On Friday, the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF) sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in which the trade union complains that the European transport system is not prepared to deal with crises and that workers in the sector pay the price price. This - ETF underlined - is the result of years of deliberate political choices that have triggered a intra-EU competition based on cost-cutting, by exposing - rather than protecting - European operators at a unfair international competition, leading to a and creating dependency on third countries for the transport of passengers and cargo instead of prioritizing the resilience, public investment and jobs quality.

In the letter, the trade union organisation highlighted that the EU failed to develop the tools needed to protect its transport system and its workers in times of crisis, with short-term measures such as subsidies, tax breaks and emergency support that are repeatedly used to contain immediate damage, measures which, while necessary, nevertheless do not address the problems of background.

ETF has therefore urged the European Commission to act on three priorities that the European Union of Employers transport workers considers non-negotiable: adopt frameworks binding and cross-sectoral crisis management and security of all transport sectors, including a strong component linked to workers; ensure that crises do not occur managed through downward pressure on jobs, wages and working conditions; develop, in consultation with the parties robust transport strategies that guarantee all the elements necessary to have resilient EU transport.

In addition, in order to start this process, ETF has invited the European Commission to convene a round table of to develop a structural resilience strategy focused on long-term systemic change, an initiative that - specified the union - must not be translated into a mere symbolic exercise. Referring to the consequences of the conflict with Iran and the escalation of the war in the Arabian Gulf, ETF has warned that this is not an isolated crisis, so as were those that preceded it, and that rather, we are faced with a series of predictable shocks for the Europe is not yet sufficiently prepared.