Renew Europe ensures rollout of a vast network of alternative fuels throughout Europe in the upcoming years

In the early morning today, the European Parliament and the Council reached an ambitious yet realistic deal on the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). The co-legislators ensured that this Regulation supports the needed shift to sustainable means of transport and mobility. As part of the "Fit for 55" package, this text lays down minimum distance and fleet based criteria requirements for the deployment of the necessary alternative fuels infrastructure in the entire EU, with the objective to have a sufficient number of public charging stations for cars and trucks on the trans-European transport network (TEN-T) towards the end of the decade.

Specifically, the agreement supports an ambitious approach to boost the roll out of charging infrastructure for cars and trucks, while at the same time making sure that charging points are user friendly. This is done by enlarging the range of possibilities to pay for charging services, e.g. by debit or credit card or contactless.

Beyond road transport, this Regulation also provides for the establishment of minimum infrastructure deployment targets for the other means of transport, such as shore-side electricity supply in maritime and inland ports as well as electricity supply at airports. This ensures emissions in ports and airports will decrease, which is good news for the transport sector and for the people living around these areas!

Last but not least, the Regulation includes, among others, very important points initiated by Renew Europe. First, we laid the groundwork for sustainable rail transport infrastructure outside of the TEN-T network. Secondly, Member States have the possibility to appoint a national coordinator as a central coordinating point overseeing the implementation of the Regulation at the national level - ensuring an efficient roll out of alternative fuels infrastructure.

It is therefore clear that this is a multimodal effort supporting Europe to achieve its ambitions to decrease emissions by 55% by 2030.

Caroline NAGTEGAAL (VVD, Netherlands), Renew Europe shadow rapporteur for the AFIR Regulation in the Parliamentary Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN), said:

'We have taken a decision on what is necessary for a future-proof transport sector. With this deal, we will ensure the availability and usability of a dense, widespread network of alternative fuels infrastructure throughout the EU. This is needed in order to ensure that cleaner vehicles, vessels and stationary aircraft on the TEN-T network are able to move through the EU at ease, enabled by key infrastructure along European motorways and in our ports and airports. Only then, clean mobility and transport will become a reality!'