All news & events

On 6 July, the European Commission proposed a Council Regulation enabling the Commission to exempt from prior notification under EU State aid rules certain types of aid for rail, inland waterway and multimodal transport, with the objective of promoting green transport.

On 5 July, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, Valdis Dombrovskis signed an agreement on behalf of the EU, allowing the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to provide working capital loans to Ukrainian Railways and Farmak, amounting, respectively, to €50 million and €20 million. This forms part of the Commission's ongoing support to international financial institutions enabling them to finance companies providing essential services in Ukraine.

On 28 June, CLECAT participated in a panel discussion on safety, security and regulatory issues in Europe at The International Air Cargo Association’s (TIACA) Regional Symposium Europe, highlighting the freight forwarding industry’s views on the current legislative framework, as well as the challenges ahead.

On 7 July, the European Parliament unanimously adopted its position on the proposal setting out allowing Ukrainian citizens residing in the EU under the temporary protection regime to continue to use their Ukrainian driving licence without needing to exchange it for an EU driving licence or to sit a new driving test.

On 7 July, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) published data for global air cargo markets in 2022, showing that the easing of the COVID-19 Omicron restrictions in China helped to alleviate supply chain constraints and contributed to a performance improvement in May.

On 7 July, the European Parliament’s plenary adopted its position on ReFuel EU Aviation, a legislative proposal enshrining rules to increase the uptake of sustainable fuels in order to cut emissions from aviation and ensure Europe becomes climate neutral by 2050. Following this adoption, trilogues can start.

The Loadstar recently reported on the latest edition of project44’s Ocean Carrier Report, concluding that ocean carriers are resorting to more aggressive blanking strategies to manage a dip in demand and decreasing freight spot rates.

On 6 July, the European Commission published a call for evidence concerning an amendment to the proposed guidelines for the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) network in light of the war in Ukraine.

The Czech Republic officially took the reins of the Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1st July. The Presidency’s motto “Europe as a Task: Rethink, Rebuild, Repower” will drive the agenda of the Czech government at EU level for the next six months as also detailed in the Presidency’s work programme.

On 6 July, CLECAT & DG TAXUD held a joint workshop on the new Import Control System 2.0 (ICS2), organised to support freight forwarders to prepare for the new EU customs advance cargo information system. More than 170 participants joined the event in Brussels and online and actively exchanged directly with the Commission on various aspects of the upcoming requirements and processes, and issues encountered during companies’ ongoing preparations.