News

Ask the Commission: FSR Transport launches new Event Series

Oct 13, 2021

On 7^th October 2021, the Transport Area of the Florence School of Regulation kicked off its new series of events, ‘Ask the Commission’, each of them tailored towards a selected group of policy experts, who are provided with the possibility of obtaining first-hand insights from European Commission officials on new and planned legislative initiatives on the EU transport agenda. Participants can subsequently engage in an interactive Q&A session moderated by EUI part-time Professor Juan Montero and held under Chatham House rules.

This new format allows for frank and mutually-beneficial exchanges between Commission officials and industry stakeholders. While the European Commission has an opportunity to test out new concepts and obtain stakeholders’ feedback, stakeholders get to better understand the policies that will be coming their way.

Juan Montero, Part-time Professor at EUI

The first online session of the series, dedicated to ‘Smart Transport’, was inaugurated with guest Jani Erkkila, Policy Officer at the European Commission’s DG Mobility & Transport (B4 – Sustainable & Intelligent Transport). In his 20-minute presentation, Erkkila took stock of progress within the ‘Smart’ pillar of the Commission’s ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy’ published in December 2020. Furthermore, he presented the Commission’s vision and priorities for the ongoing revision of the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Directive, the upcoming proposal for Multimodal Digital Mobility Services and Data Spaces.

What participants thought about the new format

“Many thanks for hosting the event. It was a very useful opportunity to discuss the key upcoming initiatives on intelligent transport and gain insight into DG MOVE’s thinking” – Marc Oomen, Policy Officer, eu travel tech

“Many thanks for this meeting: it was very interesting and it’s a great opportunity for SNCF to participate. It’s a precious sharing of views and information at a crucial time when we need to exchange more than ever to move towards smart and sustainable mobility. SNCF is very willing to continue participating in these meetings” – Charlotte Morel d’Arleux, Project Manager, SNCF, Directorate for Strategy and Transformation

Stay tuned for the next events of the series, which will be announced on our website in due course!

For more information, you may contact FSR.Transport@eui.eu