Improve efforts to develop alternative fuels infrastructure, say MEPs

Ismail Ertug, rapporteur, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, says: “Our initiative report urges the Commission to accelerate the revision of the directive, come up with strong infrastructure targets and more funding for alternative fuels infrastructure.”

The original 2014 %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external Directive false https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32014L0094 false false%> sets out minimum requirements for the construction of an alternative fuels infrastructure – which include recharging points for electric vehicles and refuelling points for natural gas and hydrogen models.

MEPs are calling on the EC to propose more efficient instruments including binding and enforceable targets following what it describes as “differing levels of effort and ambition” in EU countries.

The EC should increase funding to support the uptake of alternative fuels infrastructure beyond its initial €800m pledge, MEPs urge.

They insist that projects developing this infrastructure should have access to grants and loans provided by the Connecting Europe Facility and the 4270 European Investment Bank.

Also, MEPs want member states to review energy taxation frameworks to provide incentives for low-carbon and carbon-free fuels and to remove disparities in energy taxation between different transport modes.

“Furthermore, we strongly advocate the need of the rural areas for sufficient infrastructure, as there should be no European region lagging behind in the transition towards low-emission mobility,” Ertug adds.

The draft resolution will now need to be voted on by the full house of the European Parliament.