The place of clean transport in the European recovery plan
The French Interpole Automobile & Mobilités in cooperation with the NOV@LOG and Capenergies competitiveness clusters met on June 22nd with Mrs. Karima Delli, President of the Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) at the European Parliament and Mr. Christophe Grudler, Member of the European Parliament, member of the Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE) on the occasion of a meeting initiated by France Clusters and the representations of the French regions in Brussels.
This meeting was an opportunity for competitiveness clusters to speak with a single voice, to highlight their members and their actions for the development of R&D and industry in the territories and on a European scale. This meeting came at a key moment when the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced an economic recovery plan in the wake of the unprecedented health crisis.
This exchange enabled the competitiveness clusters to reaffirm their commitment to support the deployment of clean, shared and inclusive mobility. From new mobility services to logistics, electromobility and connected mobility, all subjects were discussed without filters in order to achieve a constructive exchange.
With its network of more than 1,400 members including major groups, SMEs, research centres, universities and local authorities, Interpole has positioned itself as a key player in the field of mobility, ready to provide its expertise to elected representatives.
For the President of the TRAN Commission, Karima Delli, it is essential to rethink the automotive sector. To this end, she announced the launch of an automotive transition forum bringing together manufacturers, equipment suppliers, NGOs and other stakeholders. Interpole Mobilités approached the MEP to contribute its experience to these future major projects.
The MEP also reaffirmed her willingness to obtain “worthy” funding for the transport sector for both the recovery plan and the multiannual European budget. The objective is to give itself the means to achieve its ambitions in order to deploy an industrial sector for European batteries, invest in hydrogen, rail freight and above all offer soft and shared mobility solutions to users.
Christophe Grudler, Member of the European Parliament, returned to the ambition of the European recovery plan. A plan that will be resolutely “green, innovative, digital and resilient”. The regions will play a leading role in helping with the earmarking of aid. The faster projects are developed and implemented, the faster the economy will recover. To achieve this, the European Union must position itself as a leader in research and innovation.
The decarbonisation of transport must be implemented immediately. Work on volumes and infrastructures must be carried out in order to make electricity and clean hydrogen accessible and to enable businesses to find outlets.
The European alliances for batteries and hydrogen are a first step and the French ecosystem has its full place in them.
