EU transport policies: looking back and moving forward

During the last mandate, from 2019-2024, von der Leyen’s Commission forged a legacy defined by the European Green Deal and the twin transitions. These guiding principles have underpinned most legislative proposals, fundamentally shaping the EU’s transport agenda towards 2030. With the start of the new European Commission, a new policy cycle begins, shaping the future of EU transport policy for 2030 and beyond. In this article, Publyon’s transport team evaluates the progress made under von der Leyen’s previous Commission and provides an in-depth outlook on the upcoming transport policy plans that will define the new mandate.

EU transport policies in the previous European Commission mandate (2019 – 2024)

During the last mandate, the Commission set an ambitious goal to reduce transport-related emissions by 90% by 2050. This also includes promoting clean mobility to reduce the environmental footprint of the transport sector. Simultaneously, substantial investments in digitalisation and innovation aimed to enhance the efficiency and connectivity of the transport system. These ambitions materialised in the deliverables of the Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy (the EU’s transport strategy towards 2030, including 82 EU policy measures), characterised by the keywords: Sustainable, Smart, and Resilient.

The Fit for 55 package then established new targets for emissions reduction in the transport sector and introduced incentives for the uptake of low-carbon and renewable fuels and related infrastructure. Notably, to decarbonise the sector, the Commission focused its transport policies on the electrification of vehicles and zero-emissions solutions for rail, while prioritising the uptake of renewable and low-carbon fuels for aviation and maritime. Examples of the main transport policies include the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation, the extension of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to road, air, and waterborne transport, new targets for CO₂ emissions for (heavy-duty) vehicles, legislation promoting the uptake of renewable fuels in maritime and aviation, and the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) to connect all regions of the EU. The Commission decided to concentrate its final efforts on greening the freight sector, supporting the shift from road to rail and inland waterways and introducing incentives for multimodal freight operations.

On an international level, the EU decided to take a leading role in greening mobility, shaping the reduction of emissions at both the European and global transport sectors. The EU’s decision to expand the EU Emissions Trading System to cover aviation and maritime triggered a global response. Countries increased their green ambitions for their transport policies, as well as in the context of the United Nations climate change conference (COP), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

 

The role of digitalisation

Digitalisation has been an indispensable driver for the modernisation of the entire transport system, making it seamless and more efficient. Von der Leyen’s Commission has supported the use of digitalisation and automation in its transport policies. For instance, it addressed the uptake of intelligent transport systems to enhance safety, security, reliability, and sustainability. The Passenger Mobility Package provides recommendations to address the impact of automation and digitalisation on the transport workforce, promoting upskilling and reskilling.

Moreover, the Commission has committed to providing better multimodal travel information services and building a European Common Mobility Data Space, which aims to provide better access, sharing, and reuse of data, as well as innovative transport services, safety, sustainability, multimodality, and data-driven transport policies. In addition, legislation addressing the broader digital realm, from the Data Act to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, are important for the transport sector as data and AI systems will play a pivotal role in shaping mobility, improving seamless transport operations and efficiency.

What shapes EU transport polices today?

The new Commission has often been referred to as the ‘implementation Commission’, as its primary focus will be on putting recently adopted legislation into practice. A key priority will be ensuring that adopted legislation will be swiftly transposed into national law and implemented. This implementation phase will come with practical and technical challenges. Will the EU electricity grid be ready for the increased number of recharging stations and the integration of renewable energy sources? Will there be enough vehicle batteries and renewable fuels to power cars, planes, and ships? The ambitious targets for 2030 are quickly approaching and much still needs to be done to turn ambitions into reality.

Meanwhile, the rise of right-wing parties in the European Parliament and in several Member States will likely lead to a more business-oriented legislative agenda. This includes efforts to simplify EU policies – for example via the upcoming Omnibus Simplification Package, expected in February 2025 – to reduce regulatory and administrative burdens for businesses, while ensuring their effectiveness and upholding the management of the EU budget. This shift will influence all EU policy areas, including transport.

To address the challenges and adapt to an evolving geopolitical landscape, the Commissioners will need to propose additional legislation and ensure political support across the Parliament and Member States. Learn more about these upcoming measures below.

