Roadmap to a single European transport area: Towards a competitive and resource-efficient transport system

Transport is fundamental to our economy and society. It enables people to enjoy the freedom to travel, moves goods across the continent and creates growth and jobs. At the same time, it must be sustainable given increasing resource and environmental constraints.

ACT

White Paper - Roadmap to a single European transport area - Towards a competitive and resource-efficient transport system (COM(2011) 144 final of 28 March 2011).

SUMMARY

WHAT DOES THE ROADMAP DO?

It sets out 40 specific action points and lists 131 concrete initiatives for the next decade to build a competitive transport system that will remove major bottlenecks and move people and goods efficiently and safely throughout the European Union (EU). The proposals should reduce the EU’s dependence on imported oil, achieve essentially CO₂-free city mobility in major urban centres by 2030 and cut transport carbon emissions by 60 % by 2050.

KEY POINTS

The roadmap identifies the following goals for guiding policy action:

• reduce the use of petrol and diesel cars in cities by half by 2030, phasing them out completely by 2050 and achieve CO₂-free city mobility by 2030;
• increase the use of low-carbon sustainable fuels in air transport to 40 % by 2050;
• reduce EU CO₂ emissions from ship fuels by 40 % by 2050;
• switch 30 % of road freight travelling over 300 km to rail and waterborne transport by 2030, and over 50 % by 2050;
• triple the existing high-speed rail network by 2030. The majority of medium-distance passenger transport should go by rail by 2050;
• establish a fully functioning, EU-wide TEN-T core network integrating all forms of transport by 2030;
• connect major airports to rail and core seaports and rail and inland waterways by 2050;
• introduce traffic management systems for the various transport modes, such as for rail and road;
• develop a multimodal transport information management and payment system by 2020;
• halve road casualties by 2020 and reduce these to almost zero by 2050;
• fully apply the ‘user pays’ (i.e. those who use infrastructure pay for it) and ‘polluter pays’ (i.e. those who pollute pay for it) principles.

This comprehensive strategy for transport seeks to create a competitive transport system that will increase mobility, remove major barriers in key areas and fuel growth and employment by 2050. It is complemented by initiatives, such as:

• Horizon 2020 programme with its support for research and innovation on smart, green and integrated transport;
• Connecting Europe Facility, which provides finance for 10 transnational transport infrastructure projects;
• Roadmap to a low-carbon economy by 2020 in which transport is a key sector to reach that goal;
• various energy efficiency measures to reduce Europe’s use of primary energy by 20 % by 2020.

For more information, see the European Commission’s transport themes: European strategies webpage.

last update 08.05.2015