Key initiatives
Continuing along the path to Vision Zero – close to zero fatalities and serious injuries on the EU’s roads by 2050 – the Commission presented a road safety package. It includes proposals for a probation period for novice drivers, including a zero-tolerance rule on drink-driving; changes to training and testing to better prepare drivers for sharing roads with vulnerable users; and better EU cross-border enforcement of road safety traffic rules.
To protect passengers when something does go wrong, the EU strengthened passenger rights. Rules for rail passengers are now in force, improving protection in the case of delays, cancellations and missed connections, and making it easier for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility to travel by train. A separate Passenger Mobility Package has been proposed to clarify rules on reimbursement when flights or multimodal journeys are booked via an intermediary, and steps up support for passengers combining transport modes for a single journey, including passengers with reduced mobility.
Paving the way for more safe and secure parking areas across the EU, the Commission proposed better resting conditions for drivers, and measures to protect them from violence and cargo crime.
Following an update to the TEN-T Regulation, Member States will be obliged to ensure that safe and secure parking areas are available along the TEN-T network, no more than 150 km apart. New EU standards will also enable operators to select the level of security needed for their cargo.
The Commission made ten updates to the Air Safety List between December 2019 and 2024, banning carriers that do not fulfil international safety standards from operating to, in and from the EU. The EU also signed its fifth Bilateral Air Safety Agreement – with Japan.
The European Drone Strategy 2.0 was adopted, providing a framework for developing drone operations in Europe while keeping EU skies safe and secure. Implementing the ‘U-space’, a unique, European system will make it possible to increase operations.
The Commission adopted a package of proposals to modernise maritime safety rules, aligning them with international standards, and updating the European Maritime Safety Agency’s mandate. New safety rules to protect ferry passengers were also adopted.