UNIFE calls on Transport Ministers to safeguard Europe’s critical rail infrastructure
Today, 4 December, EU Transport Ministers’ meet at European Council level, with one of their agenda items, led by the Austrian Minister for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure Peter Hanke, on fair and resilient conditions for the European railway sector.
Ministers have the chance to ensure that unfair foreign competition doesn’t jeopardise Europe’s rail networks. As such, we urge them to:
- Safeguard Europe’s strategic assets and critical infrastructure: we cannot and must not allow our military mobility or any security-relevant segments of our railway networks—especially core infrastructure and signalling—to be outside of Europe’s control. Similar alerts have been raised in public transport or in other high-tech industries. Therefore, we need a strong European toolbox to ensure the security of critical infrastructure. The EU should exclude third country bidders with which it has no agreement on public procurement for critical and security-related goods and services, and prioritise European-preference procurement. By relying on European innovators, manufacturers, and service providers, we not only reduce dependency on external actors but also reinforce Europe’s industrial base and technological sovereignty.
- Level the playing field in EU public procurement: The purchase price alone cannot be the determining factor when the long-term integrity, reliability, and security of our railway infrastructure is at stake. Rolling stock has a duration to 30 to 40 years – this means that only a life-cycle costing approach can and should provide a fair assessment of costs.
We urge all Member States to support this approach and anchor a strong European-preference principle in all relevant security and resilience projects. This approach will help safeguard our values, protect our citizens, and strengthen Europe’s resilience in an increasingly challenging geopolitical environment.
We take pride in being a top-performing rail supply industry that can compete internationally with high-quality products. We do not rest on our laurels: we continuously innovate to ensure state of the art secure products and short delivery times for our customers and ultimately passengers.
Quotes attributable to UNIFE Director General Enno Wiebe
“Europe is facing a very real and serious scenario – losing control of its own rail networks. We are raising the alarm today, as we believe we are close to crossing a threshold we cannot return from.”
“Today, EU transport ministers will meet at European Council level and this issue will be presented prominently for the first time. We urge Member States to consider a response that includes supporting a strong Public Procurement reform at an EU level.”
“We are calling on all stakeholders in the rail sector and policymakers to come together and address this issue to ensure Europe’s strategic autonomy.”
For more information on UNIFE's work on Military Mobility please contact:
Luca Cedric Biggiogera
Technical Affairs Manager IT & Cybersecurity
luca.biggiogera@unife.org / +32 2 626 12 69
For more information on UNIFE's work on Procuremen please contact:
Jonathan Nguyen
Head of Public Affairs
jonathan.nguyen@unife.org / +32 2 431 04 60
