ITF CALL TO FOCUS REGULATORY ATTENTION ON FAIR DOOR-TO-DOOR CONTAINER TRANSPORT
The International Transport Forum published this week an independent report on the performance of maritime container supply chains. The report brings together much of the data ITF has collected over the last couple of years on the ocean carriers’ behaviour in the market. CLECAT welcomes the landmark document and the urgent call of the thinktank to focus attention regulatory attention on fair competition in door-to-door container transport.
On 11 July, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and European Commission kick-started the interinstitutional trilogue negotiations on the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Ahead of the meeting, the Rapporteur, Peter Liese (EPP, Germany), stressed the need for a rapid adoption of the proposal during the Czech Presidency to mitigate climate change and match the EU climate ambitions.
EC CONSULTS MEMBER STATES ON AMENDING TEMPORARY CRISIS FRAMEWORK
The European Commission has sent on 11 July to Member States for consultation a draft proposal to adjust the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, to support the economy in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
MORE FLEXIBILITY PROPOSED FOR EU SLOT ALLOCATION REGIME
On 12 July, the European Commission adopted a proposal to allow the airline slot regime to respond more flexibly to unexpected developments in the near future. Whilst the current rapid ascent in demand, as well as projections for future demand, point to an ongoing recovery of air traffic, recent experience has shown that the current slot rules are not sufficiently resilient to large-scale disruptions.
EASA UPDATES RULES ON TRANSPORT OF CARGO IN PASSENGER CABIN
Following a review of the operational context for transport of cargo in passenger cabins, EASA concluded that the logistical challenges that arose in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, no longer exist to the same extent. Therefore, with the increasing traffic, cargo capacity in the holds of passenger aircraft is expected to increase by summer 2022, thus reducing the pressure on the logistic chain.
MEMBER STATES REFERRED TO THE CJEU FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY OBLIGATIONS
On 15 July, the European Commission decided to refer Greece, Malta and Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to provide and operate data link services for operators of aircraft flying within the airspace under their responsibility.
PLENARY MEETING OF THE TRADE CONTACT GROUP FOR CUSTOMS
On 12 July, CLECAT attended the 60th plenary meeting of the Trade Contact Group (TCG), which provides a platform for consultation between DG TAXUD and representatives from the private sector on developments in customs and trade. The main topic on the agenda of the meeting was the exchange of views on the report of the Customs Wise Persons Group and follow-up actions by the Commission on the reform of the Customs Union.
On 13 July, the Commission published further guidance to Member States on the transit of goods from Russia. The guidance specifies the applicable rules and recalls that Member States are obliged to prevent all possible forms of circumvention of EU restrictive measures. In that light, the Commission underlines the importance of monitoring the two-way trade flows between Russia and Kaliningrad Oblast to ensure that sanctions are not circumvented.
On 15 July, the European Commission put forward a draft EU proposal for Ukraine to be invited to join the Common Transit Conventions (CTC) – an international framework for the customs transit of goods that ensures simplified procedures between the EU and partner countries.
On 13 July, the European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee adopted two reports on the revisions of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), proposed by the Commission as part of the Fit for 55 Package. MEPs voted to increase the share of renewable energy and energy efficiency targets to match the EU climate ambitions.
2021 CLEAN CARGO GLOBAL OCEAN CONTAINER GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION INTENSITIES
Smart Freight Centre has released the 2021 Clean Cargo Global Ocean Container Greenhouse Gas Emission intensities report. This publication supports transparent tracking of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with ocean containerized cargo transportation.