ECF and ETRA Make a Commitment

BRUSSELS, Belgium - ECF President Manfred Neun and ETRA President Nigel Hill have recently signed an agreement in principle on the cooperation between their respective organisations. ECF and ETRA both believe that the time for political pressure on the European Commission, Parliament and Council to promote cycling has never been better. Lobbying needs to be intensified on issues such as infrastructure, road safety, taxation, product quality, etc.

Having ascertained this mutual belief, approaches between the two organisations were first made in the course of 2005. The cooperation was proving very workable and at the end of 2005, ETRA and ECF jointly organised a meeting with bicycle-friendly Members of the European Parliament (MEP’s). That meeting compounded ECF and ETRA’s belief that the timing was right and, in fact, the offer of support from the MEPs was most encouraging. Both organisations agreed to continue to work together and today ECF and ETRA lobby together on many issues. Daytime running lights, the review of European transport policy, bicycle transportation on international trains, blind spot mirrors are some examples of the current issues at stake. The announced Green Paper on urban transport will be another very important item for ETRA and ECF this year.