The European Parliament adopted by 525 votes to 32, with 78 abstentions, a resolution entitled ‘Europe on the Move: an agenda for a socially fair transition towards clean, competitive and connected mobility for all’.
Mobility sector plays a key role in the European economy and society. With the development of automated cars, digitalisation and the necessity to develop cleaner transport, the sector is undergoing profound changes which affect all aspects of societies.
This resolution concerns the following aspects:
Impact of the transition in transport on skills and working methods: changes in the automotive industry will require new expertise and modes of working. Parliament stressed that these changes should give rise to new opportunities to make the transport sector more attractive and end labour shortages in the sector.
Parliament called on the Member States to take appropriate measures in anticipation of this shift in the job market, which should be accompanied by a stronger social dialogue. It also called on the Commission to develop an EU strategy which embraces the new employment opportunities that the digitalisation of the transport sector will create and to take account of the Member States’ best practices, with the aim of fostering job creation in the transport sector, including as a priority fair transitional arrangements for employees whose jobs become obsolete as the transport sector is digitalised.
Members welcomed the Commission’s New Skills Agenda for Europe and initiatives such as the Blueprint for Sectoral Cooperation on Skills and the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition, which promote cooperation between trade unions, training institutions and private sector actors to anticipate, identify and address skills mismatch. They also called on the Commission to present a mid-term evaluation of the projects launched on skills in the automotive sector.
Research and innovation: the European transport sector must develop, invest, innovate and renew itself in a sustainable way in order to maintain its technological leadership and competitive position. Sustainable and innovative transport technologies and mobility solutions will be needed to enhance road safety, limit climate change and carbon dioxide emissions, air pollution and congestion.
In this context, Parliament called for:
- more funding for interlinked cross-sectoral research and development regarding connected and driverless cars, electrification of rail and road infrastructures, alternative fuels, vehicle design and manufacturing, network and traffic management as well as smart mobility services and infrastructure ;
- the provision of further transparent financial support for research, innovation and training and for funding in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to foster the rapid development and deployment of systems, services and digital solutions for transport in the future;
- a specific public–private partnership for connected and automated driving. They supported the Commission’s work for the creation of the European battery alliance and called for further financial support for the development of sustainable batteries;
- for increased use of digital technologies in the implementation of the ‘polluter pays’ principle, such as eTolling and eTicketing based on the environmental performance of vehicles. It underlined the importance of financing transport infrastructure projects and significant investments in the most environmentally responsible low-carbon fuels.
Highlighting the current financial and non-financial barriers that consumers face when purchasing a low-emission vehicle, Members called on the Commission to take all necessary measures to facilitate roaming and accessibility of charging infrastructure in Europe.
Transport transition that works for all users: zero casualties on European roads should be the overarching goal. However, transitional period will be challenging as it entails not only integrating automated transport into the current environment, including the provision of the necessary connectivity and infrastructure, but also enabling the safe coexistence with traditional means of transport, which are likely to remain in use for a long time.
The Commission is called on to make a thorough and technologically neutral assessment of the safety implications of the use of automated systems with a holistic focus on the safety repercussions of all intermodal transport systems.
The resolution emphasised that upcoming changes should not come at the expense of social inclusion and connectivity in the Member States and areas where there are mobility gaps. It noted the need to upgrade network capacity, taking advantage of existing network infrastructure and significant future innovations to enable deeper integration of digital technologies and to address the major disparities of connectivity between Member States and also between urban and rural, central and remote areas.
Members stressed the importance of promoting collective and safer public transport for goods and passengers on major cross-border corridors and in metropolitan areas and promoting sustainable urban and rural mobility plans.
Lastly, in the context of the collaborative economy, Parliament called for regulatory measures to address consumer protection, shared responsibility, taxation, insurance schemes, social protection for workers and data protection. It called to ensure that the collaborative economy does not give rise to unfair competition, cause social and fiscal dumping and supplant regulated public transport.