All roads lead to Brussels

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Welcome to the latest Transport Brief!

It’s transport week in Brussels. The great and the good from the four big transport families – rail, road, air and shipping – will gather in the heart of Europe to participate in the ‘Connecting Europe’ Days. 

This is the Commission’s annual jamboree which focuses on the development of Europe’s transport networks. 

And as the last week shows, attendees have plenty to discuss. Aviation is grappling with sustainable fuel supplies, while road anticipates its inclusion in the Emissions Trading Scheme. Meanwhile decision makers are figuring out a response to subsidised Chinese competition – are matching European subsidies for battery gigafactories the solution? 

The Euractiv transport team will be on the ground, so keep an eye out for myself and Olivia Gyapong at some of the events!

What you need to know this week:

Germany kicks off construction of electric car batteries’ gigafactory after swift approval

Germany secured the construction of a gigafactory for electric car batteries in record time with the help of the EU’s new subsidy “matching” scheme.

Chinese train maker withdraws from Bulgaria tender after EU probe

Chinese rail giant CRRC has withdrawn from a tendered project in Bulgaria after the EU last month launched a probe into it over suspected subsidies, the European Commission said on Tuesday (26 March).

Europe space telescope’s sight restored after de-icing procedure

The vision of the Euclid space telescope has been restored following a delicate operation that successfully melted a thin layer of ice that had been clouding its sight, the European Space Agency announced on Tuesday (26 March).

Opinion: Rolling out EV charging points – learning from Germany

As the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) surges across Europe, attention is being drawn to the readiness of multifamily buildings and the persistent challenges consumers face in installing EV charging within them to accommodate this shift.

Read more with Euractiv