2022 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen
On September 14th, 2022, President von der Leyen delivered the annual State of the Union Address. In the course of her speech, President von der Leyen...
Funding opportunities in research and innovation
ESC has outlined the relevant funding opportunities in the area of logistics and transport. The EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation is Horizon Europe....
CENELEC offers a new tool to manage electrical compatibility in railways
Ensuring the electrical compatibility between rolling stock and electric traction systems is crucial for organizing a railway network. The train operating companies must be able to...
Leaflets for drivers and operators on Posting of Drivers and Driving and Resting Time
The European Labour Authority (ELA or the Authority) prepared and published two information leaflets for drivers and operators in the road transport sector. In some cases,...
Implications of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine for the European Economy
The cost of the war, so far, can be estimated at around one-and-a-half point of lower real growth and about three additional points of headline inflation....
Commission amends TEN-T proposal in view of the impact brought by the war situation in Ukraine
The Commission proposes to amend its December 2021 proposal on the revision of the TEN-T Regulation. Russia’s war against Ukraine has redefined the geopolitical landscape, highlighting...
Decarbonizing Road Freight Transport: Zero Emissions Vehicles availability roadmap
WHY THIS WEBINAR Freight transport, logistics companies and shippers are developing and implementing their decarbonization roadmaps. Battery Electric and Fuel Cell Hydrogen Electric vehicles are key...
DCSA and the European Shippers’ Council agree to collaborate to drive adoption of DCSA standards
AMSTERDAM, BRUSSELS, 3 August, 2022 — Ongoing supply chain disruption has highlighted the urgency for closer collaboration between cargo owners and ocean carriers to improve cargo...
Open letter to the European Commission on CO2 standards for heavy duty vehicles
Time to recognise the role of renewable fuels to decarbonise road transport In the context of the upcoming legislation on CO2 standards for Heavy Duty Vehicles,...
European Parliament pushes for greener aviation fuels
On July 7, the European Parliament plenary held a debate and vote on the ReFuelEU Aviation report. Parliament adopted its position on new draft EU rules...
Mobility Package I: questions on implementation and enforcement
The European Commission commented on the questions coming from the European Parliament regarding preliminary observations on the implementation of the Mobility Package I. One of the...
Study: the future of transport in the context of the Recovery Plan
The report requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism provides an overview of the EU's 29 transport sector priorities and the National Recovery...
Corporate sustainability due diligence and value chains versus supply chains
In its answer to the European Parliament, the European Commission explains the concept of the ‘value chain’ as used in the proposal on Corporate Sustainability Due...
Flexibility and quality of air cargo services will attract shippers
The International Air Cargo Association announced that the first edition of the Regional event series was a success. On the 28th of June, during the panel...
Flexiwaggon: cost reductions for the value chain
By taking freight transport from the highway to the railway, the Swedish company Flexiwaggon enables significant cost reductions across the value chain while improving sustainability in...
Discussing shippers’ needs and expectations at TIACA symposium on 28 June
Global supply chains have come under more sustained pressure in the past two years than any time in the last 70 years. Borders closed borders open,...
What stakehoders think: the need for technology openness to achieve CO2 emissions reduction from vehicles
Various Stakeholders addressed Members of the European Parliament and Member States’ representatives with an open letter stressing the need for technology openness to achieve CO2 emissions...
Moving towards Fit for 55: IRU position
The European Shippers’ Council supports decarbonisation of transport sector and the greening transition. However, it is vital to choose correct tools and realistic directions on the...
MEPs back objective of zero emissions for cars and vans in 2035
In a plenary vote on the 8th of June, MEPs adopted their position on proposed rules to revise the CO2 emissions performance standards for new cars...
MEPs want stricter rules for Member States’ greenhouse gas emissions
On the 8th of June 2022, the European Parliament adopted its position on the effort sharing regulation which sets binding annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions...
Votes in the European Parliament
Last week, the European Parliament voted on several proposals in the framework of Fit for 55. Some proposals (amongst them the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) were...
Council adopts its position on three texts relating to the transport sector
On the 2nd of June 2022, European transport ministers adopted a common position (‘general approach’) on each of the three legislative proposals of the Fit for...
European Environment Agency: analysis on road transport gas emissions
Growing transport volumes have been driving Europe's road transport emissions up in the past two decades. A European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis, published on the 1st...
RAIL: Multimodal Freight Conference, 22 June, Le Havre
As customers all over the world are demanding environmentally sound freight transport solutions, many European ports are investing heavily into improving their rail infrastructure for the...
Transport Council conclusions: TEN-T and driver attestations for third country drivers
On the 2nd of June 2022, Ministers in the TTE Council (Transport) exchanged views on the draft Regulation proposed by the European Commission on the further...
Austria’s policy restricting lorry traffic through Tyrol
Austria’s policy to restrict lorry traffic through Tyrol is increasingly hampering transport services in the region and affecting supply chains across the EU. Following on from...
