All news & events

As indicated by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, the French government is ready to allocate €100 billion to implement the plan presented by the Infrastructure Orientation Council (COI) in February. The COI report illustrates all the necessary investments for mobility in the country between 2023 and 2042, displaying a strong emphasis on rail.

In an interview with ShippingWatch published on 27 February, the Chair of the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Daniel B. Maffei accused ocean carriers to have charged extra fees from customers in order to increase profits parallel to the already elevated freight rates during last year.

On 28 February, FIATA issued a press release urging shipping lines to review and reinstate the current free time periods back to no less than feasible, pre-pandemic levels. During the last few years, free time periods for containers have been reduced and tariffs for demurrage and detention have increased considerably.

Over the last month, negotiations between the Parliament and the Council continued over the transport-related files of the Fit for 55 Package, namely the AFIR, FuelEU Maritime and the Renewable Energy Directive. Agreement is yet to be find on these texts.

At the ESPORG Conference 2023, which took place on 1 March at the European Parliament, the European Commission announced that a new study on Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas (SSTPAs) will be launched in summer. The announcement comes almost a year after the publication of the Delegated Act on SSTPAs, which was strongly supported by CLECAT, as it harmonises EU Standard and contains clear and unambiguous rules on security, safety and comfort levels. The standard, which is based on four levels of security, a common level of service and certification procedures builds on the work of the 2019 Commission study on SSTPAs.

The European Commission adopted on 1st March a proposal revising the Driving License Directive, as port of a broader Road Safety Package. The measures are aimed to improve safety for all road users and alleviate the shortage of professional drivers.

In the aftermath of the earthquakes in southeast Turkey, CLECAT’s associate member UTIKAD, representing freight forwarders and logistics companies in Turkey, started immediate coordination activities for the distribution of humanitarian aid, working around the clock to get domestic and international aid to the affected areas.

On 14 February, the Plenary of the European Parliament approved the agreement to include REPowerEU measures in Member States recovery and resilience plans, with the aim to be more independent from Russian fossil fuels and speed up the green transition.