The context of mobility in Europe has changed considerably over the past five years. In the wake of enlargement, mobility now has to be considered on a continental scale. The quickening pace of globalisation has made efficient and reliable transport a key factor in the competitiveness of individual regions. At the same time, oil prices, CO2 emissions and global warming constitute unprecedented challenges and an incentive to work towards a form of mobility that is sustainable, energy-efficient and respectful of the environment. All this has meant adding to the toolset provided for in the 2001 White Paper on European transport policy. The Commission has engaged in extensive consultations with the Member States and the other parties concerned, consultations which have provided a valuable overview of the current situation, of the expectations of the transport sector, and of the constraints under which the latter operates. This input has helped to define our proposals for, and the general lines of, the future of transport policy. The objective is to ensure sustainable mobility in Europe. Amid forecasts of growth of the order of 50 % in the case of freight and 35 % in the case of passenger transport, Europe needs to rise successfully to that challenge. The aim is accordingly to disconnect mobility from the adverse effects of mobility. This in turn means promoting technical innovation, a shift towards the least polluting and most energy efficient modes of transport — especially in the case of long distance and urban travel — and, above all, co-modality, i.e. optimally combining various modes of transport within the same transport chain, which is the solution for the future in the case of freight. This is an ambitious but necessary action programme. On its success depend our freedom of movement and our prosperity. This revised transport strategy is at the very heart of the Lisbon agenda for growth and employment. (Author/publisher)
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