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The future of the proposed revision of the Combined Transport Directive (CTD) was raised during the Transport Council meeting on 8 June under an Any Other Business item tabled by Malta. The Maltese delegation urged the European Commission not to withdraw the proposal and called for additional time to continue negotiations among Member States and the European Parliament.

Malta emphasised the importance of combined transport for achieving the European Union's transport, environmental and competitiveness objectives and encouraged future Council Presidencies to continue discussions on the file with a view to reaching a compromise.

In response, the European Commission recalled that the European Parliament had formally opposed the withdrawal of the proposal earlier this year. While acknowledging that progress among the co-legislators had been limited over the past two years, the Commission indicated that it would be prepared to maintain the proposal if Member States demonstrated a willingness to continue negotiations and work towards a solution.

Ahead of the Council meeting, a broad coalition of associations from the railway sector issued a joint statement urging the Commission and Member States not to abandon the proposal. The organisations argued that withdrawing the revision would send the wrong political signal at a time when Europe is seeking to strengthen competitiveness, decarbonise transport, improve energy security and enhance supply chain resilience.

The sector highlighted the important role of combined transport in the European freight transport system, combining road transport with rail, inland waterways and short sea shipping to provide efficient door-to-door logistics solutions. According to the statement, intermodal rail freight has been the main growth segment within rail freight over the past decades and today represents a substantial share of total rail freight activity across Europe.

Rather than withdrawing the proposal, the sector proposed a pragmatic way forward. Recognising that the revised definition of combined transport has become politically contentious, the organisations suggested retaining the existing definition under Directive 92/106/EEC while continuing negotiations on other elements of the proposal where agreement appears achievable.  According to the signatories, such an approach would preserve momentum for combined transport while delivering practical improvements that support modal shift, intermodal competitiveness and European resilience.

In a recent joint statement CLECAT also underlined the importance of maintaining a well-functioning Combined Transport framework. The statement stressed that reliable, competitive and predictable freight services by rail, inland waterways and short sea shipping are essential for both European industry and logistics operators and depend to a large extent on an efficient Combined Transport system.