EFIP’s Response to the Commission’s Transport White Paper “Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area”
05 June 2011
EFIP is welcoming the White paper’s main and ambitious vision to both support mobility and reduce emissions. The White paper’s plea for clarity on the future policy frameworks and for coherence at EU level will allow inland ports to draw up sustainable and strong investment plans and is the best way to attract new investments in inland ports in inland ports and the inland waterway transport sector in general. EFIP particularly welcomes the issue of urban logistics. The inland ports however emphasize that a policy on sustainable urban freight and logistics shouldn’t be limited to the last urban mile. The strategy announced by the Commission should be accompanied by a strategy for bringing the goods in a sustainable way towards the city centres. By making a benchmark of having all core seaports sufficiently connected to rail and inland waterway transport by 2050, the European Commission is giving an important signal. This will obviously help inland ports in playing their role as hinterland hub for the big seaports.