Sittings · Document

DRAFT OPINION (2024/2085(INI)) 2025-02-05

On the implementation report on the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Committee on Transport and Tourism · Rapporteur: Giuseppe Lupo

AMENDMENTS

The Committee on Transport and Tourism submits the following to the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, as the committees responsible:

Amendment 1

Motion for a resolution

Recital A

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
A. whereas reforms and investments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) help to make the EU more resilient and less dependent by diversifying key supply chains and thereby strengthening the strategic autonomy of the EU; whereas reforms and investments under the RRF also generate European added value;	A. whereas reforms and investments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) help to make the EU more resilient and less dependent by diversifying key supply chains and thereby strengthening the strategic autonomy of the EU; whereas reforms and investments under the RRF also generate European added value; whereas the RRF plays a crucial role in achieving the goals of the European Green Deal, including reforms and investments to help achieve the transition to low-carbon transport and therefore contribute to the goal of reducing transport-related emissions by 90 % by 2050;

Or. en

Amendment 2

Motion for a resolution

Recital E a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Ea. whereas each NRRP had to dedicate at least 20 % of its total funding to projects contributing to the digital transition, but a share of total funding was directed towards the promotion of energy efficiency in all sectors, including transport; whereas energy efficiency has become a European priority in order to contribute to EU energy independence and security; whereas rail transportation offers the best performance in terms of energy efficiency, for both passenger and freight traffic;

Or. en

Amendment 3

Motion for a resolution

Recital E b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Eb. whereas the RRF Regulation states that for the preparation and implementation of the NRRP, Member States should consult local and regional authorities, social partners, civil society organisations, youth organisations and other relevant stakeholders, and should show how the input of the stakeholders is reflected in the NRRP; whereas, given the timeframe within which Member States had to draft their NRRPs, these consultations were either too rapid or did not take place at all;

Or. en

Amendment 4

Motion for a resolution

Recital E c (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Ec. whereas each NRRP had to dedicate at least 37 % of its total funding to climate objectives, and ‘sustainable mobility’ was one of the policy areas in which most progress was expected; whereas these measures account for more than one quarter of climate expenditure financed by the RRF under the green transition pillar; whereas certain Member States used the RRF to promote sustainable urban development, including low-emission zones, public transport, and refuelling or recharging infrastructure for clean vehicles; whereas the European Alternative Fuels Observatory highlighted the need for 410 000 new charging points annually to meet the Commission’s 2030 target of 3.5 million points; whereas the total number of charging points was only 891 500 in the first half of 2024;

Or. en

Amendment 5

Motion for a resolution

Recital E d (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	Ed. whereas there was no obligation under the RRF for Member States to include cross-border projects in their NRRPs; whereas few Member States decided to include cross-border infrastructure projects, such as railway investments, to develop European corridors in the trans-European transport network; whereas this is regrettable given the substantial investment needed for rail development by 2030, which far exceeds the capacity of public funding in the Member States;

Or. en

Amendment 6

Motion for a resolution

Subheading 1 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	1a. Supporting Europe’s preparedness for the green and digital transitions, including transport decarbonisation

Or. en

(To be inserted after paragraph 10)

Amendment 7

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 10 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	10a. Highlights the fact that the reforms under the RRF were also intended to help Member States become more prepared for the green and digital transitions, in line with the EU’s priorities; underlines that the RRF plays a crucial role in transport decarbonisation across Europe and in pushing forward the European Green Deal;

Or. en

Amendment 8

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 10 b (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	10b. Welcomes the fact that significant investments have been made by the Member States in the enhancement and greening of transport, such as investments facilitating the uptake of electric vehicles, the phasing-out of fossil fuels and the decarbonisation of public transport systems;

Or. en

Amendment 9

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 10 c (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	10c. Welcomes the fact that several Member States explicitly addressed the electrification of transport and the production and uptake of electric vehicles in their (amended) NRRPs; notes, however, that delays in investments related to transport decarbonisation in some Member States risk undermining the EU target of 3.5 million charging points by 2030, among others;

Or. en

Amendment 10

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 10 d (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	10d. Welcomes the success of the use of green bonds for the transport sector and calls on the Commission and the Member States to investigate whether unspent funds under the RRF can be reallocated, so that similar eligible ‘climate-relevant’ measures included in the NRRPs can still be financed post-2026;

Or. en

Amendment 11

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 19

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
19. Notes the tangible impact that the RRF could have on social objectives, with Member States planning to spend around EUR 163 billion; stresses the need to accelerate investments in the development of rural and remote areas, social protection and the integration of vulnerable groups, and youth employment, where expenditure is lagging behind; calls for an in-depth evaluation by the Commission, under the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, of the projects and reforms related to education and young people implemented by Member States under the RRF;	19. Notes the tangible impact that the RRF could have on social objectives, with Member States planning to spend around EUR 163 billion; stresses the need to accelerate investments in the development of rural and remote areas, social protection and the integration of vulnerable groups, and youth employment, where expenditure is lagging behind; highlights the importance of increasing investments in transport infrastructure in this context, particularly in underserved regions, to improve connectivity, support regional cohesion and contribute to the green transition; calls for an in-depth evaluation by the Commission, under the Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard, of the projects and reforms related to education and young people implemented by Member States under the RRF;

