On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024; Section III — Commission

OPINION

The Committee on Transport and Tourism calls on the Committee on Budgetary Control, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions into its motion for a resolution:

1. Welcomes the opinion of the European Court of Auditors (‘the Court’) that the consolidated accounts of the Union for 2024 present fairly, in all material respects, the Union’s financial position, the results of its operations, its cash flows and the changes in its net assets; however, is concerned that, despite revenue transactions being free from material error and the expenditure error rate dropping from 5.6 % in 2023 to 3.6 %, the latter remains above the 2 % threshold, noting that the Court assesses these errors as both material and pervasive; points out that eligibility and procurement errors remain the primary drivers of the high expenditure error rate and calls on the Commission to introduce more effective error detection and prevention systems to curb it;

2. Commends the strong budget performance by DG MOVE in 2024, having completed all of its commitments and 99 % of payments; welcomes the 2024 budget implementation results of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), with 98 % of commitments and 96 % of payments executed;

3. Reiterates that in 2024, as in the past few years, DG MOVE’s main budget management mode was indirect management (90.4 % of the expenditure, including the contributions to CINEA as well as to the decentralized agencies and joint undertakings under its purview); points out that direct management (9.6 % of the expenditure) applied to research grants under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, transport grants and Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) support actions as well as procurements, studies and other operational expenditure, including the Single European Sky (SES) advisory bodies;

4. Acknowledges the findings of DG MOVE’s control activities related to the operational and financial implementation of its spending programmes under the direct and indirect management in order to provide the necessary assurance regarding its budget execution; furthermore, observes that in 2024, non-expenditure items remained stable for DG MOVE, with a positive result of EUR 32.05 million from its share in the CEF Debt Instrument, as reported by the EIB;

5. However, points that the Court has identified several issues in CEF projects – including the reporting of indirect costs, discrepancies between declared and actual payments and non-compliant procurement procedures – and calls for strict compliance with cost eligibility rules and sound financial management by all partners; furthermore, emphasises the need to take these issues into account in the context of the upcoming CEF Regulation (2028–2034), in order to improve transparency in the implementation of CEF projects and to reinforce their EU added value;

6. Highlights that, in the 2021–2027 period, performance indicators were improved to more accurately reflect the full spectrum of programme performance, noting that the CEF still does not include result or impact indicators and, in certain cases, indicators were difficult to interpret; calls on the Commission to establish clearer reference values and improve traceability of indicators to enable realistic assessment of progress on EU strategic transport projects;

7. Takes notice that in 2024, DG MOVE and CINEA awarded further financial support, with a budget of EUR 7 billion, and launched the last call for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility Transport (CEF-T) programme, with a budget of EUR 2.55 billion, which will exhaust the entire 2021–2027 budget, for creating sustainable and smart transport infrastructure and fostering interoperability and resilience within the TEN-T network; recognises an overall good progress of the ongoing projects despite some delays due to tendering procedures and the war in Ukraine, observing that with the legacy CEF-Transport programme (CEF 1) entering its final year of implementation in 2024, several projects were closed, with this process expected to intensify in 2025;

8. Points out in this context that CINEA received three times as many applications compared to the total budget of EUR 7 billion, highlighting the importance of robust selection processes, especially in such cases, and clear project prioritisation; points out that, with most of the CEF-T budget already committed, funding shortages are expected by the end of the current MFF;

9. Welcomes that, with 2024 being the mid-term year for Horizon Europe, DG MOVE was actively involved in several activities, notably in two major transport calls under the Horizon Europe Cluster 5 Work Programme 2023-2024 and the EU Missions, with the total budget of EUR 324.5 million, in the areas of automated vehicles and infrastructures, smart logistics and multimodal network/traffic management; acknowledges the work of DG MOVE on the preparation of the Horizon Work Programme 2025 as well as preliminary work of the final Horizon Work Programme 2026-2027 and the next Framework Programme 10;

