Want to know what Europe does for you? Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on transport.

Transport is a cornerstone of European integration. It helps keep the European economy moving and allows us to move around quickly and safely.

But also sustainably. The new Commission President Ursula Vandele

has put transport on a fast track towards becoming decarbonised and digital.

But it won't be an easy journey. Want to know more? Stay with us.

Fast, reliable and secure transport networks are essential to ensure the free movement of people, goods and services in the European Union.

Without these, there could simply be no single market.

Apart from being a strategic factor, transport is also an important economic sector,

representing more than 9% of EU gross value added and employing

close to 12 million people. But the EU's transport policy has become a victim of its own success.

With more and more goods and passengers being moved around, greenhouse gas emissions have also

increased to the point that transport accounts today for more than one quarter of all

EU man-made greenhouse gas emissions. So sustainability has become a pivotal issue.

That's right. But before we go into that, let's look at who decides on transport policy

and what has happened in the past six years.

Although member states regulate transport and mobility issues themselves,

over the years the EU has introduced common rules and minimum standards

to build together a modern and safe transport system for Europe,

covering air, road, rail and maritime transport, as well as inland waterways.

In aviation, for instance, the EU created a single aviation market back in 1992.

Five years ago, it updated its aviation safety rules, which resulted in the adoption of the first ever EU rules for civil drones and an extension of the mandate of the EU Aviation Safety Agency.

In road transport, the EU has gradually liberalised international and cabotage

...