TRU, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Bilag 303: Kopi til orientering af fælles erklæring fra Vejtransportalliancen i forbindelse med forhandlingerne om Vejpakken, fra transport-, bygnings- og boligministeren

Transport-, Bygnings- og Boligudvalget 2017-18
TRU Alm.del Bilag 303
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Brussels, 14

May 2018

Ministerial Meeting of

“Road Alliance” –

Ministers’

Statement

Following the technical meeting, held on February 28

and March 1

2018 in Vienna, and

exchanges between Ministers in Ljubljana on April 25

, the Ministers and Representatives of the

members of the Road Alliance, together with The Netherlands attending as an observer, met for

their third ministerial meeting on May 14

in Brussels.

On the occasion of this meeting, the Ministers of the Road Alliance formally welcomed Greece

as a full member of the Alliance.

The Ministers and Representatives present at this meeting made the following declaration:

We, Transport Ministers of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy,

Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, wish first of all to reaffirm the principles and

objectives pursued by the Alliance, conveyed in its initial Memorandum.

The strength and future of the European Union is based both on its single market and on the

respect of fundamental rights, especially social rights. These are the fundamental pillars to

underline the added value of European integration. Therefore, social convergence is needed in

order to improve working conditions in all Member States of the EU.

We aim to move more rapidly towards an integrated Europe where road haulage will be carried

out in an economic area, where competition will be fair and healthy between economic actors,

where social rights of workers will be better ensured, and where the safety of drivers and road

users is enhanced.

To achieve these objectives, we reiterate the following:

Only when harmonisation of relevant social legislation relating to road transport will be implemented in

practice, discussion about further liberalisation of the road transport market, in particular as regards

cabotage by road, could be envisaged;

The legislative framework for driving times and rest periods must ensure a high level of social protection

and should not be weakened;

The EU must promote more effective mechanisms for coordinating and enforcing controls to verify, in

practice, the proper application of the rules applicable to the sector;

Enhancing the profession of road driver at a time when many Member States are struck by a shortage of

workforce in the road transport sector.

However, we regret that most proposals presented, in recent months, by the Presidency with

regard to the Mobility package do not respect these objectives, nor those pursued by the

European Commission when it initiated this Mobility package. These proposals risk maintaining

legal uncertainty and differences in the interpretation of the regulations, making checks more

difficult and leading to a deterioration of working conditions of lorry drivers and road safety,

TRU, Alm.del - 2017-18 - Bilag 303: Kopi til orientering af fælles erklæring fra Vejtransportalliancen i forbindelse med forhandlingerne om Vejpakken, fra transport-, bygnings- og boligministeren

while further exacerbating social dumping, unfair competition and systematic cabotage practices

at the expense of the already fragile balance of the European and national markets.

Furthermore, the texts drawn up so far do not take sufficiently into account the remarks made on

many occasions by the countries we represent, mainly with regard to the posting of workers,

cabotage and driving times and rest periods. These issues have a direct impact on the lives of

European workers.

The Presidency's new proposals do not constitute progress in the search for a real compromise

that effectively and concretely prevents the misuse of European road transport law; a

compromise on progress, which does not degrade social rules and strengthens the European

project, is nevertheless essential.

The prevention of fraud in cabotage, posting and combined transport, as well as the fight against

letterbox companies and the control of the exponential development of light-duty vehicles and

their uses, are all fundamental questions that must be answered in concrete and operational

terms.

Furthermore, we emphasize that the Mobility package must be understood in a comprehensive

and detailed approach. We cannot accept a package that is not properly balanced. These rules will

commit the European Union and its Member States for at least the next ten years and there is no

question of adopting them if they are neither ambitious enough nor easily controllable.

However, it must be noted that a lot of open issues still have to be addressed before an

agreement can be reached in Council. Considering the current situation, an agreement by June

risks being compromised.

We therefore call upon the Presidency to take into account, as soon as possible, the requests

formulated by our countries and reiterate our constructive mind. We are prepared to work out

compromises on a reasonable and balanced basis, so that we can offer the citizens of the

European Union high-quality road transport that respects everyone's safety and living conditions.