WEBINAR – How to calculate Greenhouse Gas Reduction from sustainable transport innovation
Transport accounts for approximately 21% of global GHG emissions according to the International Energy Agency. To enable market uptake of innovation, evidence-based impact assessment of the...
Commission’s Contingency Plan for Transport
A Contingency Plan for Transport, adopted by the European Commission on the 23rd of May aims to strengthen the resilience of the European transport sector in...
Suspended import duties on Ukraine products
At the Press Conference at the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis informed about the suspension of import duties on all Ukrainian exports for one...
WTO reform and preparations for the 12th WTO ministerial conference
Ministers discussed preparations for the 12th World Trade Organization ministerial conference (CM12), which will take place in Geneva from 12 to 15 June 2022 against the...
EU Legislative Tracker
The remaining priority files as identified by the European Commission in its Work Programme are available here. The document was updated on the 10th of June....
Supply chain ethics
« We do explain the causes of the misfunctioning of supply chain, such as the disruption by Brexit, the worldwide mismatch between demand and capacity due to...
Workshops: Countries and regions initiatives supporting zero emission road freight and logistics
ALICE and EMEurope, with the support of the POLIS Network and ENTRANCE project, are jointly organising a series of online workshops on “countries and regions initiatives...
Commission’s Contingency Plan for Transport
On Monday the 23rd of May, the European Commission adopted a Contingency Plan for Transport, which aims to strengthen the resilience of the European transport sector...
EIT Urban Mobility´s – Second Info Session: ChallengeMyCity | Madrid
Take part in the second Info Session for the Challenge My City Call for Proposals! On 26 May, from 15:00 to 16:00 CET, EIT Urban Mobility...
Electronic exchanges in transport and logistics
Current state of digital maturity in the transport and logistics will be discussed at the "Digitization beyond 2022" event on the 8th of June 2022. The...
Second ENTRANCE live webinar
Are you a Small and Medium Enterprise-Startup or spinout company and looking for funding for your innovation? The ENTRANCE project is designed to mobilise financial resources and boost sustainable...
Guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network
The European Commission is asking for feedback on guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network. EU policy on transport infrastructure aims to facilitate transport...
Increasing power of Chinese logistics and a need to maintain fair competition
ESC President Roman Stiftner commented on the increasing market power of Chinese logistics companies. In his interview to the BVL magazine he stated that the developments...
Conference “Fit for 55: the Road Ahead”, 1 June 2022
Brussels, 1 June 2022, International Road Transport Union and the European Commission are organising "Fit for 55: the Road Ahead" conference which will be held physically...
Emissions reduction, EU Emissions Trading system, and road transport
CO2 emission standards for cars and vans On April 20, the European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) adopted its opinion on the Amending...
EMSA report on COVID-19 Impact on Shipping
The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) report provides figures on the impact of COVID-19 on shipping traffic; it is based on solid vessel movements statistics showing...
Metals for Clean Energy
Last week, at Metals for Clean Energy: Solving Europe's raw materials challenge event, experts debated how to bridge Europe’s metals supply gap, securely and sustainably. A...
European Commission answers European Parliament on extremely high container prices and impact on consumer prices
The recently published Eurostat figures mark a record high 5.1% inflation in the Eurozone in January 2022. In the Netherlands, inflation has even climbed to 6.4%...
The ESC supports the EC proposal for alternative fuel infrastructures and welcomes the EP´s draft report
European Shippers’ Council applauds the determined actions taken by the European Parliament and the European Commission to establish a proper and pan-European network of sufficient charging...
ENTRANCE & EIT Urban Mobility call: Intelligent Transport Systems for sustainable city logistics
European project ENTRANCE and EIT Urban Mobility are calling on all solution providers ready to deliver Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) for sustainable city logistics for European...
Webinar “Maritime Supply Chain Challenges in Disrupted Times”, 26 April 2022
Shippers are cordially invited to participate in "Maritime Supply Chain Challenges in Disrupted Times" webinar that will take place on the 26th of April 2022, 11.00-12.15...
Maritime market: Commission doesn’t consider behaviour of alliances anti-competitive; ESC wants the EC to do its job
24th March 2022, in its response to Member of the European Parliament Vera Tax regarding the situation in the maritime sector – competition, the selective picking...
Shifting cargo to rail, new shift2030 initiative
Last week, 28 March 2022, shift2030 – an enterprise that promotes the modal shift - launched the Time2Shift action to provide practical information to shippers and...
PLANET’s liaison with other EU-funded initiatives and projects
In the project PLANET - Progress towards Federated Logistics Through The Integration Of TEN-T into A Global Trade Network - ESC is leading a task on...
European Innovation Procurement Awards
The European Innovation Council has launched the second edition of the European Innovation Procurement Awards to promote and implement innovation procurement across Europe. “Innovation procurement boosts...
New guidance to support logistics industry towards zero emissions
As an associate partner of the Global Logistics Emissions Council, ESC welcomes a new initiative of the Smart Freight Centre and WBCSD co-developed with 30+ global...
