Next event will held on January 28th, at 18h, in Brussels, organized by Harold Tor-Daenens. We will talk about “Rail for Real: How can we fix EU crossborder railways in 2025?”.
The Report on «The future of European competitiveness» by former ECB chief and ex-PM of Italy Mario Draghi gave a stark warning to Europe: get our act together or we will die a slow painful death. Crucially, the EU is facing two harsh realities that no one before Draghi has made it so loud and clear: the EU is officially an industrial museum, we are not the economic motor we used to be; in the current geopolitical climate when globalisation and peace are no longer the world order, both friends and foes have changed the rules of the game, so the EU should stop acting as if the world has not moved on. Together we will be exploring the following questions in this session:
- Rail is hailed as the most sustainable mode of passenger transport, so where does rail feature in the new mandate?
- Where do we currently stand in the Single European Railway Area (SERA)?
- The role of the European Rail Agency is to promote interoperability and safety of European railways. Has it been successful so far?
- Do regulators realise the urgency of achieving SERA in the context of the Single Market and optimisation of the railway system with regard to wider economy?
- What kinds of obstacles do train and network operators face?
With us in the panel are:
– Jakop Dalunde, former MEP, Green (Sweden)
– Jedde Hollewijn, Senior Policy Officer for Railways, European Transport Workers’ Federation
– Elmer van Buuren, President, Alliance of Rail New Entrants (ALLRAIL)
– Jon Worth, Independent EU railway policy campaigner
– Blaž Pongračič, Senior Policy Adviser Passenger, CER
Location: ZN, Chaussée de Boondael 6/8, 1050 Ixelles
Date: Tuesday, 28 January 2025
Doors open: 17:30
Time: 18:00-19:00, followed by Q&A plus informal chitchat
Entrance fee: FREE