UITP and ETF call for faster implementation of National Recovery and Resilience Plans

In a new joint statement, the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) are jointly calling upon the European Commission (EC) and Member States to speed up the implementation of National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs) in the area of urban public transport.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is a performance-based, temporary financial instrument at the heart of the Next Generation EU programme, which was deployed to meet the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to the socio-economic stability of the European Union (EU). The €724 billion worth of facility has been supporting EU Member States through loan and grant components in implementing specific reforms and investments as outlined in the National Recovery and Resilience Plans.

The scale and speed of the RRF implementation requires a wide and concerted effort across all levels of government, which is why UITP and ETF are stressing that the European Commission must ensure that Member States fulfil their obligations and move on with the rolling out of all political reforms and investment projects as pledged across their respective plans.

In the statement, UITP and ETF advocate for the swift implementation of pledged urban mobility reforms and investments. The prioritisation of local collective passenger transport is an absolute necessity to achieve all major Green Deal objectives, but also to make the public transport sector more resilient and green in the decades to come.