Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on Tuesday evening to ease existing restrictions on the use of vans or trucks without drivers hired from another EU country.

Ministers outlined the priorities of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU to parliamentary committees, in a series of meetings.

TRAN

.

New provisions to tackle letterbox companies, improve enforcement of cabotage rules and prevent fraud in road transport were adopted by the Transport Committee on Thursday.

MEPs approved a deal with Council on aligning EU seafarers training and certification rules with international standards and improving mutual recognition of seafarers certificates in the EU.

The Transport and Tourism Committee on Thursday approved draft rules which aim to improve the quality and pricing of cross-border parcel delivery services.

Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc presented the road mobility package proposals to the Transport and Tourism Committee on Monday, followed by a discussion with the MEPs.

Ahead of yet another seasonal time change lead transport MEPs urge EU countries to speed up their work and respond to citizens plea to end clock change.

The Transport and Tourism Committee welcomes the Commission’s latest package, notably the clarity on passenger rights whilst supporting both sectors to overcome COVID-19 crisis.

Members of Parliament’s Tourism Task Force reiterate that the tourism sector needs EU-level coordination and substantial support to give SMEs a chance of survival.

Transport and Tourism Committee MEPs quizzed Adina-Ioana Vălean, candidate for the transport portfolio.

Loopholes that airlines use to deny compensation to passengers delayed for over three hours should be closed by Transport Committee amendments, voted on Tuesday, to the European Commission’s proposal on revised air passenger rights. These amendments further restrict grounds for denying information, compensation and assistance, and make it easier for national authorities to penalise airlines that do not fulfil their obligations.

Tourism is a major contributor to European economy and EU visa policy reform needs to continue, but new security concerns also need to be addressed, MEPs said in a debate in the Transport and Tourism Committee on Wednesday with tourism sector and Commission representatives.

Current EU rules on periodic vehicles inspections add to road safety, but an update is inevitable with emerging implementation shortcomings and new safety systems for cars, said MEPs.

The first ever EU-wide rules for the civil use of drones were agreed by EP and Council negotiators on Thursday morning.

Transport Committee MEPs discussed with Commissioner Vălean the Single European Sky proposal that will allow the aviation sector to reduce CO2 emissions as well as costs.

On Monday Transport MEPs approved provisional deals on contingency measures to ensure basic air and road transport services between the UK and the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Modal shift towards inland waterway transport is necessary to reduce road congestion and emissions, and create a more sustainable transport system, Transport MEPs say

EU Commission and member states need to redouble efforts to achieve broad coverage and even distribution of alternative fuels infrastructure across the EU.