Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash
Photo by Violeta Bulc on Twitter

Violeta Bulc

EU Commissioner for Transport

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EU Commissioner for Transport

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What makes Violeta Bulc a global shaker?

Violeta Bulc has been European Union (EU) Commissioner for Transport since 2014, effectively overseeing everything transport related for the 512 million people living in the EU bloc for the past five years.

The Slovenian politician has achieved huge advances on de-carbonisation in shipping and aviation, including the first ever global target for shipping emissions. Through her 4th Railways Package, she completely overhauled the EU legal framework for the rail sector, and produced packages on a European Electronic Tolling Service.

A European programme overseen by her department, called ‘Connecting Europe Facility’, has provided a total of €23.4bn to 760 transport projects, and her team was behind much-publicised proposals to end seasonal clock changes across Europe by 2021.

She’s also worked on projects to create connections between different forms of transport, such as railways and air transport, and tried to base new policies on the “user pays” principle.

Speaking in Brussels earlier this year about future prospects for transport, she said she’d fought to improve representation of women in transport. “Upon taking up this position, I was shocked to hear that only 22% of all transport workers are women. I am proud of the Platform for Change that we have created, and even more so of the results that we are starting to see.”

It’s unclear who will be Transport Commissioner after the coming European elections. But given the slow speed at which an institution as large as the EU moves, and Bulc’s success in driving transport change, it’s safe to say that the politician’s legacy will be keenly felt on cross-European transport initiatives in the coming years.

Tags: EU, transport

Last updated: October 4, 2019