(L-R) Jean-Luc Crucke, Belgium's Minister for Mobility, Climate and Environmental Transition; Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg's Minister for Mobility and Public Works; and Vincent Karremans, the Netherlands' Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management;
Credit: © MMTP
On Monday 8 June 2026, Luxembourg’s Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Yuriko Backes, took part in the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council in its Transport configuration in Luxembourg, focusing in particular on the decarbonisation of transport and new European strategies for the maritime sector.
According to Luxembourg’s Ministry for Mobility and Public Works, ministers reviewed progress on a proposed regulation for clean corporate vehicles, which forms part of the European Commission’s Automotive Package presented in December 2025. The package aims to reduce CO2 emissions from the transport sector while addressing broader questions about climate ambition and implementation measures.
In this context, the Council held an exchange of views on this dossier and, more broadly, on efforts to decarbonise the sector beyond 2030, noted the ministry. During the discussions, Minister Backes stressed that "any post-2030 strategy should reconcile ambitious climate objectives with measures capable of strengthening European competitiveness" and insisted on "the importance of a stable and predictable environment in order to encourage investment in clean technologies, infrastructure and innovation, with the objective of finding a sustainable and pragmatic balance between climate and competitiveness".
Minister Backes further underlined the importance of continuing investments in public transport, rail and multimodal freight in order to provide attractive alternatives to private cars and reduce emissions, highlighting that electrification should remain the main solution for passenger transport by road and rail. Overlooking the long term goals, she favoured technological diversification, including hydrogen and other innovative solutions, in order to ensure a resilient and effective transition, said the ministry.
The presidency presented an overview of legislative proposals currently under examination, including the regulation on air passenger rights, which is currently in the conciliation phase, as well as the regulation on military mobility.
According to the ministry, the European Commission, together with the European Parliament (EP), presented its Passenger Package, bringing together a set of legislative measures aimed at simplifying and harmonising rail and multimodal travel across Europe. These measures, which will soon be negotiated by the co-legislators, aim to create a single ticket allowing journeys from different operators to be combined, facilitate comparisons between offers and improve passenger protection.
The European Commission and the Cypriot Presidency informed ministers of developments in the energy situation in the transport sector since their informal meeting on 21 April 2026.
