The European Commission has adopted on June 17th 2009 a Communication on the future of transport in order to promote a broad view to submitting concrete proposals for the adoption of the forthcoming White Paper on transport policy for 2010. This communication is the result of the reflection process launched in previous months involving all interested parties.

Transport policies for the next ten years must be based on a wide reflection on the future of the transport system. The Commission commissioned external studies on the evaluation of past policies and future scenarios on transport and consulted with experts and stakeholders through specialised Focus Groups and through a High Level Stakeholders’ Conference which took place on 9-10 March 2009.

This reflection process launched by the European Commission, involving stakeholders and transport experts, identified 6 main trends and challenges that will shape the future of transport policy over the coming decades: aging, migration and internal mobility, environmental challenges, the availability of energy resources, urbanisation and globalisation.

The Commission issued in 2001 a White Paper ‘European transport policy for 2010: time to decide’ setting an agenda for transport policy throughout 2010 which was updated in 2006. The Communication adopted today is a follow-up to the White Paper and defines a vision for the future of transport and mobility until 2020, taking into account scenarios that may possibly arise decades beyond this date.

The Communication does not include a detailed programme of policy measures, but rather tries to identify a strategic vision for the future of transport. The vision and ideas it puts forward are meant to stimulate further debate aimed at identifying possible policy options. Next year this work is expected to give rise to a formulation of concrete policy proposals and to the subsequent adoption of a White Paper.

Main conclusions of the Communication on the Future of Transport Policy

• European transport policy has helped to provide an efficient mobility system to EU people and businesses. It now has the task of ensuring that this mobility can be sustained in the future.
• Environmental sustainability, ageing, migration, fossil fuel scarcity, urbanisation, and globalisation are key tendencies in our society and will pose challenges to our system of mobility.
• Accelerating the introduction of innovative technologies and the full integration of the different transport modes is crucial to meeting those challenges. This in a context in which transport users and employees, with their needs and rights, are always kept at the centre of policy making.
• It is important to advance the external projection of European Transport Policy, as a way to ensure further integration with the neighbouring countries and the promotion of Europe’s economic and environmental interests in the global context.

The Commission encourages all interested party to contribute to this exercise by submitting their views on the future of transport and on possible policy options to the mailbox for the future of transport by 30 September 2009.