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Letter to EU transport ministers: Seize the opportunity to fast-track cycling in your countries September 2022 Philip Amaral, Director of Policy and Development, [email protected] Now is the time to invest in more cycling At no other time has cycling been as urgent a priority for our mobility systems as the present. We think now is an exceptionally good window of opportunity for EU member states to demonstrate renewed political will, enact new policies and redesign mobility budgets to enable more cycling to reap the many benefits it brings for cities, people, environment and climate. Four recent examples demonstrate this window of opportunity: • The speech1 by Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans at The Cycling Summit in Copenhagen on 30 June, where he backed a commitment to work with the European Parliament on a European declaration on more cycling in Europe.2 • The European Bicycle Declaration3 announced by six EU transport ministers with an aim to facilitate an EU cycling strategy to boost cycling’s modal share and its industrial strength in Europe. • The new EU Urban Mobility Framework4 launched by the European Commission in December 2021, which has an ambition to prioritise sustainable modes of transport in European cities. • The European Commission’s and the International Energy Agency’s5 recommendations to European governments to boost demand for cycling to quickly cut fossil fuel demand and help citizens achieve rapid energy savings. ECF urges all EU member states to seize this opportunity by: 1) Signing the European Bicycle Declaration initiated by six other member states 2) Taking steps to implement the new Urban Mobility Framework 3) Use REPowerEU to invest in more cycling to fast-track energy savings. 1 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/SPEECH_22_4252 2 https://twitter.com/KarimaDelli/status/1542513349824352260?s=20&t=57dnD2KUop0Ouqk_M2EmGA 3 https://gilkinet.belgium.be/sites/default/files/articles/European%20Cycling%20Declaration_signatures.pdf 4 https://transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-12/com_2021_811_the-new-eu-urban-mobility.pdf 5 https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/markets-and-consumers/eu-energy-prices/playing-my- part_en#:~:text=The%20International%20Energy%20Agency%20(IEA,homes%20if%20adopted%20by%20all. 1  Seize the opportunity to fast-track cycling in EU member states 1. Joining the European Bicycle Declaration Co-signing this declaration is an important way for an EU member state to demonstrate its commitment to increase cycling’s modal share through a new EU cycling strategy, one of the declaration’s key requests. A new EU cycling strategy would enable the entire EU to harness its ability to use funding and policy instruments to support the building of new infrastructure in European cities, boost public demand for more cycling and use cycling to achieve the goals in the European Green Deal. 2. Implementing the new EU Urban Mobility Framework The European Commission’s new Urban Mobility Framework is the most ambitious EU policy on cycling thus far. Its implementation should occur swiftly in EU cities to reap the societal benefits that come with cycling. As a first step, EU member states should design systems to better capture cycling data. To do this, we urge member state governments to: • Designate cycling data collection focal points to bring all data into one location • Identify indicators to enable good data collection, such as: o Cycling’s modal share in the country’s mobility system o The number of kilometres of cycling trips taken within a year o Numbers of cyclists killed or seriously injured in road collisions or accidents on roadways o The number of kilometres of cycling infrastructure and the kinds that exist 3. Fast-tracking cycling investments in REPowerEU Several measures that ECF and its partners have advocated for were cited in REPowerEU6 and the accompanying EU Save Energy7 communication, such as incentivising bicycle purchases and investing in new infrastructure. To implement these as quickly as possible, public authorities at national, regional and local levels must quickly increase budget allocations for cycling by drawing on EU funds. These include, for example: • Recovery and Resilience Plans: Although ECF’s analysis8 identified €1.7 billion earmarked by member states for cycling investments, governments must invest more to quickly trigger the magnitude of change needed. • Multi-annual Financial Framework (2021-2027): In view of the current energy crisis and window of opportunity to increase cycling, we believe that member states across the EU must invest €10 billion under the MFF to create massive upswell of more cycling. We trust that as transport ministers, you will make the strategic decisions and investments that will be help your countries and the entire EU to meet its climate goals and deliver outstanding impacts for citizens. ECF looks forward to working with all EU transport ministers to achieving these results. 6 https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_3131 7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2022%3A240%3AFIN&qid=1653033053936 8 https://ecf.com/news-and-events/news/final-analysis-cycling-becomes-mainstream-eu-member-states-covid-19-recovery 2  European Cyclists’ Federation Mundo Madou Avenue des Arts 7-8 B-1210 Brussels +32 2 329 03 80 [email protected] ECF gratefully acknowledges financial support from the LIFE programme of the European Union. ECF gratefully acknowledges financial support from the cycling industry via Cycling Industries Europe. www.ecf.com 0 Saatja: "Kairi-Ly Einborn" <[email protected]> Saaja: "MKM info" <[email protected]> Teema: FW: From ECF to Minister Sikkut: fast-track cycling investments in Estonia Kuupäev: 2022-09-07 14:01 From: Philip Amaral | ECF &lt;[email protected]&gt; Sent: Monday, September 5, 2022 11:43 AM To: Riina Sikkut &lt;[email protected]&gt; Cc: Kristel Tänover &lt;[email protected]&gt;; Ahti Kuningas &lt;[email protected]&gt; Subject: From ECF to Minister Sikkut: fast-track cycling investments in Estonia Dear Minister Sikkut, On behalf of our CEO, Jill Warren, please find attached a cover note to Your Excellency with a two-page letter from ECF encouraging all EU-27 transport ministers to fast-track investments for more cycling in their countries. We are looking forward to your response. Kind regards, Philip Amaral Philip Amaral | Policy &amp; Development Director <https://twitter.com/AmaralPhilip/status/1468146463985344516?s=20> <https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-amaral-6024a52a/> <http://ecf.com/> European Cyclists’ Federation Mundo Madou Avenue des Arts 7-8 1210 Brussels +32 485 173 766 Do you also want more and better cycling in Europe? Support our work: ecf.com/donate <https://eurovelo.com/> ECF is committed to ensuring the security of the personal information we process and to provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. Learn more about our Data Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. 5 September 2022 Ms. Riina Sikkut Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Suur-Ameerika 1, Tallinn, 10122 Republic of Estonia Dear Minister Sikkut, There has never been as good a window of opportunity to fast-track investments in more cycling as the present. On behalf of ECF and its members, I present you with an urgent appeal to seize the opportunity by demonstrating renewed political will, enacting new policies and redesigning mobility budgets to rapidly enable more cycling to take advantage of the numerous benefits it brings for cities, people, environment and climate. ECF urges all EU member state governments to do this by: 1) Co-signing the European Bicycle Declaration initiated by six other EU member states 2) Implementing the new EU Urban Mobility Framework by initiating actions to collect data about cycling in your country’s cities 3) Using REPowerEU to invest in more cycling to fast-track energy savings for your citizens We are sharing this letter directly with transportation and mobility ministers in all EU member states. I look forward to your government’s support for the recommendations in this letter. Sincerely, Jill Warren CEO