European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
transport policy
3 key questions on autonomous vehicles
An autonomous vehicle is a robot that can bring people or goods from one place to another without a human driver. But such a thing as a fully autonomous vehicle does not exist yet not even in the testing phase. Continue reading
Artificial intelligence in transport: Current and future developments, opportunities and challenges
Artificial intelligence is changing the transport sector. From helping cars, trains, ships and aeroplanes to function autonomously, to making traffic flows smoother, it is already applied in numerous transport fields. Continue reading
Port reception facilities for ship waste: Collecting waste from ships in ports [EU Legislation in Progress]
Marine litter and pollution put the marine environment at risk. While a great proportion of marine litter originates from land-based sources, limiting waste discharges from ships also plays an essential role in efforts to preserve marine and coastal ecosystems. Continue reading
Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, January I 2019
Highlights of the January I plenary session included the latest debate on the future of Europe, with Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Spain’s prime minister, and a debate on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Continue reading
Discontinuing seasonal changes of time [EU Legislation in Progress]
To end the biannual change of clocks that currently takes place in every Member State at the end of March and the end of October, on 12 September 2018 the European Commission adopted a proposal to discontinue the seasonal changes of time in the Union. Continue reading
Electronic freight transport information [EU Legislation in Progress]
The movement of goods in the European Union has increased by almost 25 % over the last 20 years, and this growth is projected to continue. A large amount of information accompanies this movement, exchanged mostly in paper format. Continue reading
Road infrastructure safety management [EU Legislation in Progress]
On 17 May 2018, the Commission adopted the proposal for a directive amending Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management. It is part of the third and last ‘Europe on the Move’ package that includes initiatives supporting the transition towards a safe, clean, automated and connected mobility for all. Continue reading
Revision of the European Electronic Tolling Service (EETS) Directive [EU Legislation in Progress]
On 31 May 2017, the Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems and facilitating cross-border exchange of information on the failure to pay road fees in the Union. Continue reading
Combined transport directive review: Getting more goods off EU roads [EU Legislation in Progress]
The European Union’s efforts to reduce the negative impacts of transport include promoting a shift from road freight transport to lower-emission transport modes. This also includes combined transport operations, which consist of at least one road leg for initial or final haulage and one non‑road leg on rail or water. Continue reading
Access to the occupation of road transport operator and to the international road haulage market [EU Legislation in Progress]
In order to contribute to the efficient functioning of the single market in road transport and to ensure fair competition between resident and non-resident hauliers, the EU put in place two regulations, which have applied since December 2011. Continue reading
Revision of the Eurovignette Directive [EU Legislation in Progress]
The Commission adopted a legislative proposal for a directive amending Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (known as the Eurovignette Directive) in May 2017. Continue reading
Road transport: Enforcement and special provisions for posted workers [EU Legislation in Progress] [Policy Podcast]
The EU has established a range of social measures applying to the road transport sector, which aim at improving drivers’ working conditions, road safety and competition between road operators. Continue reading
Professional qualifications in inland navigation [Plenary Podcast]
As part of its efforts to reduce transport emissions, the EU wants to make better use of inland navigation. This requires addressing the limited labour mobility and shortage of qualified workers in the sector. Continue reading
Safeguarding competition in air transport [EU Legislation in Progress]
The issue of fair competition between EU and third country airlines and the importance of guaranteeing a level playing field has been recognised for some years by the various EU institutions as key for the future of European aviation. Continue reading
EU strategy on cooperative intelligent transport systems
Written by Marketa Pape, Digital technologies, and systems based on them, are being rapidly introduced in transport all over the world. Cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) in road transport are part of this development, and one element in a wider drive towards vehicle automation. These systems use technologies allowing road vehicles to communicate with other … Continue reading
Training of professional drivers [EU Legislation in Progress]
The revision of existing provisions regarding the training of professional drivers was announced in the 2017 Commission Work Programme (in annex II covering REFIT initiatives). Continue reading
Towards low-emission EU mobility
Written by Marketa Pape, While EU transport systems provide the mobility European society needs, they also create severe environmental pressures and are responsible for a quarter of EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Transport activity is expected to grow still further and become the largest source of EU GHG emissions after 2030. Meanwhile, the EU has … Continue reading
European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility
Written by Balazs Hopp, In 2014 the EU agreed to a clear commitment : to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions of at least 40% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels across all sectors of the economy. As transport is responsible for 33% of final energy consumption and 23% of total EU emissions, the transition to low-emission … Continue reading
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