Or. en

Amendment 12

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 25

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
25. Believes that implementation delays underscore the risk that measures for which RRF funding has been paid will not be completed by the 2026 payment deadline; recalls the Commission’s statement at the Recovery and Resilience Dialogue (RRD) of 16 September 2024 that it will not reimburse non-implemented projects but considers it a shortcoming that RRF funds paid for milestones and targets assessed as fulfilled cannot be recovered if related measures are not eventually completed;	25. Believes that implementation delays underscore the risk that measures, particularly those related to transport investments, for which RRF funding has been paid will not be completed by the 2026 payment deadline; recalls the Commission’s statement at the Recovery and Resilience Dialogue (RRD) of 16 September 2024 that it will not reimburse non-implemented projects but considers it a shortcoming that RRF funds paid for milestones and targets assessed as fulfilled cannot be recovered if related measures are not eventually completed;

Or. en

Amendment 13

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 26

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
26. Notes that some milestones and targets may be no longer achievable because of objective circumstances; stresses that any NRRP revisions should be made in accordance with the RRF Regulation, including of the applicable deadlines, and should not entail backtracking on commitments or lower quality projects;	26. Notes that some milestones and targets may be no longer achievable because of objective circumstances; stresses that any NRRP revisions should be made in accordance with the RRF Regulation, including of the applicable deadlines, and should not entail backtracking on commitments or lower quality projects; notes that safety should be a key consideration when it comes to avoiding lower quality projects, particularly in the transport sector, where delays or cost-cutting measures could lead to the use of substandard materials, ultimately compromising the safety, sustainability and long-term effectiveness of these investments;

Or. en

Amendment 14

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 28

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
28. Urges the Member States to increase their efforts to address administrative bottlenecks and provide sufficient administrative capacity to accelerate RRF implementation in view of the 2026 deadline and to avoid concentrating RRF projects in more developed regions and capitals by enabling RRF funds to flow into projects in the most vulnerable regions, thereby serving the RRF’s objective to enhance the EU’s social, territorial and economic cohesion; calls for the automatic 12-month extension of projects that have an implementation rate of at least 20 % before the 2026 deadline; welcomes the possibility to establish a prioritisation and transfer system after the 2026 deadline in order to allow for the finalisation of ongoing projects through other funding schemes, including the European Investment Fund and a possible new European competitiveness fund;	28. Urges the Member States to increase their efforts to address administrative bottlenecks and provide sufficient administrative capacity to accelerate RRF implementation in view of the 2026 deadline and to avoid concentrating RRF projects in more developed regions and capitals by enabling RRF funds to flow into projects in the most vulnerable regions, thereby serving the RRF’s objective to enhance the EU’s social, territorial and economic cohesion; calls for the automatic 24-month extension of projects that directly address this objective, including those related to the policy objectives of the trans-European transport network, projects that have an implementation rate of at least 20 % before the 2026 deadline, and projects with a cross-border element; welcomes the possibility to establish a prioritisation and transfer system after the 2026 deadline in order to allow for the finalisation of ongoing projects through other funding schemes, including the European Investment Fund and a possible new European competitiveness fund;

Or. en

Amendment 15

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 29 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	29a. Proposes the establishment of a permanent EU climate, energy and transport investment fund, specifically designed to address long-term funding gaps for cross-border projects and the decarbonisation of transport;

Or. en

Amendment 16

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 43

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
43. Considers that better training and capacity-building across all regions and authorities involved, in particular at national level, could have accelerated the RRF’s implementation; considers that the Commission could have assisted Member States more at the planning stage and provided earlier implementation guidance, in particular with a view to strengthening their audit and control systems and the cross-border dimension of the RRF;	43. Considers that better training and capacity-building across all regions and authorities involved, in particular at national level, could have accelerated the RRF’s implementation; considers that the Commission could have assisted Member States more at the planning stage and provided earlier implementation guidance, in particular with a view to strengthening their audit and control systems and the cross-border dimension of the RRF; proposes that the Commission investigate, in collaboration with the Member States, how future and existing funding mechanisms can be better suited for cross-border projects with longer durations and green transport initiatives; suggests that these mechanisms could benefit from the reallocation of unspent RRF funds or from the originally intended funds for such projects;

Or. en

Amendment 17

Motion for a resolution

Paragraph 43 a (new)

Motion for a resolution	Amendment
	43a. Considers that the EU green and digital transitions should go hand-in-hand with the EU transition towards an energy-efficient economy, including towards ever more efficient modes of transport, ensuring energy security for Europe;

Or. en