Public consultation: extension of EU Digital COVID Certificate Regulation
The European Commission has decided to propose a revision of the European Digital Certificate Regulation and to extend the use the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC)...
Commission state aid due to war situation in Ukraine
The current war situation in Ukraine, the sanctions imposed by the EU and international partners against Russia and Belarus, and the counter measures taken by Russia...
Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and UK
24 March 2022, European Commission published Annual Report on the implementation and application of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United...
ESPORG Award Ceremony 2022
ESPORG, the European Secure Parking Organisation, in partnership with its public and private stakeholders from the road transport and supplier industries, established a dedicated Excellence in...
ALICE position on Fit for 55
ESC, as a member of the European Technology Platform ALICE, contributes to the ALICE activities in research, innovation, and market deployment of logistics and supply chain...
PLANET’s living labs to analyse global trade, infrastructure issues, and TEN-T
The EU project PLANET has published a short video summarising the background, the key objectives, and an overview of the three Living Labs contributing to analysing...
Innovations in logistics – report December 2021
This paper is the result of a research conducted by three MSc students of the University of Groningen under the supervision of the program managers of...
Call for Innovation for the Business Plan 2023-2025 – Apply until 28 April 2022!
EIT Urban Mobility, which is an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), launches a call for Innovation for the Business Plan 2023-2025...
Consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for trade and logistics
Russia's military invasion of Ukraine has far-reaching consequences for logistics and trade with Ukraine and the surrounding region. ESC is first and foremost seriously concerned about...
ESC contributes to EC consultation on weights and dimensions
ESC sees innovation as an indispensable tool in emissions reduction. Longer and heavier vehicles can be seen as an innovative measure that can be applied directly....
EU adopts new road charging rules for greening road transport
17 February 2022, the EU adopted new rules on road charging. The new system will improve incentives for more efficient and sustainable road transport. It will...
Inquiry in the container shipping sector is needed to remove unfair and discriminatory rules
ESC supports CLECAT in its call for an urgent inquiry in the container shipping. High freight costs accompanied by discrimination and extremely low quality of services...
Maritime disruption to be discussed at Container Shipping conference
European Shippers’ Council will present their crucial insights into current trends and effective container shipping techniques to global industry leaders at the Container Shipping Conference in...
The role of maritime trade in the post-COVID recovery
Shipping has a vital role to play in post pandemic recovery for the EU but must not be ignored in reforms to the bloc's trade policy,...
A regular chemical train on the New Silk Road
As soon as the Chinese New Year is over, a regular chemical train may be running on the New Silk Road. That is the plan of...
Inland waterway transport needs investment
In its opinion adopted at the January plenary, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supports transport multimodality and smart shipping, pointing out that inland waterway...
Commission consultations on the greening and digitalisation of the mobility, transport and automotive ecosystem
24th January, 2022, the Commission invites interested parties to reflect and contribute on the transition of the mobility ecosystem, covering automotive, waterborne and rail supply. The...
Mobility ecosystem: scenarios for a transition pathway
The European Commission published the Commission staff working document "For a resilient, innovative, sustainable and digital mobility ecosystem - scenarios for a transition pathway." For more...
Disruption of maritime supply chains
Due to disturbed supply and demand, shipping capacity was withdrawn until mid-2020 from various trade lines, which caused bottlenecks when demand grew rapidly again. What is...
Trade: economic coercion by third countries and sustainable corporate governance
On January 25, the European Parliament Committee on International Trade held a first exchange of views on the Commission's proposal for a regulation on the protection...
Study on freight transport: relaunching transport and tourism in the EU after COVID-19
The thematic study "Relaunching transport and tourism in the EU after COVID-19: Freight transport" provides an overview of the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on EU...
#ChallengeMyCity Call for Pilots still open
ESC is a partner in the European project ENTRANCE. ENTRANCE would like to draw the attention of innovators to the #ChallengeMyCity Call for Pilots supported by...
Supply chain partners in constructive dialogue to overcome logistics challenges
Brussels, 14 December 2021 - Shippers and carriers met to talk about the causes and effects of recent supply chain disruption coinciding with the COVID 19...
The 6th Plenary Meeting of the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum
ESC, as a full member and active observer of the Digital Transport and Logistics Forum, participated in the DTLF’s 6th Plenary Meeting on the 8th of...
Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council: Fit for 55 package
The Fit for 55 package aims to help the EU reach its target of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared...
New trends in road freight transport
On the 9th of December 2021, the Transport Council met to discuss the file 'New trends in road freight transport: The inflation of the number of...
The role of the EU budget in the Fit for 55 package
On the 9th of December 2021, the Committee on Budgets held an exchange of views with Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans on the...
UK-EU regulatory divergence tracker
The UK in a Changing Europe’s regulatory divergence tracker provides an overview of where and how the UK has used its newfound regulatory freedoms to diverge...