Investing in Rail for EU competitiveness, resilience, sustainable growth

Dinner debate in the European Parliament

Rail is the only form of mass public transport ready to meet and contribute to EU climate goals right now. With sustainable, energy-efficient mobility come increased competitiveness and strategic autonomy in the face of global disruptions.

Both the Letta and Draghi Reports endorsed rail as a cornerstone of European economic activity. Its potential is great, and yet so are the investments required. From completing the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) with its dual use to connecting Europe's major cities by high-speed rail or rolling out transformative technologies such as the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) or Digital Capacity Management, rail's investment needs over the coming decades are huge.

Already today, calls for the EU's dedicated transport budget, the Connecting Europe Facility, are regularly oversubscribed and the financing of high-quality transport projects must be rejected for purely budgetary reasons. So what place will rail investment have in the EU's future funding landscape to ensure that ambitious rail development can be confidently pursued?

As the European Commission starts reflecting on its proposal for the next Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF), this event will be an opportunity to discuss rail investment priorities, take stock of current funding and financing experiences and exchange on possible new avenues for the future.

This event is hosted by MEP Dariusz Joński and organised by the Polish State Railways (PKP) and CER in good cooperation with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

 

PROGRAMME

19.00 Welcome by host

• Dariusz Joński, MEP

19.05 Opening addresses

• Piotr Malepszak, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland
• Alan Beroud, CEO of PKP Group, CER Vice-Chair

19.15 Panel discussion

Introductory presentation by moderator

• Alberto Mazzola, CER Executive Director

Discussion

• Carla Tavares, MEP, Co-Rapporteur for the next MFF
• Siegfried Mureşan, MEP, Co-Rapporteur for the next MFF
• Herald Ruijters, Deputy Director-General DG MOVE
• Piotr Malepszak, Deputy State Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure of Poland
• Alan Beroud, CEO of PKP Group, CER Vice-Chair

20.15 Statements from the floor

20.30 Closing remarks