After the CIE 2024 Summit: what's next?

The 2024 edition of the CIE Summit was a great success. Now it's time to see what's happening next: a round-up.
 

The EU landscape is settling down and this is what's happening

The CIE 2024 Summit took place amidst a busy and bustling Brussels bubble preparing for a new 5 year policy cycle, with elected officials, civil servants and government envoys jostling for positions and influence. As the dust settles down over the next few months, we will be carefully identifying who takes up key positions that matter for the growth of cycling in Europe, engaging with them, and seeking to extend networks and partnerships with supportive industry associations and NGOs.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been given the green light to lead the EU executive for another five years, picked her team of 26 Commissioners and set out detailed mission letters for each and every one of them. The so-called Commission-designates nominated by von der Leyen must now jump the final hurdle before entering into office: the European Parliament auditions, taking place in early November. We will closely follow these auditions with the implementation of the EU Declaration on Cycling at the top of our watchlist.

We are glad to see that this very point – showing progress on implementing the EU Declaration on Cycling by the end of 2025 - features among the ‘hard ask’ priorities outlined for the Commission-designate for Sustainable transport and tourism, Apostolos Tzitzikostas from Greece. This is the first time ever that the word ‘cycling’ is spelt out clearly in a Commissioner’s mission letter, and we also could not help noticing that what used to be called the ‘Transport’ portfolio has become ‘Sustainable Transport and Tourism’ – a denomination that fits the humble bicycle perfectly!

At a more technical level, there are further signs that the European Commission is now committed to delivering on the EU Declaration on Cycling. A network of national coordinators has been set up to report progress from each Member State on the 36 commitments included in the Cycling Declaration. The first progress report from the European Commission is due by the end of 2025.

EU industrial policy is also moving forward with the implementation of the Mobility Transition Pathway now underway. The European Commission has invited cycling companies as well as governments and associations to ‘pledge’, or rather show examples of how they are contributing to making the cycling industry more resilient, digital and sustainable, as well as how they are putting the EU Declaration on Cycling’s call for a ‘World class industry’ into practice.

A first round of Mobility Transition Pathway ‘pledges’ closed on 1 October but the possibility to submit further pledges with reopen in the coming weeks. We’re proud that our members used our 7-step guide to pledge and have shown appetite to contribute and the European Commission seems to have recognised this strong level of engagement during this first round of pledges, which bodes well for future industrial policy support perspectives.

Maintaining high engagement and ambition levels from the cycling industry will further help show the EU why the cycling industry is a key part of Europe’s mobility – and industry – of the future.  
 

Social Climate Fund – the time to act is NOW!

The EU’s new Social Climate Fund is an almost €87 billion programme that can be used for bike purchase subsidies, leasing and bike sharing schemes, cargo bikes, and cycling infrastructure if they are targeted towards groups at risk of transport poverty, including micro enterprises and if national governments include these measures in their national implementation plans.

National plans (SCPs) are drafted now and submitted before June 2025, so now is the time that citizens’ groups, trade associations and businesses should start advocating and collaborating nationally to get cycling into these plans. You can even encourage cities and regions to lobby with you for local schemes to be in the national plan.

Member States are expected to and will cooperate closely with experts on a local and regional level, but also with stakeholders from environmental nonprofit organizations, consumer associations and industry associations for the preparation of their SCPs.

By June 2025, Member States’ responsible authorities must submit their draft Social Climate Plans to the European Commission for review and approval. A public consultation process is mandatory for the drafting of the plans. We therefore invite you to make your national ministries and other responsible authorities aware that the SCF can be used to fund cycling and to watch out for announcements of the public consultation in your country to be able to take part and push for cycling measures.

You can find more details on the Social Climate Fund and guidelines for advocacy work here.

As highlighted in President von der Leyen's political guidelines, the preparation and implementation of the Social Climate Fund will be among the top priorities of the next Commission.
 

The Benelux's Industrial Strategy

Our collaboration with the Benelux Union at the CIE 2024 Summit will continue as we will support the possibility for company and association representatives to shape a future industrial and economic stimulation strategy for cycling in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, backed by the remarkable study shown by TML Leuven’s Rosanne Vanpee at our Summit.

As a ‘living lab’ for cooperation between countries, the Benelux Union enables Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to devise policies with more ambition and margin for manoeuvre than what would be possible in an EU framework, when they choose to do so.

We will be urging the Benelux countries to build a solid cycling economy around world-leading ridership levels around key themes such as circularity, innovation and adapted services like bike leasing, setting a blueprint for future cycling polcies delivering better mobility and support for the industry.