Brussels, March 15th, 2018
Enhancing Transport Connectivity – FEPORT calls for Combined Transport and Reporting Formalities for Ships to be at center of the European Year of Multimodality
Ahead of the European Commission High-level Conference on European Multimodal Freight Transport in Sofia on 20th March, FEPORT, along with other relevant transport associations, has co-signed two position papers: Joint positions on the proposed revision of the Combined Transport Directive and the upcoming revision of the Reporting Formalities Directive.
Multimodality takes advantage of the strengths of the different modes, such as convenience, speed, cost, reliability, predictability, etc., and in combination, can offer more efficient transport solutions for people and goods which will help ease the pressure on our congested roads, and make the whole sector more environmentally friendly, safer, and cost efficient.
Commissioner Violeta Bulc has launched the Year of Multimodality as a means of raising the importance of multimodality for the EU transport system.
FEPORT Secretary General, Ms. Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkaid, stated that “FEPORT strongly supports and welcomes the Commission’s Year of Multimodality because our members are actors of the multimodal chain and investors in intermodal solutions”.
Ms. Kerdjoudj-Belkaid continued, “We hope that the High-level Conference on European Multimodal Freight Transport in Sofia will focus on cross-sectoral strengths and recognize the contribution of all nodes and modes to the efficiency of multimodal chains in Europe. The joint positions that we have co-signed are a contribution to the upcoming discussions that will concern multimodality and a signal that industries are stronger together (1)”.
Regarding the combined transport proposal, FEPORT Policy Advisor, Mr. Conor Feighan, stressed that the revision of the Directive “offers good grounds to encourage the use of combined transport in order to achieve a more resource efficient transport and logistic network”.
Mr. Feighan continued, “Further elaboration is required in certain areas, in particular regarding when support measures are allowed for terminal development, but the proposal is a welcome improvement on the existing text”.
In relation to the upcoming revision of the Reporting Formalities Directive, Mr. Feighan stated there was a need to “ensure that any legislative proposal focuses on the creation of a European maximum data set, the re-use of existing systems and is technology neutral”.
Mr. Feighan concluded that the objective of the revision needs to “focus on simplification for all actors involved in reporting formalities for ships”.
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(1) Signed associations are also members of the “Industry Alliance for Multimodal Connectivity and Logistics for Growth”
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Lamia Kerdjoudj-Belkaid
Secretary General of FEPORT
E:
T: +32 2 736 75 52
Mr. Conor Feighan
Policy Advisor
E:
T: +32 2 736 75 52
Press Release - Year of multimodality