European Parliament transport committee backs road safety in new EU funding framework

The European Parliament’s transport committee (TRAN) voted in June to include road safety in its opinion on the proposed Regulation establishing the EU’s next major funding framework for 2028–2034. The Regulation would create a system of National and Regional Partnership Plans (NRPPs), under which each Member State would draft a single investment plan bundling 14 previously separate EU funding streams, including the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund that have historically funded road infrastructure projects in Member States.

The amendments adopted by the TRAN committee establish road safety as a horizontal objective of the fund, require Member States to allocate funding under their NRPPs to road safety measures including life-cycle maintenance, and add Vision Zero 2050 as a long-term goal of the framework. The opinion also provides for the European Commission’s road safety Country Reports, published alongside the Mid-Point Review of the EU Road Safety Policy Framework, to be considered in the design and assessment of NRPPs. The opinion notes that 54% of EU road deaths occur on rural roads and calls for rural mobility strategies that address this. The opinion would also integrate the new obligations under rules governing Trans-European roads on urban nodes and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans into the NRPP framework, both of which carry road safety obligations.

Next month, MEPs on the TRAN Committee will be voting on two other aspects of the next long-term EU budget with relevance for road safety: the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ – which funds the development of the trans-european road network –  and the ‘Expenditure tracking and performance framework’ Regulation which ensures EU spending is tracked against performance indicators such as reducing road deaths and injuries.