All news & events

On 24 March, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the European Rail Freight Association (ERFA) presented the conclusions of its study on the current status of liberalisation, its effects on the rail freight market and remaining hurdles which have to be overcome in order for rail freight to be able to play its necessary role as the most sustainable means of freight transportation.

On 21 March, the European Commission approved, under EU State aid rules, a €120 million Spanish scheme made available through the Recovery and Resilience Facility ('RRF') to encourage freight traffic to shift from road to rail transport. The measure will also contribute to improving the environmental performance of rail transport, in line with the objectives of the Commission's Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and the European Green Deal.

The CLECAT Road Logistics Institute met on 22 March to exchange views on developments affecting road transport and logistics at national and EU level. Members discussed the impact of the war in Ukraine on road transport, the practical implementation of the new rules introduced by the Mobility Package I and the political developments related to the Fit for 55 Package.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on 22 March approved the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), paving the way for a formal vote in the Senate in the coming weeks. For reference, the OSRA of 2022 was introduced in the Senate in February by Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minnesota) and is co-led by Senator John Thune (Republican, South Dakota), as well as co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 27 senators.

On 22 March, the European Parliament’s Environment Committee (ENVI) discussed the over 1700 amendments tabled on the revision of the EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS) and over 1300 amendments tabled on the proposal for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).

On 24 March, CLECAT attended a special ad hoc meeting of the DG TAXUD Trade Contact Group (TCG), dedicated to the war in Ukraine and the challenges EU traders and logistics operators are confronted with. Many TCG members provided factual updates on how the ongoing war in Ukraine and EU trade sanctions against Russia and Belarus are impacting trade and logistics, as well as various recommendations on how to better cope with the operational disruptions. The Commission also presented recent initiatives towards improving coordination among Member States and providing better guidance on the implementation of the EU sanctions currently in place.

The Commission has approved the disbursement of more than €2 billion under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to a group of 12 Member States, which will make available a total of €819.2 million by the end of March 2022 and the rest by April 2023.

On 16 March, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the forthcoming European Cyber Resilience Act. First announced by Commission President von der Leyen in her State of the Union Address in September 2021, the Act seeks to establish common cybersecurity rules for digital products and associated services that are placed on the market across the European Union. The results of the public consultation will feed into the Commission's proposal for legislation that is expected in the second half of this year.