The hearing of the nominee for Transport Commissioner, Ms. Adina Valean took place today in the European Parliament where she was questioned for three hours about a whole range of topics affecting transport policy, including climate change and working conditions for transport workers. .

However, her answers on some important topics were unsatisfactory.

Ciaran Cuffe, Green Party MEP for Dublin, said:

Unfortunately Ms. Valean's performance did not accurately reflect the seriousness of the climate emergency we are facing. Particularly when it comes to aviation, she did not accept that building airports and increasing the number of flights contradicts the EU's climate objectives. Neither would she commit to a kerosene tax to ensure fair competition between different modes of transport, despite Frans Timmermans in his own hearing arguing that this makes sense.

"Once European Commission President van der Layen's cabinet is finally approved Ms. Valean will have 100 days to present details of her Green New Deal for Transport. I look forward to considering her detailed plans.

"Our group tried to seek additional clarification on these issues but unfortunately we were unsuccessful. Should the college as a whole be approved, I look forward to working with Ms. Valean on transport issues and on ensuring that we tackle the transport sector's growing emissions."

Ends

Issued and uploaded 14th November 2019