All news & events

On 22 October, the ICAO High-level Conference on COVID-19 completed a comprehensive review of pandemic-driven priorities for global air transport. In a new Declaration, ICAO formalised its commitments on border risk management and vaccination approaches, building air transport back better for sustainability and future pandemic resilience, as well as other key priorities aimed at accelerating air tourism and trade recovery.

On 27 October, the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee held a public debate on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the global development strategy adopted by the Chinese government, involving infrastructure development and investments.

On 26 October, negotiators from the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on revised rules for the use of hired vehicles for goods transport. The revision was proposed by the Commission in 2017 as part of the Mobility Package I and is aimed at clarifying the current rules, harmonising the legal framework and easing the restrictions on the use of such vehicles.

The UK Government has decided to allow non-UK operators temporary extra cabotage rights from 28 October until 30 April 2022. The relaxation of the rules were announced in the final report on the results of the public consultation on the temporary extension to road haulage cabotage. The measures are aimed at temporarily alleviating pressures in the UK supply chain associated with the current shortage in HGV drivers.

The IMO’s Intersessional Working Group on reduction of GHG emissions from ships which met last week considered various proposals for mid-term measures to reduce GHG emissions, including a number of submissions related to potential market-based measures. In line with the Work plan on the development of mid- and long-term measures agreed last June by the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC), the proposals tabled present the main features and implications of these measures as follows

CLECAT’s Freight Forwarders Forum entitled ‘building sustainable and resilient supply chains’ will take place on 25 November in Brussels in a hybrid format. Registration is possible on the CLECAT website.

CLECAT has been accepted to the EU Domestic Advisory Group (DAG), under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The EU DAG will be advising the European Commission on the implementation of the whole trade agreement and will work in close cooperation with its counterpart on the UK side. Participation in the EU DAG will allow CLECAT and its members to take part in discussions on the progress made in implementing the agreement and provide views or recommendations to DG TRADE regarding issues related to, among others, transport, customs cooperation and trade facilitation.

On 12 October, the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties (LIBE) Committee endorsed its report on the proposal for a Directive on the Resilience of Critical Entities (CER Directive), introducing new rules to better protect essential services including transport, energy and drinking water.