On 16 February 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on developing an EU cycling strategy. The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) worked hard with our cycling industry colleagues for years to get to this point. It is the Parliament’s strongest ever endorsement of cycling, adopted thanks to the leadership of MEP Karima Delli and her team, who spearheaded the resolution and steered it through political negotiations.

In this article we explain how an EU cycling strategy can join up Europe’s still uneven progress on cycling and what must happen next for its ambitions to become a reality.

Cycling is a fully-fledged mode of transport

The Parliament’s resolution is a major political endorsement for cycling. It unquestionably puts cycling front and centre as a fully-fledged mode of transport, meaning it should be treated with the same importance as any other mode of transport.

EU Member States are making a similar political endorsement for cycling in an initiative led by Belgium called the “European Cycling Declaration”. Thus far, 11 EU countries have signed this declaration, including large countries such as France and Spain.

In Brussels, having these endorsements is how political priorities are made. Both initiatives call for an EU cycling strategy, which is precisely what we need to build momentum amongst all EU countries and citizens.

MEP Karima Delli casts her vote in the European Parliament in Strasbourg (Source: Twitter)

Why Europe needs a cycling strategy

Though there is a new wave of political and social will that is leading to more cycling throughout Europe, progress is still too uneven and sporadic. Large gaps in infrastructure remain, roads are still dominated by fast-moving car traffic and financial incentives for cars – whether powered electrically or by fossil fuels – still outnumber incentives for riding bikes.

On the level of EU policy, cycling is addressed but it is not treated cohesively. The new EU Urban Mobility Framework calls for more cycling in cities, and we expect to see cycling have a more prominent place in the new Trans-European Transport Regulation (TEN-T) Regulation this year. We also expect to see good bike parking requirements for residential and non-residential buildings in the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) this year. But nothing is connecting these dots. In other words, the EU has a decently stocked pantry, but no one is putting the ingredients together to make the cake.

What’s more is that the EU needs to cut its transport emissions by 90% and become a climate-neutral continent by 2050, along with improving health outcomes, mobility patterns and creating more jobs. None of that will happen without a strategic plan to significantly increase in cycling in all of Europe.

EU strategies on big issues are not new. For example, the Commission has been implementing a strategy on cancer, called “Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan.” It harnesses €4 billion in funding to focus on improving early detection, cutting tobacco and alcohol consumption, reducing environmental pollution and improving public knowledge and literacy on healthy lifestyles. The European Parliament passed its own resolution in February 2022 for a “comprehensive and coordinated strategy” in the fight against cancer, which aims to strengthen the Commission’s existing plan and create the joined-up approach that beating back cancer requires. We need to have the same joined-up approach to see cycling rise across Europe.

A strategy that leads to action

We argue that a strategy that puts cycling on a level playing field with other transport modes must aim for a goal of having people in Europe cycle 312 billion kilometres per year by 2030, which is double the amount cycled in 2017 study by the Commission.

To achieve that goal, we believe the EU will need to unlock €20 billion to support countries and local authorities to build at least 100,000 additional kilometres of safe cycle infrastructure in cities that are part of TEN-T, and even more in smaller and mid-sized cities that are not in TEN-T but can be transformed into great cycling cities. The same funds can be used to extend cycle tourism infrastructure to rural areas via the EuroVelo cycle route network. The EU will also need to commit at least €5 billion via the Social Climate Fund to provide access to bikes for citizens with limited financial means.

A strategy will need to ensure that EU countries implement VAT reductions for the supply, rental and repair of bikes and e-bikes, which is in line with a decision made by EU member states in 2022. And a strategy will need to significantly boost the European cycle industry and recognise it as a key European industry. Our cycling industry allies assess that a stronger European bike industry can sustain upwards of two million green jobs by 2030.

What happens next

Both the Parliament and Member States call for 2024 to be a “European Year for Cycling”, which would be an excellent occasion for the Commission to launch the creation of an EU cycling strategy and also to make a down payment by dedicating a new set of funds to help get cycling rolling across Europe in 2024.

The Commission must work with the Parliament and Member States to identify all the ways in which cycling is scattered among EU policies and to connect them in a cohesive way. Then they can plot strategic goals and objectives, the foundations of a plan that delivers the right level of policies, funds and capacities to gives cycling its rightful place in the transport mix in all corners of the continent. Meaningful synergies will need to be made with public transport. Cycling infrastructure will need to be funded and built in areas where it doesn’t yet exist.

We and numerous civil society organisations, including our members, stand ready to implement a strategy with the right support. For our part, we and our cycling industry partners are ready to work with the EU institutions to boost cycling so it can work for all of us.

Cover photo: David Iliff via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY-SA 3.0