Renew Europe calls to further strenghten the EU transport infrastructure to address the international supply chains challenges

The global Covid-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted international trade and particularly maritime transport. Freight ships are seriously behind in their deliveries, containers are piling up in ports, factory supply chains are disturbed, already food prices are soaring and Christmas shortages are threatening. In Europe, the situation is further aggravated by Brexit, and customs controls introduced for cross-Channel traffic, while a lack of truck drivers further upsets the logistics circuit. Other parts of the world, like the United States, are taking steps to alleviate this crisis and improve the supply chain. The European Union must also react, argues Renew Europe, at the origin of a debate today in plenary session of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg where the European Commission was questioned on its intentions.

José Ramón BAUZÁ (Ciudadanos, Spain), Renew Europe Coordinator of the Parliamentary Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) , declared : “This situation is indicative of the weaknesses of the European productive apparatus. But there are also short- and medium-term responses that the European Commission must tackle with the Member States and at international level in order to re-establish the supply chain and avoid future bottlenecks. We call on the Commission to strengthen the EU's transports infrastructures, make them more resilient and better prepared for crises. European funds must be able to be invested in extending port capacities, improving rail links and the intermodality of the EU transport sector, addressing also the storage facilities of our transport hubs”.