 

What about the geopolitical situation?

It is time to bring in the buzzword of the year: competitiveness. With the increase in decarbonisation efforts and rules in the EU, questions have arisen regarding the competitiveness of EU companies. EU-based companies will have to invest significantly to contribute to the climate goals while remaining competitive. New rules, like the EU ETS, might drive companies to relocate to non-EU countries, which would be catastrophic for the European economy and security. Accordingly, since the second half of the last mandate, the Commission started applying the concept of open strategic autonomy to EU transport policies, wanting to ensure that critical transport infrastructure and operations are economically independent and resilient to foreign influence. So, what has shifted in the geopolitical climate?

Firstly, there is Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the EU’s decision to impose sanctions and reduce its dependency on Russian energy imports. This has also had an impact on the transport sector of the EU, as on the one hand, it has resulted in the EU closing its airspace to Russian aircraft, barring Russian vessels from its ports, prohibiting Russian transport operators, and banning the export of goods and technologies related to aviation, maritime, and space industries. On the other hand, the EU has had to deal with supply chain bottlenecks, both for energy and resources such as raw materials needed for batteries, as well as the high energy prices that have had an immense impact on the competitiveness of EU industry as a whole.

Secondly, competition with China has been steadily growing, especially regarding the issue of electric vehicles (EVs). At the end of 2023, the EU launched an anti-subsidy investigation related to EVs from China. When the EU found that Chinese EV-makers are heavily subsidised by their government, they decided to impose duties of 8 to 35 percent on Chinese EV imports, to give the European automotive industry an opportunity to get back to the global EV market. As a result, the EU is facing a lawsuit after China decided to launch a dispute against the EU at the WTO on 4 November.

Thirdly, until November, the competition with the US over clean technologies and renewable energy innovations – especially following the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022 – was considered one of the EU’s main concerns in its relationship with its transatlantic ally. With Donald Trump’s return to the White House, this dynamic has shifted due to Trump’s scepticism of green tech policies altogether. His re-election could result in high import taxes, which would negatively impact European carmakers, trigger a wave of aerospace protectionism, and potentially spark a broader trade war.

 

The EU’s reaction

As the EU transport market is mostly heterogeneous – with national and regional frameworks still regulating most of railway and road operations, and some of air and maritime transportation – their power to address international challenges for the sector is not very strong. Nevertheless, to ensure the EU remains a global actor boosting competitiveness and global supply chains in the transport sector, the Global Gateway was established, which supports the EU signing partnerships with key countries, for instance, on critical raw materials. Moreover, the EU strengthened the foreign direct investment screening regulation, and the European Parliament published an own-initiative for a comprehensive European port strategy.

Every Commissioner will be impacted by the need to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU and the need to implement the recommendations of the Draghi report, which outlines a strategic roadmap for enhancing the European industry’s resilience in a complex geopolitical landscape. For the transport sector, Draghi emphasises the need for improved infrastructure planning to create a fully multimodal European transport system. He advocates for increased funding from both the EU and national governments, alongside private investments supported by de-risking initiatives.

Draghi also highlights the importance of removing barriers to integration and interoperability in transport, accelerating digitalisation, and enhancing training and career pathways for professionals in the sector. Additionally, he calls for a focus on EU-led innovation projects, including automated rail operations, fuel-efficient and zero-emission aircraft, advanced inland and maritime vessels, and cooperative, connected, and automated mobility. To address the issue of competitiveness, the EU is preparing to launch the Clean Industrial Deal. In addition, several other initiatives have been announced that aim to support the growth, decarbonisation, and adaptation of the transport sector to the increasingly complex and dynamic landscape the EU finds itself.

What the future holds for EU transport policies?

Now that the new College of Commissioners has officially taken office on 1 December, there is a momentum for delivering on sustainable transport objectives, as transport is increasingly seen as an integral part of strengthening EU competitiveness. Apostolos Tzitzikostas has been appointed as the new Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. He will focus on advancing the decarbonisation of the transport sector through greater electrification, increased use of low-carbon and biofuels, and the adoption of hydrogen in the hardest-to-decarbonise transport modes. Let’s dive a bit deeper into his plans for the different transport sectors.

