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having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, in particular Title XVIII thereof, as well as to the Treaty on European Union, in particular to Article 5(3) thereof,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 14 December 2021 entitled ‘The New EU Urban Mobility Framework’ (COM(2021)0811),

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having regard to the Commission proposal of 14 December 2021 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European network (COM(2021)0812), and in particular Recital 52 and Article 40 thereof on urban nodes requirements,

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having regard to the ‘Fit for 55’ Commission package of 14 July 2021 on delivering the European Green Deal,

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having regard to the 2013 urban mobility package and the evaluation thereof (SWD(2021)0048),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility (1),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy (2) (the Common Provisions Regulation),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1058 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund (3),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1059 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on specific provisions for the European territorial cooperation goal (Interreg) supported by the European Regional Development Fund and external financing instruments (4),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility (5),

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having regard to Directive (EU) 2019/1161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Directive 2009/33/EC on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles (6),

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having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/2338 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007concerning the opening of the market for domestic passenger transport services by rail (7),

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having regard to the Digital Europe Programme,

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having regard to the Commission communication of 30 June 2021 entitled ‘A long-term Vision for the EU’s Rural Areas — Towards stronger, connected, resilient and prosperous rural areas by 2040’ (COM(2021)0345),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 3 March 2021 entitled ‘Union of Equality: Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030’ (COM(2021)0101),

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having regard to the Commission communication of 3 May 2022 entitled ‘Putting people first, securing sustainable and inclusive growth, unlocking the potential of the EU’s outermost regions’ (COM(2022)0198),

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having regard to the New Leipzig Charter on the transformative power of cities for the common good, adopted at the Informal Ministerial Meetings on 30 November 2020,

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having regard to the Pact of Amsterdam establishing the Urban Agenda for the EU, agreed by the EU ministers responsible for urban matters on 30 May 2016,

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having regard to the UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities,

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having regard to its resolution of 15 February 2022 on the challenges for urban areas in the post-COVID-19 era (8),

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having regard to its resolution of 6 October 2021 on the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 — Recommendations on next steps towards ‘Vision Zero’  (9),

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having regard to its resolution of 3 July 2018 on the role of cities in the institutional framework of the Union (10),

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having regard to its resolution of 13 March 2018 on the role of EU regions and cities in implementing the COP 21 Paris Agreement on climate change (11),

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having regard to its resolution of 9 September 2015 on the urban dimension of EU policies (12),

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having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions on ‘The new Urban Mobility Framework’  (13),

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having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Regional Development,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A9-0108/2023),

A.

whereas groups with special needs include persons with disabilities and reduced mobility, the elderly, women, children or people accompanying children fully exercising their right to mobility, study, play and work;

B.

whereas public transport means traditional services such as rail, metro, tram or bus networks;

C.

whereas collective transport means a public transport and new services based on sharing, on demand, flexible new business models and other mobility carrying collectively more passengers;

D.

whereas micro-mobility encompasses electrically and non-electrically powered personal mobility devices such as bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, hoverboards, monowheels and others;

E.

whereas active mobility includes both the transport of people or goods that can be powered based on human physical activity or by a combination of an electric motor and human power, such as e-bikes;

F.

whereas the Commission proposal on amending the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) aims at building an EU-wide sustainable, effective, accessible and multimodal transport network, including the development of sustainable urban mobility plans (SUMPs) for cities;

G.

whereas the EU Urban Mobility Framework proposed by the Commission asserts that priority at national and local level should be placed on the development of collective transport, particularly public transport, and active mobility and putting them at the centre of efforts to achieve sustainable urban mobility;

H.

whereas any urban mobility framework must focus on public interests, meeting people’s needs and supporting the economic and social development of Member States so that urban mobility is planned and integrated with the various branches of the economy and aimed at changing collective behaviour in order to build more sustainable cities with better quality of life through a variety of affordable, accessible, efficient, smart and sustainable transport solutions;

I.

whereas the European Environment Agency has cautioned that transport emissions increased between 2013 and 2019 and with the exception of a drop in 2020 due to lockdowns introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, transport emissions are still projected to grow;

