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GBTA Meeting with Magda Kopczyńska, Director General of DG Move, on multimodal
travel
On February 6, 2024, Fulvio Origo, regional lead for GBTA Italy attended a meeting in
Brussels on behalf of GBTA Europe with Magda
Kopczyńska, the European Commission’s top
official overseeing EU transport policy. Together
with a group of stakeholders in the travel sector,
they discussed the Commission's plans to
incentivise multimodal travel through a
legislative proposal called the Multimodal
Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) regulation.
GBTA has strongly supported the concept of this
proposal as it would make it much easier for
business travellers to choose sustainable travel
options by making multimodal tickets more
accessible through convenient online booking
channels. The proposal, set to be presented last
year, has however been postponed without a
clear timeline for its introduction.
Ms. Kopczyńska explained that the Commission
still intends to go ahead with the proposal but
suggested that it would not be published before
the European Parliament election in June. She
added that the Commission is evaluating the proper balance between market needs and
regulations, and the market’s ability to find the right balance. Ms. Kopczyńska said that
they need more data on whether passengers are willing to choose multimodal options.
Fulvio referred to business travel’s market volumes, to corporate and business travelers'
needs during the selection, the booking, the on-trip, and reporting process, and to
GBTA’s State of Climate Action in Business Travel report. He conveyed that businesses
are already encouraging or mandating the use of more sustainable travel options such
as rail and argued that MDMS would facilitate a further shift in this direction.
GBTA will coordinate with its partners in the “Friends of MDMS” coalition to ensure the
Commission receives the appropriate data to back up the need for a strong legislative
proposal to incentivise multimodal travel in Europe and will meet again with Ms.
Kopczyńska later this year.
Why it matters: An EU law to facilitate the booking of multimodal trips would make it
easier for business travellers to combine different modes of transport, making business
travel more sustainable and efficient.
Key Points
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➤ Latest news on Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA)
What is new: On the 6th of February 2024, the EU Council and European Parliament
reached a preliminary agreement on the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), which aims to
bolster Europe's green industries to meet the EU’s climate goals and enhance Europe's
leadership in green industrial technologies. Key provisions include a single list of net-
zero technologies that will be supported (including sustainable aviation fuels),
streamlined permit procedures for strategic projects, initiatives to enhance workforce
skills, and platforms to coordinate EU action. The agreement also sets benchmarks for
production targets and CO2 capture. Additionally, it introduces measures such as fast-
track permits, creation of net-zero industrial valleys, and guidelines for public
procurement.
The aviation industry celebrated the inclusion of SAF in the Act, allowing more
incentives to produce less-polluting alternatives to kerosene. “The inclusion of SAF in
the NZIA is all the more timely following the release of the EU’s recommendation to
update the 2040 climate targets this week,” they added, noting the new target
“expressly recognised the need to address barriers to SAF deployment at scale, giving
the aviation sector priority access to feedstocks, and putting incentives in place to close
the price gap between SAF and conventional kerosene.”
Why it matters: The production of sustainable aviation fuels should be ramped up
thanks to the advantages that the NZIA will grant to companies producing it. This in
turn will help airlines achieve the goals for SAF usage established by the EU under the
ReFuelEU regulation and likely reduce the high price of SAF. In short, it will benefit
GBTA’s members as more flights using SAF will be available, making business travel
more sustainable.
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➤ EU agreement on postponement of sustainability reporting (CSRD)
The Council and European Parliament agreed to delay the adoption of sustainability
reporting standards for the mining, oil and gas sectors and for third-country companies
by two years. This provisional deal pushes the adoption date to June 2026, providing
companies with more time to implement the European Sustainability Reporting
Standards (ESRS) and prepare for sector-specific standards. The agreement supports the
objectives of the Commission's proposal but modifies the legal nature of the text and
allows the Commission to publish sector-specific reporting standards as they become
available before the new deadline.
Why it matters: The delay will give more time to the companies affected to prepare to
comply with the reporting requirements.
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➤ Vote on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) delayed
The Belgian presidency of the EU Council has once more delayed a crucial vote on new
regulations for business supply chain oversight, casting doubt on its passage this
legislative term. The vote, originally set for Wednesday, has been postponed for the
second time, with Germany's Free Democratic Party advocating against the rules.
Germany's coalition deadlock led to signals of abstention, prompting the
postponement. This delay suggests insufficient support for the proposal. Negotiators
reached a deal in December, but final approval from member states and EU lawmakers
is pending. Time constraints loom, with the European Parliament election approaching
in June. Additionally, a vote in the European Parliament's legal affairs committee has
been postponed pending a decision from member states.
Why it matters: The unexpected delay makes it unlikely that the new Directive will be
approved before the election, pushing the deadline for compliance with its
requirements further into the future.
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➤ European Commissions announces 2040 climate target
On 6 February 2024, the Commission released a Communication that initiated the
groundwork for formulating its 2040 emission reduction target. Based on the
assessment, the Commission suggests pursuing a 90% reduction in net greenhouse gas
emissions by 2040 compared to 1990 levels, ahead of the 100% objective in 2050.
Additionally, the Commission has published an in-depth impact assessment outlining
potential routes to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This assessment will serve as a
crucial resource in shaping the ongoing debate and influencing forthcoming legislative
and policy decisions.
For the transport sector specifically, the goal is to reduce emissions by close to 80% by
2040. The Commission plans to achieve this via electrification and a combination of
technological solutions, carbon pricing and an efficient and interconnected multimodal
transport system, for both passengers and freight. The proposal also mentions the need
for investments in the transport sector, particularly in the shift towards the production
of more sustainable alternative fuels.
