Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, Dear colleagues, Indeed, we are taking a very decisive decision: a decisive decision for our future, which is linked to one key issue, namely improving the quality of life and improving the quality of life during the post-pandemic period, the post-kovide period, improving the quality of life during the war in Ukraine, improving the quality of life when there are many social issues in Europe, and then it is essential for us to really move forward. Progress – progress in this case is indeed on these zero-emission technologies, but on the understanding that not only by investing in zero-emission transport, but also in the infrastructure necessary for such transport to function. It is also essential to invest in nature, to invest in forests, which currently provide high absorption of CO2. And it is important for us to be aware at the moment that this is a complex issue that we are facing today. On the one hand, it is necessary to invest in agriculture, invest in forest structures. On the other hand, we understand that any infrastructure requires support at the moment. I call on you to really think in a complex way right now, to think that we can deal with these issues in a sustainable way.

Dear colleagues, In the context of today's challenging objectives, the role of the European rail traffic management system is becoming increasingly important, but we do not see the progress in implementation that we would like to see. To achieve the 2030 and 40 targets, we need to accelerate the pace of implementation of this system by ten times. We need to find a way to do this. There is a clear need to ensure synergies between European financial instruments to support the implementation of this framework, in particular with the Connecting Europe Facility, the Cohesion, Recovery and Resilience Facility and Member States’ contributions. Member States should be further encouraged to participate in the implementation of the system. We still have Member States that have not yet set the dates on which they intend to complete the implementation of the system. How can we succeed in the absence of concrete plans at national level? Once again, I would like to stress this importance for the system, especially when we are promoting trains as an alternative to other modes of transport. Our railways must be the safest, most efficient in the world, so that ultimately we become an example to others. Thank you.