J.

whereas staff shortages and job insecurity threaten the economic sustainability of the transport sector and consequently that of urban mobility frameworks;

K.

whereas the organisation of transport in the city depends on the interaction with the surroundings;

L.

whereas the Horizon Europe Framework Programme will provide EUR 359,3 million over the period 2021-2023 for its mission on climate-neutral and smart cities, aiming to reach a total of 100 climate-neutral cities in the EU by 2030 (14); whereas the research and innovation actions proposed by the EC to achieve this objective will address, inter alia, green urban planning;

M.

whereas the total cost to society from transport amounts to an estimated EUR 987 billion a year; whereas this figure can be broken down into environmental costs (44 %), accidents (29 %) and congestion costs (27 %); whereas private cars account for EUR 565 billion of these costs but charges from taxes in terms of fuel and ownership, and tolls, cover just under half of these costs (EUR 267 billion) signalling that the external costs from transport have yet to be fully internalised; whereas these negative externalities disproportionately affect those on lower incomes (15);

N.

whereas 75 % of total CO2 emissions take place in cities (16), around 23 % of EU’s transport emissions come from urban areas, 70 % of EU citizens live in cities today, and the share is projected to reach almost 84 % in 2050, such that cities have an important role to play in contributing to the Green Deal objectives;

O.

whereas congestion costs the EU around EUR 270 billion a year and is therefore one of the biggest challenges to urban mobility, with air pollution, noise pollution and urban heat affecting most Europeans;

P.

whereas the revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (16) should facilitate the progress by Member States towards the green transition through provisions on electromobility infrastructure rollout, including faster deployment of recharging points, and provisions for parking spaces for bicycles;

Q.

whereas electromobility is currently at different stages of development in Member States and regions across the EU, specific exemptions and flexibility should be put in place to allow Member States and regions with a less developed electromobility market to make progress towards the green transition; whereas particular attention should be paid to ensuring that energy grid capacity meets the demands of current and future electric vehicles and that planning reserve margins for grid connection power are taken into account;

R.

whereas there has been an unprecedented rise in oil prices in recent months and the future trend is unclear; whereas it is of the utmost importance to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels; whereas, according to the International Energy Agency, speed reduction is an effective measure to achieve this;

S.

whereas public transport employs two million people in local, secure jobs in communities across the EU and it offers a range of career paths and employment opportunities with staff coming from many different backgrounds; whereas during the pandemic, a significant proportion of these staff had to be furloughed and many decided to leave the sector, particularly in Member States with low social security benefits and weak collective bargaining coverage;

T.

whereas a labour shortage in public transport has recently resulted in a reduction in transport services including the cancellation of night and weekend services, and the cutting of routes; whereas this has had a negative impact on inclusive mobility, threatening social cohesion and access to jobs, education and healthcare for the most vulnerable users who depend entirely on public transport for their mobility; whereas mobility poverty is growing across the EU;

U.

whereas the efficient movement of people, services and goods, including city freight transport and logistics is essential to the functioning of urban economies and innovative solutions and best practices are being observed across EU cities, whereas sustainable urban logistic plans can play an important role, in view of the increase in freight transport and logistics volumes;

V.

whereas consumer e-commerce deliveries grew by 25 % in 2020 as a consequence of the pandemic, and the increase in ‘last-mile’ deliveries, and its impact in urban areas is likely to persist;

W.

whereas coach travel represents 40 % of the EU collective road transport activity;

X.

whereas mobility is key and indispensable for socio-economic inclusion and a decisive structural factor in the development of societies and the ability to connect individuals, communities, productive and service sectors, and different regions and cultures, and in the promotion of territorial and social cohesion, economic dynamism, and environmental quality and balance;

Y.

whereas urban transport policies should shift from simply providing mobility to ensuring accessibility to the service, giving greater priority to affordable access for all, regardless income, age, health or location (e.g. urban, or peri-urban or rural);

Z.

whereas collective transport and particularly public transport, including in the suburbs, needs to be enforced in terms of capacity increase, geographical coverage, frequencies and affordability;

