While the completion of the Single European Transport Area (SETA) continues to be work in progress, new global challenges – namely climate change and digitalisation – are exerting additional pressure on, but also offer new opportunities for the European transport sector.
Being Europe’s largest energy consumer, the transport sector accounts for roughly 30% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions and is the second-largest expenditure for EU households, only after housing. As such, transport has a central role to play in tackling some of Europe’s most pressing challenges, namely climate, energy and growth.
The European Green Deal and subsequent Fit for 55 Package call for deep transformations across the transport sector, which will have to collectively reduce its emissions by 90% by mid-century as compared to 1990 levels. The ongoing Ukraine war, on the other hand, has brought energy security concerns to the forefront, further underscoring the need to accelerate Europe’s transition away from fossil fuels. These come on top of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have severely impeded the transport sector’s capabilities to make the necessary investments into green technologies, sustainable fuels and efficiency gains.
Digitalisation, on the other hand, is adding a new layer of complexity onto transport; yet, if carefully regulated, digitalisation has the potential to advance EU sustainability objectives, while increasing efficiency, enabling smoother and more customer-oriented operations and, not least, enhancing safety.

Against this backdrop, this first FSR Summer School on Transport Regulation will enable participants to learn about the fundamental regulatory principles of the transport sector through hands-on activities based on real cases and examples with instructors from academia, national regulatory authorities and ministries, the European Commission and the industry. Additionally, participants will deep dive into the most pressing transversal issues affecting the transport and mobility sectors, namely digitalisation, decarbonisation and sustainability, along with resilience. The programme will dedicate a full day to studying each of these topics.

After completing this course participants will have:

• a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental regulatory principles of the EU’s transport and mobility sectors;
• acquired knowledge of the most pressing transversal issues affecting transport and mobility, namely digitalisation, decarbonisation, and resilience; and
• the ability to recognise the main limitations of the liberalisation agenda in transport;
• obtained a solid understanding of the main policy and technology tools available to tackle decarbonise transport while making it smarter and more resilient;
• familiarised themselves with best practices and experiences across the different transport modes.

In addition, registering for the Summer School secures you a place for the academic conferences on Rail Regulation (8 July 2024) and Aviation Regulation (12 July 2024). The conferences will evaluate the existing policies and analyse new proposals to accelerate the growth of the Railways and Aviation Industries. The approach would be interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, allowing for a specific yet holistic overview of the current regulatory frameworks. They will discuss current economic and regulatory policies relating to air and rail transport and identify future regulatory challenges. By collaborating with academics like Paolo Beria and Regula Dettling-Ott, as well as notable industry figures such as Mario Tartaglia and Chrystel Erotokritou, alongside policymakers, the conference aims to accentuate the pursuit of practical solutions through engaging in thorough academic discourse and constructive debates.

The course is aimed at:

• Transport regulation experts and beginners
• Professionals engaged in the different transport modes
• New stakeholders in the transport and mobility sectors
• Government agencies
• Regulatory bodies
• NGOs
• European and national transport-related associations

Please note that for this course only a selected number of participants will be admitted. 

Applicants shall meet the following admission requirements:

• Completion of online registration
• Identification of two topics of interest that fall within the scope of the summer school’s focus (digitalisation, decarbonisation, railways, aviation, multimodality) and to be discussed during the course.

Course Programme

Tuesday 9 July 2024

9:00 – 10:00 Introduction to the Summer School
10:00 – 10:15 Coffee break
10:15 – 11:30 Challenges for the transport sector
11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break
11:45 – 13:00 Parallel sessions on the challenges for rail sector / aviation sector
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 The limitations of the liberalisation approach in light of the new challenges
15:30 – 16:00 One-to-one discussions with lecturers

Wednesday 10 July 2024

9:00 – 10:00 Common session with keynote on sustainability and digitalisation
10:00 – 10:15 Coffee break
10:15 – 11:30 Part 1 – Parallel sessions on sustainability and digitalisation rail sector/aviation sector
11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break
11:45 – 13:00 Part 2 – Parallel sessions on sustainability and digitalisation rail sector/aviation sector
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00- 15:30 Session on Sustainability and multimodality
15:30-16:00 One-to-one discussions with lecturers

Thursday 11 July 2024

9:00 – 10:00 Keynote EU Framework
10:00 – 10:15 Coffee break
10:15 – 11:30 Parallel sessions on a Single European Transport Area for rail sector / aviation sector
11:30 – 11:45 Coffee break
12:15 – 13:00 Objectives for the next Commission
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00- 15:30 Closure of the summer school
15:30-16:00 One-to-one discussions with lecturers

At the end of the course, participants will receive a Certificate of Participation.

Each year, the Florence School of Regulation – Energy and Climate (FSR Energy & Climate) awards scholarships for a wide variety of training courses targeting a broad audience of professionals and academics.

Applications will be assessed by a Selection Committee of FSR members on a yearly basis. The successful candidates will be informed after February 2024 and will be provided with all relevant information on how to enroll in the online course or residential training of their choice.

Send your application by 2 February 2025.

Find more information here

General fee: 2,500 EUR

Fee for FSR Transport donors and public authorities: 1,500€

Extended deadline: 30 June 2024 for registration and payment

Cancellation Policy

Paid registration fee is non-refundable. However, registrant substitution may be made up to 20 days before the start date of the course.

For more information on logistics, please contact the RSCAS Conference Unit.