COMPETITION AUTHORITIES AROUND THE WORLD INVESTIGATE SHIPPING CONDUCT
CLECAT has called on the European Commission to put the container shipping market under close scrutiny as the industry enters the third year of its Block Exemption from normal competition rules whilst services are at record low levels and rates continue to beyond reach for many of the clients of the forwarders, particularly SMEs. In the light of the recent market developments and the new vertical integration strategy of the Global Alliances, the Commission urgently must take the necessary steps to initiate a sector inquiry, so that it can use the results in its forthcoming review of the CBER.
The French Presidency of the Council of the EU organised on 21 and 22 February an informal meeting of transport ministers in Le Bourget (France). Presided by Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, French Minister for Transport, participants exchanged views on three main priorities: decarbonisation, innovation and social regulation.
RAIL SECTOR COMES TOGETHER TO MARK OFFICIAL CLOSURE OF EUROPEAN YEAR OF RAIL
On 21 February, CLECAT, together with the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER), the Alliance of Passenger Rail New Entrants in Europe (ALLRAIL), the European Passenger Federation (EPF), Erasmus by Train e.V. (EbT) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), met in Paris to formally close the European Year of Rail, on the occasion of the European Railway Summit organised within the framework of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU.
CALL ON EC TO TRACK PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION MP1
On 21 February, nine MEPs from the TRAN Committee sent an open letter to the European Commission with the request to report without further delay on the current status of the transposition of the new rules of the first Mobility Package. MEPs welcomed the Commission guidelines on the new road transport rules for member states and operators, but expressed disappointment on the fact that a large number of Member States are not yet in a position to correctly transpose the Directive 2020/1057 on posting of drivers.
UNCTAD REPORT ON COVID-19 IMPACTS ON CONTRACTS OF CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published on 15 February a report on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the performance of commercial contracts for the carriage of goods by sea, and multimodal contracts of carriage that (may) involve carriage by sea. The report seeks to assist commercial parties to better understand some of the key legal issues arising from the pandemic and provide them recommendations, as well as related considerations for policymakers.
On 21 February, the European Railway Summit, organised by SNCF, took place in the framework of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, entitled “Rail, the Driver for Greener and More Innovative Transport”. This high-level conference brought together European and national policy makers, as well as representatives of the rail sector, to identify courses of action and concrete commitments around three key topics: decarbonisation, digitalisation & innovation, as well as the financing of the rail system.
On 24 February, the Council of the European Union extended until 30 June 2022 the emergency measures put in place in October 2020 to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the railway sector. The measures give Member States the possibility to provide relief from certain infrastructure charges for rail companies while ensuring a timely refund for infrastructure providers.
EASA PUBLISHES CONFLICT ZONE INFORMATION BULLETIN FOR UKRAINE
On 24 February, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) published a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin (CZIB) with respect to Ukraine, which is now an active conflict area. To date, the CZIB has been updated twice since its publication.
UNECE PUBLISHES STANDARDS FOR THE DIGITALISATION OF MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT DATA AND DOCUMENT EXCHANGE
UNECE and its subsidiary body, the UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) have published a set of aligned standards for the digitalisation of intermodal transport data exchanges to support global supply chain cargo movements. These standards comprise technical specifications and supporting tools: data subsets of the UN/CEFACT Multimodal Transport Reference Data Model (MMT RDM), XSD schemas, data structures, etc., for key documents accompanying goods transported in movements across one or more of the five key modes of transport.
On 23 February, the European Commission proposed the Data Act, containing rules on who can use and access data generated in the EU across all economic sectors. The Data Act shall ensure fairness in the digital environment, stimulate a competitive data market, open opportunities for data-driven innovation and make data more accessible for all.
The 22nd of February marked the fifth anniversary of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, a landmark agreement that aims to deliver faster and easier trade. Since 2017, the TFA has paved the way for supply chain resilience, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The UNCTAD’s Global Trade Update, published on 17 February, shows that world trade in goods remained strong in 2021 and trade in services finally returned to its pre-COVID-19 levels. All major trading economies saw imports and exports rise above pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter of 2021, with trade in goods increasing more strongly in the developing world than in developed countries.
On 14 February, the ITRE Committee published the draft report on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive, prepared by MEP Markus Pieper (EPP, Germany). The report aims to reduce red tape in the uptake of renewable energy and the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure. It includes provisions to make Member States invest in and support at least two cross-border projects related to clean energy supply or transmission.