Raquel Sánchez prioritises progress in the sustainable and digital transformation of transport during the Presidency of the European Union

"It will be a Presidency focused on responding to the important challenges facing the transport sector in relation to the double transition it is facing: the green and the digital transition," the minister said.

Thus, the main objective of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of EU Transport Ministers is to continue the transformation of the sector to make it more sustainable, resilient and digital, paying special attention to the needs of citizens through mobility, that is, putting people at the centre. "We understand mobility as a means that facilitates access to education, health, housing and work", said Raquel Sánchez, who took the opportunity to thank the European Parliament for its "important role in defending a better transport policy for European citizens".

In this regard, an Informal Meeting of Transport Ministers will be held this week in Barcelona, focusing on the role of mobility and transport in the social and territorial cohesion of the European Union. During this meeting, which will take place on 21-22 September, the Barcelona Ministerial Declaration will be presented under the title: Mobility for people: promoting social and territorial cohesion.

"The aim of this declaration is to consolidate the path, already initiated by the European Commission with the European Green Pact and the Intelligent and Sustainable Mobility Strategy, to achieve effective connectivity throughout the European Union, both in urban centres and in sparsely populated areas or areas with orographic difficulties", explained Raquel Sánchez during her speech.

Priorities and dossiers

In recent months, the European Commission has tabled numerous important legislative initiatives in the field of transport. Thus, as part of the desire to make as much progress as possible, the minister has reported on the importance of setting priorities among the various dossiers.

In this context, the minister explained that the Spanish Presidency has "an ambitious and realistic work programme", which will also focus on initiatives to strengthen the single European area, given its special importance in times of crisis.

Within these initiatives under negotiation between the Council and the Parliament, the Spanish Presidency will work very actively to seek an agreement on the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network Regulation and the Single European Sky Regulation due to their important role in improving cross-border connectivity, efficiency and the reduction of polluting emissions.

"The revision of the Trans-European Transport Network Regulation is crucial to accelerate the completion of a high quality transport network that goes beyond national borders. Our citizens need effective connectivity throughout the Union, without bottlenecks or missing links. This issue is a priority for the Spanish Presidency, and we will continue negotiations with Parliament to make as much progress as possible," the minister explained.

On the Single European Sky, Raquel Sánchez recalled its "importance in accommodating growing traffic, while combining efficiency and sustainability and maintaining or even improving safety levels".

Negotiations in the Council

With regard to the initiatives under negotiation in the EU Council, the maritime safety and road safety packages and the greening of freight transport package are high on the Presidency's agenda of priorities.

Along these lines, the minister told the European Parliament that the aim is to achieve in December "a general approach in most of the initiatives of the Maritime Safety package", whose objective is to incorporate the latest advances in safety and to encourage the digitalisation and sustainability of maritime transport.

With regard to the Road Safety package, the negotiation of which in Spain is the responsibility of the Directorate General of Traffic, the Spanish Presidency is working on the reform of the directive on driving licences to facilitate the free movement of persons in the EU through a digital licence and on the proposal for the cross-border exchange of information on traffic offences.

"The Spanish Presidency is very conscious of making progress in the work to achieve the general guidelines before the end of the mandate of this package, which aims to improve road safety and facilitate sustainable mobility in the Union", stressed the Transport Minister.

Regarding the Freight Greening Package, which aims to simplify the rules and create incentives for operators to choose more sustainable alternatives, Raquel Sanchez explained that they have decided to focus on the proposal on weights and dimensions due to the late submission of the package. "We are prioritising this proposal because it maximises transport capacity and efficiency by allowing more freight capacity, and promotes intermodal transport. We hope to reach an general approach in December," she said.

In addition, the aim is to achieve a general approach before the end of the mandate on the proposal on driving and rest times for bus drivers.

Other lines of work

During the Spanish Presidency, the EU Transport Council will also work on the CountEmissionsEU initiative, a proposal that was presented in July as part of the Greening Package. "It is important to have a harmonised emissions accounting system so that citizens can make sustainable transport choices," said Raquel Sánchez.

Work will also be carried out on the proposal on capacity management of rail infrastructure in order to harmonise and coordinate capacity allocation and traffic management.

The minister used her address to the European Parliament to point out the importance of aligning EU initiatives and solutions with those of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) and IMO (International Maritime Organisation). According to the minister, the major challenges of sustainability in the aviation and maritime sectors need to be tackled at a global level, and the proposals of both organisations are part of the solution. "I will be delighted to represent the EU at the third ICAO conference on aviation and alternative fuels in November," she said.

"We have many challenges ahead of us, but fortunately we have the excellent work done by the previous presidencies of France, the Czech Republic and Sweden, and the close collaboration we are maintaining with the next presidency, that of Belgium," stressed the acting minister for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda.

Non official translation