15.04.2024
Connecting Europe Days on mobility sustainability and resilience
From 2 to 5 April 2024, the Connecting Europe Days took place in Brussels. The event is a biennial key event for EU transport policy, bringing together stakeholders from the public and private sectors to discuss the development of the common European transport network. The event hosted a number of panel discussions and presentations on the hottest issues and future trends in EU transport policy.
On Wednesday 3 April 2024, the Connecting Europe by Air event at Brussels Airport was opened by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo. Speaking at the event, Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean stressed the importance of the new TEN-T regulation, the role of sustainable propulsion in future air transport, and the need to better connect airports to the rest of the transport network.
Jouni Jussinniemi, 1st Vice-Chairman of the provincial council, who participated in the event, says that air traffic is undergoing a major propulsion revolution: "In addition to electricity, the potential of hydrogen and biofuels must be taken into account in aviation propulsion. These fuel forms allow for longer flight distances than electricity. A common understanding of energy sources in transport is needed in the EU. Electricity, renewable biofuels and, in the future, hydrogen will be the solution. Different propulsion forces are needed together and distances also play a role in choosing the best propulsion.”
The panel discussions discussed, among other things, the future of the financial level of the European transport network. The importance of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the development of cross-border transport was widely highlighted. In Finland, the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has used the financial instrument to develop, for example, the Oulu-Laurila railway section.
“The EU financial instruments shall shift the focus to the development of security of supply and cross-border transport along the eastern border of the Union. This is particularly important for the security of supply in the northern regions. Such investments will contribute to the development of passenger and freight transport in the north in all circumstances", Jussinniemi emphasises.
On the closing day of the event, the TEN-T Core Network Corridor Forums were organised as open events. Catherine Trautmann, Coordinator of the North Sea Baltic Core Network Corridor, highlighted the importance of the Core Network Corridor at the centre of the changed geopolitical situation. In addition to Finland, the North Sea-Baltic corridor also covers the Baltic countries, Poland and Ukraine in the new TEN-T regulation.
In his speech, Mr Trautmann emphasised the northern connections and the importance of European gauge for transport chains. Trautmann, who visited Oulu at the Perämerenkaari transport event in the autumn, stressed that the regions of the Bothnian Bay are strategically key to the functioning of the transport system between Finland and Sweden.
Further information:
Jouni Jussinniemi, 1st Vice-Chairman of the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, tel. +358 44 588 5577, jouni.jussinniemi@pyhajarvi.fi
Lauri Romppainen, Regional Engineer, Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, tel. +358 40 685 4021, lauri.romppainen@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi
