revision of the Weights & dimensions Directive, the Driving Licences Directive, the Combined Transport Directive and the “Greening Corporate Fleets” initiative. Members also received a presentation from FreightSafe, a UK-based company working on the development of a shared-economy truck parking and charging network in Europe. Finally, members received an update on the development of the EU-funded SSTPA study and were invited to collect and share their views about the needs and requirements of truck parking areas.
On Tuesday 18 June, members of the Supply Chain Security Institute convened to discuss updates on the ongoing Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas (SSTPAs) study, which is expected to be finalised by Q4 2024. The Secretariat provided updates on ICS2 Releases 2 and 3, including insights from recent meetings with the European Commission and on its ongoing efforts to raise awareness about ICS2 Release 3 within the freight forwarding community.
Finally, members of the CLECAT Maritime Logistics Institute met on Wednesday 19 June to discuss the latest developments regarding maritime freight transport, notably the impacts of the Red Sea crisis, and the implementation of ICS2 Release 3 for maritime transport. Members received a presentation from CONEX on their IT solutions dedicated to ENS filings for ICS2 and exchanged on the ongoing preparations to the launch of Release 3 from maritime house filers effective from 4 December. Members also discussed the recent developments related to ETS surcharges and Detention & demurrage fees, for which the FMC Final Rule imposing new D&D billing requirements entered into force last month. CLECAT continues to call for more transparency in the imposition of fees and surcharges in maritime transport, to ensure that such fees only cover extra costs incurred and do not constitute a revenue model for carriers.