All news & events

On 16 May, the European Commission approved a €1.8 million Spanish scheme to support private rail freight companies in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State Aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted by the Commission on 23 March 2022, based on Article 107(3)(b) TFEU, recognising that the EU economy is experiencing a serious disturbance. Under the scheme, the aid will take form of direct grants.

On 19 May, the European Commission decided to send a reasoned opinion to Sweden regarding its failure to notify the Commission of transposition measures for the rail interoperability and rail safety rules as set out in Directive (EU) 2016/797 and Directive (EU) 2016/798.

On 24 May, the Council adopted a regulation allowing for temporary trade liberalisation and other trade concessions on certain products originating in Ukraine.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has launched a new WTO data portal to provide easy access to key databases offering trade statistics and information on WTO members’ trade-related measures. The new portal allows users to navigate a wide range of WTO databases covering trade in goods, services, dispute settlement, environmental measures, trade-related intellectual property rights and more.

On 16 May, the EU and the US held the second Ministerial Meeting of the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Paris and reaffirmed their close cooperation to address global trade and technology challenges in line with their shared commitment to democracy, freedom and human rights. The EU and the US expressed strong shared commitment to supporting Ukraine against Russian military aggression and agreed on concrete measures already delivered and to be further continued within the TTC.

On 20 May, CLECAT participated in an event organised by the French Presidency in Paris, to discuss social rights, technological challenges, and environmental issues in road transport. Speakers from the institutions and the sector emphasised that a proper enforcement and implementation of the new rules on road transport introduced by the First Mobility Package were essential to ensure a fairer single market and improved social rights for drivers.

On 13 May, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the revision of measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (NIS2), to further improve the resilience and incident response capacities of both the public and private sector and the EU as a whole. Once adopted, the NIS2 Directive will replace the current directive on security of network and information systems (the NIS Directive).

On 17 May, the EP’s Transport (TRAN) Committee held a debate on the amendments (here and here) to Rapporteur Jorgen Warborn’s (EPP, Sweden) draft report on the FuelEU Maritime proposal. The Rapporteur welcomed the agreement among most MEPs on the need for technological neutrality, saying that this was the best way to ensure that the energy transition was designed in a cost-effective way.

Maritime consultant Drewry published on 17 May a briefing on the potential consequences of the lockdown in the Shanghai region to global maritime supply chains. Drewry estimates that the lockdown has further stressed the global maritime supply chain which is currently facing reduced capacity due to pervasive congestion. However, the reduction in volumes could speed up the normalisation of liner network performance and port productivity, with port congestion easing in the US and Europe.

On 17 May, the EP’s ENVI Committee adopted their report on the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). MEPs supported the inclusion of emissions from maritime transport into the main ETS and the creation of a separate ETS for road transport emissions.