News
Maritime transport: Commission clarifies EU rules on cabotage and reports on developments in this sector
22/04/2014
The European Commission has given new guidance on the interpretation of the regulation to provide cabotage within a Member State, thus providing an internal market for the provision of maritime transport services. With the new guidance competent authorities will have more legal certainty when awarding public service contracts and imposing public service obligations. Shipowners will also benefit from more legal clarity, allowing them to better organise their business in Europe.
European Parliament vote "milestone" in the roll out of clean fuels for transport
15/04/2014
Today the European Parliament gave its final approval to new EU rules to ensure the build-up of alternative refuelling points across Europe with common standards for their design and use, including a common plug for recharging electric vehicles. Policy initiatives so far have mostly addressed the actual fuels and vehicles, without considering fuels distribution. Efforts to provide incentives have been un-coordinated and insufficient.
Improve road haulage rules for industry, drivers and the environment, says Commission
14/04/2014
The Vice-President of the European Commission Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, has called for simplification and clarification of EU rules on road haulage. Mr Kallas' remarks follow the publication today (14/04/2014) of a report on integrating the internal market for road transport. The report concludes that while some progress has been made, removing the remaining restrictions would help the European economy and improve the environment.
European Commission publishes first EU Transport Scoreboard
10/04/2014
The European Commission has published today for the first time a scoreboard on transport in the EU. It compares Member State performance in 22 transport-related categories and highlights for most of these categories the five top and bottom performers. The Netherlands and Germany top the scoreboard with high scores in 11 categories, followed by Sweden, the UK and Denmark.
Travelling by air? Check if your carrier is safe on the Commission's new and user-friendly search tool for banned airlines
10/04/2014
The European Commission is launching today an online tool to search the list of airlines that are subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union, better known as "the EU Air Safety List". With the new tool, finding information is easier, faster and more effective. Type in a country, an airline name, or an ICAO airline code and you will know whether or not an airline is on the EU Air Safety List. Previously, even though the Commission's EU Air Safety List website is one of the most visited websites in the transport policy area, users had to study the complete list of airlines in order to find the information they needed on one particular airline.
Aviation: Commission updates the European safety list
10/04/2014
The European Commission has updated for the 23rd time the European list of airlines subject to an operating ban or operational restrictions within the European Union - better known as "the EU air safety list".
On the basis of safety information from various sources and hearings before the EU Air Safety Committee, the Commission decided to remove all airlines from Swaziland from the EU safety list. There is also positive news for the Philippines, where Cebu Pacific Air is allowed to operate to the EU, and for Kazakhstan, where national carrier Air Astana is allowed to increase the number of its flights to the EU.
European Commission calls for tough standards to regulate civil drones
08/04/2014
The European Commission has today proposed to set tough new standards to regulate the operations of civil drones (or "remotely piloted aircraft sytems" – RPAS). The new standards will cover safety, security, privacy, data protection, insurance and liability. The aim is to allow European industry to become a global leader in the market for this emerging technology, while at the same time ensuring that all the necessary safeguards are in place.
Vice-President Kallas replaces Vice-President Rehn between 7 April and 25 May
07/04/2014
European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas will be temporarily responsible for economic and monetary affairs and the euro from 7 April 2014 to 25 May 2014, as Vice-President Rehn is standing as a candidate in the European Parliament elections, and taking unpaid electoral leave of absence in order to actively participate in the election campaign.
