Common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods

Briefing 11-01-2018

This note seeks to provide an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission's impact assessment (IA) accompanying the above proposal, submitted on 8 November 2017 and referred to Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism. The proposal aims to amend Directive 92/106/EEC (Combined Transport Directive, hereafter CTD) in order to improve its effectiveness and further enhance the shift towards intermodal transport, in particular combined transport, as an alternative to road transport, through simpler use of the regulatory regime and greater effectiveness of economic support measures. Intermodal transport largely uses modes of transport – such as rail, inland waterways and maritime transport – that cause less negative externalities (emissions, noise and accidents). While aiming at the specific target for modal shift defined in the European Commission's 2011 White Paper on a Single European Transport Area, the proposal is expected to reduce the negative effects of transport activities (IA, p. 39). The proposal, which is a REFIT initiative and part of the 2017 Commission work programme, aims at more sustainable and efficient freight transport and is in line with the low-emission mobility strategy, the United Nations' 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change (IA, p. 39). The European Parliament has supported multimodality and intermodality in transport in a number of resolutions.