The European Union has one of the most dynamic transit systems in the world. In 2006, 8.2 million people were employed in the transport sector, 64% of them in land transport. In March of 2007, the Commission launched its Green Paper on Urban Transport, which will examine ways to address transit efficiency and congestion in Europe's urban areas. Although the paper will examine many aspects of urban transit, almost every issue on the Green Paper's agenda relates to the use of personal vehicles. Nearly half of Europeans own a car(s), and will likely continue to do so for reasons of comfort, status and convenience.

There are many projects under the aegis of the TEN programme, including the Lyon-Turin rail link, which involves an expensive, low-altitude tunnel under the Alps, the “Motorways of the Seas” programme, and a series of axial connections with the EU's new neighbours to the East. This, along with a large number of other rail and road construction projects, aims to create a unified, Trans-European Transit Network (TEN-T).

Another, overarching TEN project is GALILEO, Europe’s own satellite navigation system, launched by the EU and the European Space Agency. Based on a constellation of 30 satellites, this system will provide more advanced features than the existing GPS (American) and GLONASS (Russian) military-developed systems. The basic signal will be available to all (and not be encrypted for military use), and provide accuracy to within one metre. The first test satellite was launched in December 2005, but it will be several years before the full system is up and running.

Currently, Air Traffic Control (ATC) is largely organised by national boundaries, meaning that aircraft often pass through several zones. As such, air traffic is channelled into corridors through which planes rarely take the straight route to their destination. The Single European Sky initiative, organised in conjunction with the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, seeks to harmonise ATC, making more flexible use of airspace in order to increase overall capacity, reduce flight delays, and make flying safer.

The fundamental principle of the single market is that any operator licensed to provide services in one member-state is automatically able to do so in others. This means that governments cannot discriminate against operators from outside their own country or restrict private operations on the basis of nationality. There are, however, many technical barriers to transit providers.

In shipping on roads and on water, harmonisation has been relatively simple, with the focus being on size/weight standardisation and on administrative simplification, including the standardisation of documents that must accompany each cargo (or passenger load) across Europe.

In the past, all international air travel was the subject of detailed agreements between governments. But liberalisation has made it possible for any licensed carrier that could obtain ‘slots’ at airports can operate services between any two points in the EU, giving rise to the ‘no-frills’ and ‘low-cost’ airlines that criss-cross Europe.

Rail services have been the most difficult area to liberalise because infrastructure and technical standards are more complex and vary significantly between member-states. Apart from a few high-speed passenger trains, cross-border trains are generally required to change locomotives and crews at each border, meaning delays and higher costs.

In September 2010, Commissioner Kallas issued a range of communications, including road safety warnings to Italy, measures to improve rail services for passengers and freight, and new rules to "name and shame" shipping companies with poor safety records.