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Following the approval by the European Parliament’s plenary on 6 October, Member States have reached an agreement on 13 October regarding the waiver from slot-use requirements at EU airports. The deal foresees temporary measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath and to air travel impacts of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

Earlier this week, the CLECAT Road Logistics Institute met 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 revision of the Weights and dimensions Directive and the political developments related to the Fit for 55 Package.

On 7 October the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) proposed a new rule that seeks to bring more clarity, structure, and punctuality to the demurrage and detention billing practices of ocean carriers and terminal operators. As required by the OSRA of 2022, the FMC has been mandated to implement technical requirements and specifications for D&D billings.

CLECAT has published its position paper on the revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive. CLECAT welcomes the Commission initiative to revise Directive 96/53/EC, setting standards for the maximum authorised weights and dimensions of heavy-duty vehicles used in national and international transport. In line with the EU climate ambitions and to alleviate the structural shortage of drivers affecting road transport supply chains, the revision of the Directive should contribute to a more efficient and low-emission transport system and harmonised rules for cross-border operations.

On 13 October, CLECAT participated in a workshop organised by the European Safe Parking Organisation (ESPORG), together with DG MOVE and the European Climate Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), on how to obtain EU funding under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding call, which makes available €250 million to improve the network of Safe and Secure Truck Parking Areas (SSTPAs) across the EU.

Last week, CLECAT submitted its input to the evaluation of the Train Driver requirements. The initiative aims at improving the EU harmonised certification scheme for train drivers by ensuring that it is future-proof, keeps pace with technological progress and increased demand for international journeys, and makes the train-driving profession more diverse and attractive to young people.

This week, CLECAT participated in the meetings of the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum’s (DTLF) Subgroup 1 on paperless transport and Subgroup 2 (Federated Network of Platforms). The DTLF’s Subgroup 1, which is the formal Commission Expert Group on the eFTI Regulation, presented the progress and planned next steps of the individual teams on data-, functional-, and technical aspects, as well as certification and implementation.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air cargo markets in August 2022, which demonstrated the industry’s resilience amid economic uncertainties. According to the statistics, global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), fell 8.3% compared to August 2021, representing a slight improvement on the year-on-year decline of 9.7% seen in July. Simultaneously, capacity was 6.3% above August 2021, which is a significant expansion over the 3.6% year-on-year increase in July.

On 6 October, the European Parliament voted on the European Commission’s proposal to amend the slot utilisation rules at Union airports, endorsing a gradual return to the utilisation rate of 80%. As of 30 October 2022, airlines would have to use 75 % of their planned take-off and landing slots (instead of the 80% required before the pandemic) in order to keep them the following season. From the 2023 summer season, the standard 80% slot utilisation requirement should apply.