 

Boosting the rail sector

As Enrico Letta, author of the Much More than a Market report on the EU’s single market, recently stated: there is a momentum for the railway sector in Europe. Rail is one of the most sustainable mode of transport, making up only 0.4% of the total transport emissions in the EU – compared to 76.3% for road transport. Therefore, new initiatives are announced to boost the competitiveness of the rail sector. The most important ones include a plan to link EU capitals and major cities through an integrated high-speed rail network, including night trains, to reduce travel time, enhance connectivity, and boost rail freight efficiency across Europe.

There will also be a proposal for a Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation to establish a unified platform allowing Europeans to purchase a single ticket for multi-modal journeys, with comprehensive passenger rights protection throughout the entire trip.

 

Saving the automotive industry

It is not going well with the automotive industry in Europe. At the end of October, Volkswagen announced plans to close three of its German plants, followed by Audi’s Brussels plant. This comes in response to declining sales in China, its largest market, and increasing competition from EV manufacturers in the US and China. The European Commission is also experiencing pushback around the ban on selling new internal combustion engines (ICEs) from 2035 from the industry, Member States and the EU’s biggest political group – the European People’s Party. In the meantime, in their hearings, the Commissioners stated their commitment to the ban as they argued that the industry wants and requires predictability. As a reaction to the instability, von der Leyen announced she will convene a Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the Car industry in Europe.

Moreover, she gave Tzitzikostas the mission to address the concerns of the automotive industry by putting forward an Industrial Action Plan for the Automotive Sector to support the entire automotive value chain by advancing infrastructure for recharging and refueling, promoting automation, and optimising data use. He will also put forward proposals for clean corporate fleets, to increase demand for electric vehicles and develop a robust second-hand EV market. There is also the expectation that Tzitzikostas will announce the review of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation to scale up the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

 

Strengthening ports

A clear example of how Tzitzikostas is planning to boost the EU’s competitiveness is via a proposal for a new industrial maritime strategy, aimed at boosting the competitiveness, sustainability, and resilience of Europe’s maritime manufacturing sector. This initiative will prioritise strategic independence, infrastructure resilience, and competitiveness, while also addressing the energy transition and labor shortages. Additionally, Tzitzikostas is expected to spearhead a comprehensive EU Port Strategy, in collaboration with other relevant Commissioners, to address key challenges facing ports. This strategy will place a strong emphasis on security and competitiveness, and will build on the foundation laid by the European Ports Alliance and the Parliament’s own-initiative report.

 

The challenge of air transport

The aviation industry is a hard-to-abate sector. The main focus of the new Commission will therefore will on be ramping-up the production and distribution of renewable and low-carbon transport fuels. To achieve this, Tzitzikostas will propose a Sustainable Transport Investment Plan, that should identify key measures supporting the energy transition in transport, with a focus on electrification. The plan will also aim to boost investment in the production and supply of sustainable fuels, particularly for the aviation and maritime sectors. To address inefficiencies in air traffic management under the Single European Sky framework, Tzitzikostas will initiate a comprehensive dialogue with Member States and stakeholders.

These initiatives, and more, will be further developed by the new Commission with the final aim of enhancing competitiveness, decarbonising the transport sector, and ensuring its preparedness for the future. While this requires high investments, the future of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) – the EU funding instrument that is, among other things, dedicated to implementing the TEN-T – is still uncertain, as it depends on the allocation of the EU multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the period 2028-2034. In the second half of 2025, the Commission will present their proposal for the next MFF, which must then be unanimously approved by all Member States. For the transport sector, it is crucial that the Commission ensures the funding allocated to transport projects is aligned with the sector’s needs and its strategic importance to the EU’s competitiveness.

 

Would you like to know how these EU transport policy developments will impact your business and what you can do to ensure your license to operate?

Companies and organisations will have to ensure compliance with adopted EU transport legislation, updating their operational procedures, assessing the impact throughout their value chains and (re)thinking their corporate strategy and investments. Publyon offers expert advice and guidance, assisting in understanding legislation and its potential impact on your operations throughout the value chain. Do not hesitate to reach out to us by filling out the form below.