AA.

whereas public transport systems have to be accessible for all citizens, especially for users from groups with special needs;

AB.

whereas various EU cities and Member States have taken measures in response to the current energy crisis such as lowering the price of tickets for public transport;

AC.

whereas new services based on sharing, on-demand, flexible, new business models mobility services complement the traditional public transport services; whereas these services contribute to cutting carbon emissions, improving air quality and reducing noise and congestion, alleviating shortages of parking places in urban areas and enhancing connectivity with suburban, peri-urban and rural areas;

AD.

whereas effective multimodal solutions combining a variety of transport solutions such as collective transport, individual mobility and active mobility, accompanied by the necessary infrastructure, including mobility hubs, can help improve the quality and effectiveness of urban environment investments, while ensuring overall benefits for people’s quality of life; whereas the Commission should propose a multimodal package in this regard;

AE.

whereas COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenges being faced by urban mobility systems, but has also served as a catalyst to make them more resilient, smarter, safer, more sustainable and accessible, with numerous cities across Europe accelerating the implementation of their mobility plans during the pandemic and introducing measures to facilitate social distancing that favoured active mobility, leading to a strong increase in walking and cycling and in the implementation of cycling infrastructure;

AF.

whereas the rules and requirements for active mobility, micro-mobility, and new forms of zero- and low-emissions mobility are still at the early stages or vary between Member States, which is having a significant impact on citizens’ safety and is also resulting in missed opportunities for users in various Member States and uncertainty for operators;

AG.

whereas active mobility has considerable potential to contribute to overcoming the problems that are associated with urban areas, improving air quality, reducing congestion and improving individual health;

AH.

whereas improved multimodal mobility and smart infrastructure facilities, including rail, car-sharing solutions, and smart mobility infrastructure could have significant benefits for tourism and hospitality and accommodation infrastructure in the urban environment;

AI.

whereas the European Environmental Agency (EEA) estimates that in 2018 long-term exposure to particulate matter with a diameter of 2,5 microns or less (PM 2,5) in Europe was responsible for approximately 417 000 premature deaths, of which around 379 000 were in the EU-28; whereas EU thresholds are well above WHO guidelines for most pollutants, with special concern about the lack of a daily limit for PM2,5; whereas like COVID-19, this represents a public health emergency that requires immediate action;

AJ.

whereas the Commission published a Topic Guide on SUMPs specifically focusing on road safety and micro-mobility in the SUMP planning and implementation process;

AK.

whereas there have only been limited improvements in terms of meeting road safety objectives in the EU in recent years and every year around 22 600 people still lose their lives on the EU’s roads and around 120 000 are seriously injured; whereas 39 % of road fatalities in the EU occur in urban areas and the EU’s target of halving the number of road deaths between 2010 and 2020 was not met;

AL.

whereas vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclist and users of powered two-wheelers are at the greatest risk and represent around 70 % of total fatalities in urban areas;

AM.

whereas good practices and incentives such as speed limits and special training for drivers could help cut the number of serious accidents and fatalities;

AN.

whereas the number of accidents involving cycling and other forms of micro and active mobility represents a serious cause for concern; whereas additional efforts at EU and national levels are needed to achieve the EU’s goal enshrined in the Vision Zero objectives in order to improve the protection of all users;

AO.

whereas urban accessibility plays a vital role in enabling groups with special needs, such as persons with disabilities and reduced mobility, the elderly or people accompanying children to fully exercise their right to mobility, study and work;

AP.

whereas the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in urban mobility has the potential to significantly improve safety, security and efficiency, enhance the inclusion of vulnerable groups, reduce traffic congestion, cut air and noise pollution, reduce costs and decarbonise the transport sector;

AQ.

whereas subsidiarity and proportionality are key principles governing the exercise of the EU’s competences and should thus be respected at all times and in all EU policy areas;

AR.

whereas mobility and transport should draw people both in and out of areas, to enable the use and development, including for tourism, of a tourist or economic area that centres around one or more major cities;