In its annual assessment of the economic and social situation in the EU, the European Commission set out first ideas as to how EU funds can help Member States with their investment challenges and priorities in the forthcoming programming period 2021-2027.  ECF’s analysis of the country reports shows a systematic inclusion of recommendations for active and sustainable mobility, including many explicit references to cycling. While these still need to be translated in concrete investments, the positive trend shows the benefits of taking into account cycling and active mobility in all relevant EU policy areas as proposed in our European Cycling Strategy.

Contrary to what you might first think, the “Winter Package of the European Semester” is not a ski holiday allowance for ERASMUS students. It is part of an effort to coordinate economic policies across the European Union that was put in place following the last economic and financial crisis. In the “Winter Package”, the Commission reviews the economic and social situation as well as specific challenges country per country. For the first time, this year’s country reports also include a discussion on investment challenges and priorities in the Member States, and the Commission sets out first ideas as to how EU funds, in particular EU Cohesion Policy funds, can help in the forthcoming programming period 2021-2027.

When it comes to the challenges that Member States face, it is striking that issues like congestion or poor air quality often figure as obstacles to economic growth in the reports, for example for Denmark, Portugal, Germany, or Bulgaria. The transport sector is also cited as a major contributor to countries’ CO₂ emissions. For all of these problems, cycling offers a solution.

Furthermore, the reports address fiscal policies that provide incentives for unsustainable mobility behaviours, like low fuel taxes or the generous tax regimes for company cars in Belgium and Germany. For example, the report for Belgium states: “Distortive incentives contribute to road congestion. The increasing congestion is partly explained by the continuous increase of passenger cars since 2007, incentivised by toll-free roads, the company car tax deduction and low environmental taxation.” ECF has published an online tool in 2018 illustrating the extent of these distortive incentives and showcasing best practices for more sustainable mobility tax incentives.

Most importantly, the first country-specific guidance for cohesion policy funding 2021 – 2027 included in the reports systematically refers to investments in sustainable and active mobility as a solution to challenges like poor air quality, high CO₂ emissions or urban congestion. As shown in the graphic above, cycling or active mobility are explicitly mentioned as areas of investment of either national or EU funding in 14 country reports, whereas sustainable mobility is mentioned in 10 reports. Only the reports for Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland do not refer specifically to these topics, probably due to the relatively advanced policies and investment levels of these countries.

Together with the recent decision of the European Parliament to explicitly reference cycling in the new EU Regional Funding Regulation, this systematic approach to investments in sustainable mobility is a very positive sign for the next funding period. In the framework of its “6 billion campaign”, ECF will continue to advocate for more and better funding for cycling to the advantage of all countries and regions of the EU.