Newsletters

On 9 March, CLECAT spoke at the REIF Project (INTERREG Central Europe action for the increase of the modal share of rail freight transport) Transfer Conference, which aimed at setting the wider international scenario on the situation of Combined Transport in Europe, with specific focus on rail.

On 7 March, the European Commission opened the public consultation on the revision of the Combined Transport Directive, which will remain open until 5 May. The public consultation will contribute to the Commission’s work on the impact assessment for the revision of Combined Transport Directive, which aims at gathering stakeholders’ views on the barriers to the intermodal/multimodal transport and how its uptake could be improved.

MEPs Tom Berendsen and Annie Schreijer-Pierik (EPP, the Netherlands) issued a new set of questions to the Commission on the extremely high container prices and the impact on consumer prices. The MEPs note that the sharply rising container prices have had a knock-on effect on consumer prices, referring to recent Eurostat figures in the Eurozone.

n 3 March, the French Truck Etape Béziers parking facility was voted European Truck Parking of the Year 2022 by ESPORG’s international jury, composed of representatives of leading road transport stakeholders and governmental and non-governmental institutions and bodies, including CLECAT. Next to the excellent security standard offered, the jury commended in particular the completeness and excellence of the winner’s service offer to drivers and attention to the smallest details, including environment, health, recreation, affordability, and indeed individual care to every single driver.

In view of the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, the European Union imposed an unprecedented number of sanctions against the Russian Federation, in addition to the Russian embargos in place since 2014.

The EP’s Transport and Tourism Committee adopted on 3 March a recommendation for second reading on revised rules for the use of hired vehicles for goods transport, by 40 votes in favour, 4 against and 4 abstentions. The TRAN Committee therefore approved the Council position at first reading and calls on the EP Plenary to formally adopt the revised Directive.

The European Commission has published this week a set of Questions and Answers on the rules of cabotage under Regulation (EC) 1072/2009. The Q&A covers the new rules on cabotage introduced by Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 which entered into force on 21st February 2022.

On 1st March, US President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union speech new steps to address the anti-competitive behaviour of ocean carriers. The measures which aim at lowering rates and levelling the playing field in ocean shipping were published in a White House briefing on 28 February.

On 3 March, CLECAT submitted its position paper in response to the call for evidence on the EU toolbox against counterfeiting, expressing its support of the Commission’s intention to set up an EU toolbox to step up the fight against counterfeiting. CLECAT welcomes the introduction of an EU Toolbox based on reported practices and principles developed in the context of various industry-led initiatives.