News

LET’S GET RAIL FREIGHT TO RUMBLE!

What can make Rail Freight more attractive? This question was raised to rail freight customers at the event on rail freight, organised by the European Commission, in cooperation with the Luxembourg Ministry of Mobility and CER on the 5th of October in Bettembourg, Luxembourg. Achieving Europe’s modal shift ambitions will only be realistic if the right framework conditions are put in place. Multimodality can play a key role in this. CLECAT has put to paper its views on the upcoming review of the Combined Transport Directive. Europe can’t afford to miss another opportunity to get it right with this new proposal.

ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS DISCUSS FIT FOR 55 PACKAGE

On 6 October, EU environment ministers held a first formal debate on the Fit for 55 Package, with a particular focus on initiatives that fall under the remit of the Environment Council, including the revision of the EU ETS (inclusion of maritime transport and separate ETS system for road transport and buildings sector) and the establishment of the EU Social Climate Fund. The preliminary exchange of views suggests discussions will be tense and compromises will be difficult to achieve among Member States.

DISRUPTIONS TO CONTINUE IN 2022 NOTES DREWRY

The maritime supply chain disruptions will not normalise before the end of 2022, according to the latest Container Forecaster report published by Drewry on 5 October. The supply chain crisis has worsened during Q2 2021, with cases of COVID-19 temporarily closing some Chinese terminals, and extreme weather events occurring in some regions. Drewry expects that fleet growth will continue to lag behind demand growth this and next year, but the discrepancy will be eased from 2023 onwards when the orders for newbuilt vessels will come to the market.

EC PUBLISHES LIST OF SERIOUS INFRINGEMENTS

The European Commission published on 7 October a draft implementing Regulation updating the list of serious infringements which may lead to the loss of good repute by a road transport operator. The draft act results from the publication of the Mobility Package I Regulations which add new infringements that could lead to loss of good repute, introduce an additional criterion when defining the degree of seriousness of infringements and their frequency of occurrence.

CONNECTING EUROPE EXPRESS FINISHES ITS JOURNEY

On 7 October, the Connecting Europe Express reached its final destination of Paris after 36 days travelling across Europe - West to East, North to South, and even visiting neighbours outside the EU. This train was specially put together for the occasion of the European Year of Rail 2021, aiming to raise awareness of the benefits of rail and the challenges which still need to be overcome.

TESTING OF AUTOMATED FREIGHT TRAINS PICKS UP SPEED

n October, a new Automatic Train Operation (ATO) test project for cargo started on the Betuwe route, which connects the Port of Rotterdam (Netherlands) with the German Ruhr region. The aim of the German-Dutch cooperation project is to trial and test the control and remote monitoring of automated trains in rail freight traffic for the first time by the end of 2025.

WTO LAUNCHES NEW TOOL TO TRACK CHANGES IN HS

On 7 October, the World Trade Organization (WTO) launched a new online tool for keeping track of changes in the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS), the system used for the classification of traded goods. The HS Tracker, developed with the support of the World Customs Organization (WCO), is also aimed at helping customs officials and traders prepare for HS amendments that will enter into force on 1 January 2022.

EP PUBLIC HEARING ON AI AND TRANSPORT

On 11 October, the Members of the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age (AIDA) and of the Transport and Tourism (TRAN) Committee will hold a joint hearing on AI and Transport, from 13.45-15.45h CET, which will be webstreamed.

CLECAT Meetings

CLECAT Sustainable Logistics Institute
15 October 2021, Online

CLECAT Road Logistics Institute
18 October 2021, Online

CLECAT Customs and Indirect Taxation Institute
21 October 2021, Online

CLECAT Supply Chain Security Institute
22 November 2021, Online

CLECAT Board/GA
25 November 2021, Brussels

CLECAT Freight Forwarders Forum
25 November 2021, Brussels

CLECAT Air Logistics Institute
26 November 2021, Brussels

Events with CLECAT participation

Market Place Seminar - Multimodality in the year of Rail
14 October 2021, Online

GreenPort Congress 2021
21 October 2021, Place tbc

EU Meetings

Council of the European Union

Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council
14 October 2021, videoconference (informal meeting)
2-3 December, Brussels
9 December 2021, Brussels

Environment Council
20 December 2021, Brussels

European Parliament

European Parliament Transport Committee
11 October 2021, Brussels
27-28 October 2021, Brussels
Including a Public Hearing on “Impact of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) on modal shift and European Economic Exchanges”

European Parliament Environment Committee
11 October 2021, Brussels
27-28 October 2021, Brussels

European Parliament Plenary
18-21 October 2021, Strasbourg