Why it matters: The plan reiterates the EU’s commitment to work towards the
decarbonisation of the transport sector through measures including multimodality and
SAF production, in line with GBTA’s priorities. While the legislation to achieve these
2040 objectives will be introduced by the next Commission, the target shows the
direction of travel in the EU for decades to come.
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➤ Updates on the Green Claims and Empowering Consumers Initiatives
Green claims
The European Commission presented in March 2023 the Green Claims Directive, which
establishes rules to ensure that businesses making environmental claims about their
products provide clear, science-based evidence to back these up. When businesses
compare their products to others, the comparisons will have to be fair and based on the
same kind of data. The rules also aim to control the number and quality of
environmental labels; only those that meet strict standards will be allowed.
The Parliament’s committees on the Environment (ENVI) and the Internal Market
(IMCO) have suggested amendments to the Directive, demanding the following.
- Explicit environmental claims on “neutral, reduced or positive” environmental
impact for a product based on the use of carbon credits should be banned.
- However, companies can still use “climate-related compensation and emission
reduction claims” based on carbon credits but only for residual emissions in
accordance with the EU carbon removal certification framework (CRCF). Carbon
credits other than those certified under the CRCF can be used in duly justified
cases where those schemes are recognised by the Commission as part of the list
of compliant schemes corresponding to equivalent requirements to those
provided by the CRCF. The Commission shall adopt delegated acts to list
recognised carbon credit schemes.
In contrast with the Parliament, the EU Council, representing Member States, has not
yet agreed on its position on this file. When they do, they will initiate negotiations with
the Parliament to agree on a final version of the legislation, but the process is not
expected to be finalised before the June EU election given the little time left.
Why it matters: The most relevant issue for business travellers in this proposed
Directive is the way it will regulate claims based on carbon offsetting. Companies are
allowed to buy carbon credits, but they cannot make claims that their products have a
neutral, reduced, or positive environmental impact based on this. They can, however,
communicate about the climate-related compensation and emission reduction from
these carbon credits but only for residual emissions, that is, for emissions that cannot
be eliminated.
Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive
In March 2023, together with the Directive on Green Claims, the Commission presented
a Directive on empowering consumers in the green transition, aimed at complementing
and operationalising the former. It is set to bolster consumer rights by introducing
requirements for disclosure regarding product durability and reparability.
Overall, the law seeks to enhance legal certainty for traders, facilitate enforcement
against greenwashing and premature obsolescence, and empower consumers to
choose products based on genuine environmental performance. The directive will
impose bans on various misleading claims, such as very general claims (“climate
neutral”, “environmentally friendly”), and those suggesting a product has neutral,
reduced, or positive environmental impact based on carbon offsetting. To avoid the
proliferation of unreliable labels, the directive only allows sustainability labels based on
official certification schemes or established by public authorities.
Why it matters: This Directive will impact companies that make very broad
environmental claims or those that claim that their products have neutral, reduced, or
positive environmental impact based on carbon offsetting, including in the travel
sector.
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➤ Payment Services Regulation
In June 2023, the European Commission presented a proposed Payment Services
Regulation, that will update the EU’s payment legislation to make it fit for the digital
age. It will also tighten the security measures surrounding Merchant Initiated
Transactions (MITs) and Mail Order or Telephone Orders (MOTOs). Most of the
transactions in the business travel sector are processed as Mail Order and Telephone
(MOTO) even if they are not initiated by mail or telephone, owing to a loophole in the
previous Payment Services Directive 2. The new Payment Services Regulation may close
this loophole. The new proposal does not require a “Strong Customer Authentication”
in mail orders irrespective of whether the execution of the transaction is performed
electronically, but only as long as “security requirements and checks are carried out by
the payment service provider of the payer allowing a form of authentication of the
payment transaction”.
After its presentation, the proposed PSR was sent to the European Parliament and the
Council of the EU, representing Member States. The Parliament’s Committee on
Economic Affairs (ECON) adopted its position on it on 14 February 2024 and
proposed amendments to add that national competent authorities will define the
possible forms of alternative authentication that replace SCA in MOTOs.
Why it matters: The PSR is not expected to be adopted before the EU election in June
2024, but its future approval could affect the business travel sector. With the new
requirements, regulators could notice the incorrect use of MOTO by the business travel
industry and may decide to close the loophole, with consequences for the whole sector.
The sector should adapt before the legal changes have negative consequences for its
customers.
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➤ European Elections
The European Parliament election scheduled for June 6-9, 2024, will shape the EU's
political course for the next five years. Ahead of this significant vote, here's the latest
news shaping what could be a defining moment for the bloc.
What is new: The European Greens officially adopted their manifesto on the 4 February 2024. In it, they push for bolder climate action in Europe despite a growing backlash.
For the transport sector, they ask for massive investment in and coordination of rail
transport to connect Europe, with particular emphasis in underserved regions. They call
for the promotion of sustainable long-distance travel, by investing in night train
infrastructure and creating a European Ticketing Platform to make booking cross-border
journeys on sustainable transport straightforward. They would also “tax air travel and
fuel properly where efficient climate-friendly alternatives cannot be put in place”,
introduce a frequent flyer levy, with exceptions for island regions, and ban short-haul
where alternatives are available and a ban on private jets. However, the Greens are
facing growing “green fatigue” across Europe, with recent farmers’ protests highlighting
many citizens’ concerns about strict climate regulations. The polls predict a loss of a
third of their seats and the group going from the fifth to the seventh largest in the
European Parliament, this would leave them with little influence in the legislative
process. Further analysis here.
Why it matters: Even though the Greens are predicted to take losses in the European
Parliament election in June, they could still have some influence in shaping the EU
agenda during the mandate 2024-2029. Their proposals for the transport sector may be
taken up to some extent by the next European Commission.
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