Our guest this week is Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism.
Cancellations, delays and unventilated trains… Europe’s recent heatwave exposed some of the weaknesses of the bloc’s rail network. Despite ageing tracks and rolling stock, EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas insists the system is improving.
He says the Commission has carried out an assessment to identify which parts of the network require further upgrades and which are already resilient enough to cope with increasingly extreme weather. But he acknowledges that much more investment will be needed “to make sure we are ready for what is coming, because the climate crisis is here and it’s getting worse”.
As the EU encourages Europeans to switch to more sustainable forms of transport, particularly rail, Tzitzikostas argues that the case for doing so now extends beyond climate concerns.
“It’s not only about the environment anymore. It is about the environment, of course, but it is also about our strategic independence.”
He points to the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz as an example of Europe's vulnerability to global energy shocks.
“It showed the world what it means to be dependent on third countries for energy.”
For the Commissioner, the long-term answer is to increase the production of alternative fuels within the EU.
Air travel was also hit by a surge in jet fuel prices following the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up air fares. Tzitzikostas says Europe did not face a supply shortage but a price shock.
“We don’t have an issue of supply, but we have an issue of price.”
He argues that Europe's ability to produce around 70% of the jet fuel it consumes, combined with more diversified imports, helped cushion the impact of reduced supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
As for air fares, he expects prices to fall once a lasting agreement between the United States and Iran restores normal shipping through the Strait.
While the EU has little control over airline ticket prices, it has made progress on passengers' rights. After more than a decade of negotiations, Tzitzikostas says Europe “will finally have a set of rules for passengers’ rights that is fair, that is just, that is very supportive of the passengers.”
Among the changes, parents will be guaranteed seats next to their children at no extra cost, passengers will no longer lose the return leg of their journey if they miss the outbound flight, and airlines will have to include the cost of hand luggage in the ticket price.
For Tzitzikostas, however, the biggest achievement is greater legal clarity. “So people know what they are entitled to and how they can obtain compensation.”
The new rules are due to take effect next summer, giving airlines time to adapt.
Programme prepared by Perrine Desplats, Isabelle Romero, Loic Chalavon and Oihana Almandoz
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