[Publication] The future of transport in the context of the Recovery Plan

The main objective of the study is to provide an overview of the Recovery and Resilience Fund’s contribution to the achievement of EU’s policy priorities for the smart and green transition of the transport sector. The study is divided into three tasks, firstly identifying EU’s policy priorities for sustainable, smart, and resilient transport. The next task involves an assessment of NRRPs’ impact on achieving EU transport policy priorities. The third task includes the assessment of NRRPs’ contribution to Core Network Corridor completion. Based on an analysis of EU policy documents, 29 EU priorities in the field of transport are identified, which can be divided into the themes of ‘sustainable transport’, ‘smart transport’ and ‘resilient transport’.

All approved NRRPs, 22 in total, have been analysed in this study. NRRPs’ total contribution amounts to approximately EUR 449.9 billion, of which EUR 291.2 billion, or 65%, is used as non-repayable support and EUR 158.8 billion, or 35%, in the form of loans.

The total number of measures planned for theme “sustainable transport” is 218, or 56% of all transport sector measures identified. 21 out of 22 Member States (89 measures in total) focus on the deployment of alternative fuels in road transport. However, more projects and investments should have been planned for waterborne and rail transport, to have a balanced approach to transport sector development. In addition, considering the need to reduce the impact that the transport sector has on the environment, more could have been done to increase public transport use and to make it more sustainable.

The theme “smart transport” is characterised by a high number of IT projects including software and IT infrastructure development. Smart mobility measures are mainly planned for road and rail transport and there is insufficient contribution to cross-border travel under the theme. However, only four Member States are planning projects to support data availability, access and exchange of mobility data. Thus, more projects focusing on promoting data exchange between Member States should be launched, as well as more projects under the theme of ‘smart transport’ generally, given its priority within the EU.

The theme “resilient transport” is addressed by 21 out of 22 Member States and the majority of measures (75%) are governance-related. Of all the measures, 71% relate to improved transport sector governance and are included in 19 NRRPs. The governance measures include transport master plans development, enhancing the regulatory framework, and transport sector related reforms. There are a number of transport sector priorities which are not covered by NRRPs or are covered only by a small number of projects.

NRRPs’ contribution to the achievement of TEN-T policy objectives and compliance of the Core Network Corridors (CNCs) with TEN-T requirements varies between Member States and transport mode. Member States with more mature transport sector infrastructure networks tend to focus on other priorities and are not using the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to further develop CNCs infrastructure. Rail will be the main beneficiary of the NRRPs, with upgrades of the existing rail infrastructure to increase compliance with TEN-T requirements in nine Member States, the construction of new compliant rail lines in four Member States, and the European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) deployment in six Member States.