European Commission President Proposes a European Transport Union
European Commission President von der Leyen delivered a speech at Connecting Europe Days 2026, outlining a "European Transport Union" with three priorities: completing the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), maintaining Europe's lead in transport innovation, and building resilience against climate and geopolitical volatility. She cited estimates that completing the network could raise EU GDP by 2.4% (about €467 billion) by 2050, and proposed over €50 billion for transport in the next long-term budget — more than double current funding. She also referenced the Lisbon–Madrid high-speed rail link, cross-border charging corridors for electric trucks, cross-border testbeds for autonomous v…
Impact and considerations
The speech signals the EU's direction on transport infrastructure investment and regulation for the coming decade, covering cross-border rail, charging networks, coordinated autonomous-vehicle approvals and a climate-resilience framework — potentially shaping medium- and long-term planning and compliance expectations…
Key points
- European Commission President von der Leyen proposed a "European Transport Union" at Connecting Europe Days 2026, focused on completing TEN-T, advancing transport innovation and strengthening infrastructure resilience.
- She cited estimates that completing the TEN-T network could raise EU GDP by 2.4%, equivalent to €467 billion, by 2050.
- The Commission proposed more than €50 billion for transport in the next long-term budget — more than double the funding available today.
- The Lisbon–Madrid high-speed rail link is under construction, with direct journeys expected to take about five hours by 2030 and around three hours by 2034.
- Europe currently has 26,000 zero-emission trucks, a figure that could reach 400,000 by 2030, with the EU promoting cross-border high-power charging corridors.
- In summer 2026, 18 Member States agreed to cooperate on large-scale cross-border testbeds for autonomous vehicles, with common approval principles and coordinated permitting.
- The EU plans to present a new European framework for climate resilience next month, addressing heat, floods and drought impacts on rail, roads and waterways.
- The EU is supporting new and upgraded transport connections between Moldova and Romania as part of the latter's closer integration with the bloc.
Sources and time
- Primary source
- European Commission
- Other sources
- 0
- First source publication
- 29 Sept 2026, 18:42
- Page published
- 29 Sept 2026, 20:52
- Last updated
- 29 Sept 2026, 18:42
- Original links
- European Commission Press Corner：Opening speech by the President at the Connecting Europe Days (opens in a new tab)Primary source · en · Published 29 Sept 2026, 18:42