The European Parliament rejected the “withdrawal of the Combined Transport Directive revision proposal”, UIRR said. “It is a positive development but we are not out of the woods yet”, said the association’s Chief Policy Advisor Akos Ersek.
The Directive, part of the Greening Freight Package, risked being dropped after the Commission announced its intention to discard the proposed amendments to the 1992 regulation. “This train was never off the track, but it was not moving, now we are rolling again”, Ersek explained.
What now?
The decision of the Parliament to oppose the Commission’s withdrawal intentions, however, does not necessarily mean that the Directive will be saved, although it is a step in the right direction for intermodality. Now, the rapporteur Flavio Tosi MEP will have to come up with a plan to organise a first reading, which Ersek said should happen in the coming weeks.
Then, the EU Council will also have to make a decision on whether or not to continue. A new Directive would bring an updated definition of combined transport, vital for deciding who is eligible for subsidies. However, so far the parties could not find an agreement, especially when it comes to the reduction of external costs and how to calculate them.
