Picture: European Commissioner for Transport Ms Violeta Bulc addresses the audience at the launch of Cycling Forum Europe on 20 November 2014 at the European Parliament in Brussels

On 20 November the cycling community united with top European decision makers to celebrate the launch of #CYFO - Cycling Forum Europe. Cycling Forum Europe was initiated by ECF and was founded by MEPs from a range of political parties with the common aim of putting cycling higher in the European agenda. 

Cycling is life!" That was the message of the new European Commissioner for Transport, Violeta Bulc, who made one of her first public appearances in her new role on a bike. Commissioner Bulc added: "Active mobility together with clean transport and electric vehicles are part of the Commission's vision for clean and sustainable cities. I see huge potential for more cycling in urban areas. Local authorities need to have support at EU level for promoting cycling". Commissioner Bulc cycled to the European Parliament together with Michael Cramer, Chairman of the TRAN Committee and Manfred Neun, President of the European Cyclists’ Federation. “The cycling sector has proven abilities. Now is the time for Europe to show leadership and take its development to the next level. Cycling can rise to the many challenges that Europe faces during this Parliament’s term and beyond”, said Mr. Cramer, who was also the host of the event and is a longtime supporter of cycling. Speaking on behalf of the cycling community, Manfred Neun, ECF President, had a strong message to send out: cycling is ready to be part of the solution for Europe’s biggest challenges. “There is no better way to bring sustainable growth than through cycling. We have shown that the European Cycling economy is worth over €200bn per year and 650,000 jobs, bigger than many Member States. These are green, sustainable jobs and they are set to grow to over a million jobs by 2020”, said Mr. Neun. Consensus in favor of cycling goes beyond political parties, as illustrated by the synthesis of #CYFO supporter MEPs such as Georges Bach (EPP), Claudia Tapardel (S&D) , Dario Tamburrano (EFD), Igor Soltes (Greens), Ivan Stefanec (EPP), Brian Hayes (EPP) and others. The next step of the Cycling Forum Europe will be to explore and bring forward the policy fit between EU priorities and cycling. The cycling community is looking forward to working with the Commission and its Parliamentary colleagues to take advantage of everything cycling can do for Europe.

About Cycling Forum Europe http://ecf.com/projects/cycling-forum-europe/  Cycling Forum Europe is an active network that aims at bringing together EU decision-makers, cycling advocates and all those stakeholders interested in sustainable urban mobility and the future of our cities. We want to achieve a better understanding and exchange of opinions on all cycling-related policy issues, and most of all, put cycling high on the EU agenda.

ECF and its European Manifesto: http://ecf.com/manifesto ECF is the European umbrella federation representing the interests of everyday cyclists, including those who cycle for leisure. About 250 million Europeans already cycle. On the occasion of the European Parliament 2014 elections, ECF published a “Call for Action: 10 key actions to get more people cycling more often.