Kommission skizziert Vision für Zukunft des Verkehrs[en] 

In 2001, the European Commission presented a White Paper proposing 60 measures to overhaul the EU's transport policy by 2010 in order to make it more sustainable and avoid huge economic losses caused by congestion, pollution and accidents. A 2006 mid-term update of the strategy attempted to re-balance the policy towards economic objectives. 

According to a recent European Environment Agency report , greenhouse-gas emissions from transport have risen considerably since 1990, and are projected to continue increasing. This contrasts with other sectors of the economy and highlights the challenges facing transport. 

The EU's '20-20-20 by 2020' Energy and Climate Package sets overall reduction targets for greenhouse gases and highlights the need for the transport sector to contribute actively to achieving them. There are, however, no sector-specific goals in the package, and the transport sector's contribution is yet to be defined. 

The Commission's communication on sustainable transport comes after a number of external studies, evaluations of past policies and future scenarios and stakeholder consultations.

The document outlines a vision for the future of transport and mobility until 2020 and is expected to initiate debate on concrete policy options to be outlined in a White Paper next year. 

"We have to have an integrated mode of transport covering the different modes of transport and facilitating the movement of people and goods within the EU," said Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani.

While a major increase in population is not expected in Europe, ageing and increased urbanisation require specific measures regarding transport, he said.

According to the Commission, 84% of the EU's population will live in urban areas by 2050, leading to increased congestion and environmental problems. "The big challenge for the future of transport is to know how to cope with cities," Tajani said.

The main environmental challenge for transport is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. "Our transport still relies 97% on fossil fuels. So an important part of our strategy is to respect our 20-20-20 goals," Tajani underlined. The aim is to have 20% of total EU energy consumption coming from renewables. 

However, reaching these goals will not be possible without harnessing innovative technologies, the commissioner said, emphasising the need for further research into safer and more reliable vehicles fuelled with alternative energy.

Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the European Environment Agency, said earlier this year that "we know the technology exists to tackle impacts of the transport sector on Europe's environment". 

"However, many vehicles rolling off production lines are anything but green, the freight sector still favours the least efficient transport modes, and railways across the EU still do not have a unified system," McGlade continued. 

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) welcomed the Commission's vision, but stressed that its ambitious objectives "can only be achieved by developing sound road transport policies supported by a strong business-friendly approach, in terms of better legislation, reducing red tape, implementing incentives for the introduction of technical innovation and best road transport business practices, to allow the road transport industry to drive a quicker economic recovery". 

The environmental NGO Greenpeace deplored that the communication prominently "features comfort and safety considerations," while action on noise, air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions "only appear as secondary objectives". It also noted that the communication largely ignores issues such as reducing demand and controlling speed. 

"We just can't achieve sustainability if we continue to have an ever-expanding transport sector. If the Commission does not tackle this burning issue, the growth of EU transport will continue undermining climate efforts in other sectors," said Franziska Achterberg, Greenpeace EU's transport policy advisor. 

Another environmental NGO, the European Federation for Transport and Environment  (T&E), argued that the Commission's vision underestimates the challenges and proposes no concrete solutions. "The International Energy Agency has recognised that conventional oil is running out and 'unconventional' alternatives such as tar sands will be even costlier and dirtier. But the Commission doesn't give any clue as to how it proposes to deal with this issue of fundamental strategic importance to the EU," T&E stated.