Tajani: Transport funding “to double”
The European Commissioner responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship has said he expects transport research funding to double under Horizon 2020. Antonio Tajani made the statement as he outlined the current state of the transport industry in Europe. He said the EU had to continue to invest in the sector to order to stay an industrial leader in global car manufacturing and remain competitive.
“After five consecutive years of decline in the European market, the risk of closure for industrial sites is real and some restructuring decisions have been already announced in the past months,” Tajani said.
“The likely impact of this restructuring on employment can be significant and it can further worsen public finances. Therefore it is necessary to do everything possible to minimise current risks and, in the long-term, defend our automotive industry’s healthy industrial base. Only by focusing on quality, added-value, technology leadership and on the cars of the future, can Europe remain an industry leader. The automotive action plan is based on measures to support the industry to transform the challenges it is facing into opportunities for growth and further competitiveness.”
According to Tajani, a new strategy by the Commission will strengthen Europe’s role in the sector and Horizon 2020 will provide a new avenue of finance.
“The new industrial strategy is centred around the following four pillars: more innovation; a European framework for competitiveness; better access to markets of third countries; and education and management of restructuring,” Tajani added.
“To strengthen our technological leadership and attract investment, more support for research and innovation is needed, as well as the mobilisation of available financial resources at the European and national level. Thanks to the Green Cars Initiative and European Investment Bank lending policy, European funding is already available. The EIB alone supported the sector with €14bn in loans in the last four years. We want to reinforce these actions as a driving force to attract private investments. We are aiming to double the funds available for the automotive sector from €1bn to €2bn in the context of the new 2014-2020 framework for research; Horizon 2020. This should then be matched by equal investments from industry, with the aim to promote innovation.”
Changes in the regulatory framework will also be important to attracting investment funding, whilst considering of the environmental impact of the motor car had to also be considered in the light of the EU’s environmental policies.
“In order to attract investment, we need a regulatory framework that is clear, predictable and stable and that will favour competitiveness and innovation without obstacles and useless costs. The ‘smart regulation’ principles will therefore be applied meticulously.
“The Commission also aims to take advantage of synergies between its own policies, for example to support diversification of the energy sources used in the automotive industry and promote the creation and deployment of alternative transport modes. Common objectives of the Commission’s industrial and transport policies have led to a legislative proposal for an alternative fuel infrastructure, to define the minimum number of electric vehicle refuelling and recharging stations required and set common standards for fuels. This approach should enable us to avoid the vicious circle in which scarcity of the necessary infrastructure has to date prevented electric vehicles take-up while, simultaneously, an insufficient number of electric vehicles in circulation made it unprofitable to build the necessary infrastructure,” the Commissioner added.
“Promoting environmental sustainability is considered by the Commission as a competitiveness factor, not a handicap in the global competition. For example, regarding CO2 emission reductions, we decided to take a realistic approach that would reconcile environmental efforts with competitiveness concerns. In relation to emissions harmful to human health, we have defined a schedule to develop a new measuring method which will enable to assess vehicle emissions during real driving conditions.”
Transport will part of the Societal Challenges pillar of Horizon 2020, along with action tackling the effects on climate change.
Vice-President Antonio Tajani
