The Roadmap plans to shift half of the 27-nation bloc's "middle distance journeys" from road to rail, and to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector by 60 per cent by the middle of the century.

The Commission aims to create a Single European Transport Area to foster competition and to fully integrate the transport systems of the eastern and western parts of Europe that fully reflects "the transport needs of almost the whole continent and our 500 million citizens."

This new EU transport plan will now be presented to governments of the Member States for review and approval. A spirited debate is ensured.

Of interest to air cargo policy makers and supply chain security professionals are the subjects included in a List of Initiatives that are provided at the end of the Newsletter.

• Under the heading “secure transport” the Commission will “implement the Action Plan on Strengthening Air cargo Security, define new rules on air cargo screening as necessary and enhance the security of cargo in ports”, and “Complete an EU-wide one-stop security system for air cargo”.
• Under the heading “End-to-End” security the Commission will “increase the level of security along the supply chain without impeding the free flow of trade. End-to-end security certificates should be considered taking into account existing schemes…..” [end-to-end security certificates were evaluated in the “Creation of an EU Known Shipper’s Prototype Data Base” project performed by Innovative Compliance for the Commission during 2005-2008].

The Roadmap can be viewed at: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/strategies/doc/2011_white_paper/white_paper_com(2011)_144_en.pdf

A Commission staff working document accompanying the white paper can be viewed at: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/strategies/doc/2011_white_paper/white_paper_working_document_en.pdf

An impact assessment document is provided at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2011:0358:FIN:EN:PDF

A summary of the impact assessment document is available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SEC:2011:0359:FIN:EN:PDF

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