From the wars on Ukraine and in Middle East to the crisis of Red Sea, international events highlight the centrality of transport and logistics. With the European elections around the corner, CONFTRASPORTO-Confcommercio – the most representative Confederation of companies in the sector – launches its own Manifesto. Seven main points: accessibility, intermodality and infrastructural resilience, environment, regulatory coherence, Mediterranean competitiveness, training and work, digital development.
“We are going to the vote in a scenario of profound international uncertainty,
between tensions in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and the elections in
USA”, says the president of CONFTRASPORTO Pasquale Russo. “The Europe of the future must focus on a newfound unity and decision-making capacity. Infrastructure and transport are the basis of the development of the single market, guaranteeing the free movement of people and goods: it is essential to enhance the role of the sector, the cornerstone of European social and employment progress”explains.
For infrastructure, it is urgent to start major works and complete them
the TEN-T networks, which also include the Bridge over the Strait. On the
permeability of the Alpine passes, the use of Justice Court
against the blockades imposed by Austria is for CONFTRASPORTO the only way forward; for the competitiveness of ports, it is necessary
invest in adaptation with the railway lines to reduce
the infrastructure gap between Atlantic countries And Mediterraneans and predict
a strategy that can be given to European ports in the Mediterranean
tools for regional competition at the service of the economy
of the EU.
On the aerial planethe single aviation market must be preserved and strengthened, as it plays an essential role in ensuring territorial cohesion and connectivity. For the environment, CONFTRASPORTO reiterates the need for technological neutrality, and calls for a regulatory framework that enhances economic, social and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, a state aid system should be envisaged to renew the road fleets And maritimeand enable airports to invest in decarbonisation.
Finally, it is necessary ensure a regulatory framework convenient for the development of alternative fuels and bio fuels which solution can reduce emissions. As regards the regulatory system, CONFTRASPORTO believes greater regulatory coherence is necessary: companies operating in the EU too often have to navigate a ‘jungle’ of laws, with consequent costs and waste of time that can alter competition in the internal market.
Furthermore, it is necessary to have coherent legislation at a regional and international level that can adapt to the operations of companies, also to achieve the established sectoral objectivessuch as, for example, intermodal transport quotas.
For CONFTRASPORTO, Europe it must also guarantee generational turnover and the effective availability of the professional profiles necessary for the transport and logistics sector to continue to grow: the shortage of drivers, train drivers and other professional figures is a problem that needs to be resolved. Finally, digitalisation: supporting and accompanying companies to create an integrated digital ecosystem for greater competitiveness in the sector. Furthermore, on the use of AI, CONFTRASPORTO calls for the adoption of equal rules for everyone in the EU which allow companies to seize new technological opportunities and establish a legal perimeter against improper uses.
Continue reading on StrettoWeb
