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Over recent years, important changes to the international and the European scenario have taken place. Globalisation of the economy has transformed the transport industry. Maritime and aviation transport has always been international in nature; now, the processes of outsourcing and relocation of production plants to other countries have created a boom in cross-border transport and logistics which affects all the transport modes. Multinational enterprises are increasingly investing in the different transport sectors, and former state-owned companies, such as those in postal services and railways, have expanded strategically into international transport and logistics markets.

The ETF has paid particular attention to building capacities among trade unionists from Central and Eastern Europe in order to cope with changes and challenges of the logistics sector. At the same time, securing free markets for trade in services and investments has become a major issue in EU policies, influencing Europe outside EU borders. In this environment, it is more important than ever that trade unions have an effective organisation working to promote a social Europe.