Newsletters

On 8 April, the European Commission decided to bring forward the date for awarding grants for transport infrastructure projects supporting military mobility in the European Union, under the Connected Europe Facility (CEF) calls for proposals launched in September 2021.

On 11 April, the European Commission approved, under EU State aid rules, a €47.5 million Spanish scheme to support the digitalisation of freight transport services. The scheme will be funded through the Recovery and Resilience Facility ('RRF'), following the Commission's positive assessment of the Spanish Recovery and Resilience Plan and its adoption by Council.

Rail freight traffic between Finland and Russia will gradually cease after the existing transport contracts of state-controlled company VR Group end, with traffic being still possible for the time being.

On 12 April, the Council adopted legislation to ensure continued supply of medicines to Northern Ireland, and to Cyprus, Ireland and Malta, as part of the Commission's package of measures proposed in October 2021 to facilitate the implementation of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland on the ground. The new directive and regulation will apply retroactively from 1 January 2022.

On 12 April, the WTO and the World Economic Forum launched the publication ‘The promise of TradeTech: Policy approaches to harness trade digitalization’. The publication notes that TradeTech - the set of technologies that enables global trade to become more efficient, inclusive and sustainable - adoption is moving fast, largely driven by the private sector, but leveraging technologies for trade requires more than innovation: trade policy must keep pace.

On 5 April, the European Commission published the spring 2022 edition of the short-term outlook report, which presents a detailed overview of the latest trends and prospects for a range of agri-food sectors.

On 11 April, the WTO Secretariat published the note ‘The Crisis in Ukraine: Implications of the war for global trade and development’, analysing the implications of the war in Ukraine for global trade and development. The war has not only created a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions but has also dealt a severe blow to the global economy, prompting WTO economists to reassess their projections for world trade over the next two years.

The CLECAT Road Logistics Institute met on 20 April to exchange views on developments affecting road transport and logistics at national and EU level. Members discussed the impact of the war in Ukraine on road transport, the practical implementation of the new rules introduced by the Mobility Package I and the political developments related to the Fit for 55 Package.

On 19 April, the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee discussed the amendments tabled on the ReFuelEU Aviation proposal. The Rapporteur on the file, MEP Søren Gade (Renew Europe, Denmark), noted that more than 400 amendments have been tabled by MEPs, with different positions existing under several points, namely the definition of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), feedstocks, scope and the book and claim mechanism. He emphasised that overall, the TRAN report on ReFuelEU Aviation would be more ambitious than the Commission’s proposal.

On 11 April, the European Commission updated the EU Air Safety List, which is the list of airlines that are subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union, because they do not meet international safety standards.