10. Highlights that the Commission fully accepted and implemented the Court’s 2023 recommendation, which called for further guidelines on ex ante controls for CEF project procurement to ensure consistency between the selection and award criteria published in the contract notice and those actually applied; welcomes that, as an early response to the recommendations in the Court’s Special report 11/2024, the Commission adopted guidance on the consumption targets for renewable fuels of non-biological origin in the industry and transport sectors and published the Clean Hydrogen Partnership programme review report;

11. Welcomes the transfer of tourism staff from DG GROW to DG MOVE; recognises that this shift maximises synergies between the transport and tourism sectors, particularly with regards to destination connectivity and tourism sustainability; at the same time, takes note of the Court’s observation that EU-supported tourism actions still lack clear, measurable objectives and coherent performance frameworks, and calls on DG MOVE, now responsible for tourism policy, to strengthen accountability and policy coherence;

12. Welcomes DG MOVE’s 2024 performance against its strategic goals and encourages the Commission to ensure proper follow-up on the implementation of the related legislation, notably in the following areas:

 Sustainable transport, underlining the crucial role of CEF-T in building a connected, resilient and future-proof European Transport system, with 80 % of CEF-T funding invested in sustainable transport modes: groundwork for the implementation of the ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime Regulations as well as the Regulation on Alternative Fuel Infrastructure, including support to the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuels Value Chain Alliance in advancing sustainable alternative fuels in the aviation and maritime sectors; making headway in inter-institutional negotiations on the Greening freight package; conclusion of the negotiations on the reform of the Single European Sky and on tackling illegal discharge from ships;

 Smart and innovative transport: preparatory work on the development of common European mobility data space and on multi-modal digital mobility services; presentation of the proposal on River Information Services and work on electronic tools for inland waterway vessels; setting the implementation framework for the full roll-out of electronic Freight Transport Information and of the European Maritime Single Window across logistic chains; implementation of the package on the revision of the Technical Specifications for Interoperability to support the rail system’s digital transformation; continuous implementation of initiatives aimed at reinforcing the drone ecosystem in line with the Drone Strategy 2.0;

 Fully integrated and connected Trans-European Transport network: effective implementation of the revised TEN-T Regulation, which entered into force in 2024, with the new governance system, including a new mandate for the European Coordinators of the nine European Transport Corridors and the European Maritime Space, and the establishment of cooperation structures for the new corridors;

 Efficient and accessible internal market for transport: focus on the transposition and implementation of the key Directives for the rail market; support and guidance to operators and authorities in the implementation of rules regarding the road and rail market; new interpretative guidelines on air passenger rights, including for persons with disabilities and reduced mobility;

 Cooperation with key partners and neighbours: continuous support to Ukraine and Moldova through Solidarity Lanes and efforts to address bottlenecks at border crossings; facilitation of economic exchanges through the extended Road Transport Agreements with the both countries; investment in infrastructure to better anchor the two countries into the European transport network; continuous engagement with the Western Balkan Partners under the Transport Community Treaty for their further alignment with the EU transport policy – stressing the importance of these actions in enhancing regional connectivity, economic resilience, and integration into the Single European Transport Area, propelling the EU’s broader enlargement and neighbourhood policy objectives;

 Transport safety and security: completing negotiations on the maritime safety package and on cross-border exchanges of information on road safety related traffic offences; continuous work on the implementation of the Action Plan on Military Mobility 2.0 to boost military deployment capacity in cooperation with the European Defence Agency, EEAS (including EU Military Staff) and NATO, to improve long-term infrastructure planning and enable short-notice, large-scale troop and equipment movements, stressing that these actions reinforce the EU’s capacity to adapt its transport infrastructure for dual use – serving, both civilian and defence purposes – and contribute to the establishment of a robust, interoperable, and secure European transport area, in line with the objectives of the revised TEN-T policy and the EU’s strategic autonomy agenda;

