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At the first European Logistics Platform (ELP) Forum under the new term of the European Parliament, over 80 EU policymakers and industry stakeholders gathered at the Residence Palace in Brussels to discuss the evolving challenges facing the logistics sector. The forum covered key topics like digital transformation, energy transition, sustainability, infrastructure, and skills development, whilst also exploring ways to build a resilient and sustainable future for European logistics.

In her keynote, Magda Kopczyńska, Director General of DG MOVE, outlined the European Commission’s vision for transport and logistics, with a strong focus on the European Green Deal, industrial transformation, and funding mechanisms. She stressed the importance of public-private collaboration, especially through the ETS Social Fund, urging stakeholders to push national governments to use the fund to ease the transition to cleaner trucks and technologies. She also referred to the Draghi Report, welcoming its recognition of transport as a vital sector, but noted that the transition to sustainable transport still requires significant attention.

The first panel, featuring MEP Prof. Dr. Andrea Wechsler, Katharina Tomoff (SVP ESG at DHL), and Sophie Punte (Founder of Life-Links), focused on sustainability, innovation, and regulatory flexibility. The panelists agreed on the industry's responsibility to drive decarbonization and focus on priorities. Ms Tomoff highlighted the role of bridging technologies like HVO100, biogases, and hydrogen for immediate emissions reductions while work continues to zero-emission solutions. MEP Wechsler echoed the Draghi Report’s concerns about EU overregulation, stressing the urgency of supporting private investment and innovation.  Ms Punte, representing the NGO perspective, called for proactive decarbonization efforts, advocating for using supply chain resilience to push these efforts forward, particularly in developing countries.

The second panel, which included Szymon Oscislowski (DG MOVE), Paul Walter (Port of Rotterdam), Dr. Frederik Zohm (MAN Truck & Bus), and Claudia Stuckmann-Invernizzi (Neste Corporation), examined challenges such as sustainability, digitalization, and the role of public-private partnerships. Mr Oscislowski highlighted the European Green Deal as a regulatory foundation for investment and the importance of coordinated implementation of the eFTI Regulation. Ms Stuckmann-Invernizzi called for clear political frameworks to support energy transition projects, emphasizing the need for clearer guidelines, especially in the aviation sector. Mr Zohm raised concerns about the ability to develop hydrogen, electric, and e-fuel infrastructure simultaneously, and stressed the need for customer incentives to support sustainable transport.  Mr Walter focused on digitalization’s role in decarbonization, highlighting the Port of Rotterdam’s efforts to use AI and data-sharing to optimize logistics operations.  Throughout the discussions, speakers reinforced the importance of collaboration between governments, industries, and academia to accelerate innovation in digitalization, AI, and energy transition.