13. Furthermore, welcomes DG MOVE’s continued support for Black Sea connectivity, building on DG NEAR-funded actions and regional cooperation; acknowledges the growing strategic importance of the Black Sea as a vital maritime corridor supporting trade, energy supply, transport diversification, regional stability and anchoring the Union’s presence and maritime role in Eastern neighbourhood – particularly in the evolving geopolitical context; encourages the Commission to extend similar attention to the North and Baltic Seas, emphasising that strengthened east-west connectivity contributes directly to the Union’s security and strategic autonomy, including via port modernisation, green transition efforts and enhanced hub interoperability, and helps safeguard the Union’s solidarity with Ukraine; in this context, calls for the establishment of European Maritime Security Hubs in the Black, North and Baltic Seas, as essential platforms for enhancing maritime situational awareness, early warning and the protection of commercial routes, including against the growing threats posed by the Russian shadow fleet; encourages the Commission to maintain strong coordination with Member States to ensure stable logistics chains, fair competition and adequate investment in cross-border infrastructure;

14. At the same time, welcomes the Commission’s initiatives to advance digitalisation and strengthen cybersecurity across the Union’s transport systems; underlines the particular importance of these efforts for the eastern transport corridors, where increasing hybrid threats, GNSS interference and the strategic role of transport infrastructure demand enhanced resilience; encourages the Commission to further support Member States in deploying interoperable digital tools, improving cross-border information exchange and ensuring that critical transport infrastructure is protected against cyberattacks and other emerging risks;

15. Recognises DG MOVE’s active contribution to the implementation of transport-related restrictive measures against the Russian Federation and Belarus, ensuring the full enforcement of EU sanctions and preventing their circumvention; commends DG MOVE’s continued cooperation with Member States, EU institutions, and international partners to maintain consistent and vigilant enforcement of sanctions across all transport modes; further to this, notes DG MOVE’s diplomatic outreach to third countries to promote alignment with EU restrictive measures and foster a coordinated response to Russia’s war of aggression; underlines that these efforts are crucial for protecting the integrity of the EU’s transport system, strengthening its geopolitical resilience, and upholding the credibility of its foreign and security policy;

16. Regrets that DG MOVE’s leadership in advancing international efforts at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), notably in support of a global greenhouse gas levy and the IMO Net-Zero Framework for shipping, was undermined by the decision to postpone the vote by one year following pressure from the US;

17. Highlights the challenges for transport employment and increased sectoral vulnerabilities stemming from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, in particular due to disrupted connectivity between the Baltic Member States, Russia and Central Asia; acknowledges the Commission’s efforts to address labour shortages in the transport sector and further calls on the Commission to intensify cooperation with national authorities, relevant stakeholders and educational providers; in this context, welcomes DG MOVE’s study on Safe and Secure Parking, which recommends strategic investments across the EU, and the follow-up CEF funding to expand the network of certified safe and secure parking areas; notes that such investments will make the working environment more attractive and accessible to diverse groups, including women, for whom lack of safe parking and adequate sanitary facilities remains a barrier;

18. Welcomes the Commission’s work on promoting inclusive mobility and addressing transport poverty; in particular, welcomes DG MOVE’s role, through the Transport Poverty Recommendation, in encouraging Member States to adopt strategic, long-term plans to tackle transport poverty; regrets, however, that most Member States are delayed in delivering their national plans under the Social Climate Fund, which is intended to enable support for the more vulnerable throughout the sustainable transition; underlines that ensuring affordable and accessible transport services carries particular importance for peripheral and sparsely populated regions, where limited connectivity can exacerbate social and regional disparities; calls on the Commission to continue supporting Member States in improving public transport links, developing sustainable rural mobility solutions, and ensuring that the green transition in transport remains socially fair and leaves no region behind.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

The rapporteur for opinion declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his opinion input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.

INFORMATION ON ADOPTION BY THE COMMITTEE ASKED FOR OPINION