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Like-minded ministers continue their dialogue with the European Commission concerning the provisions of the Mobility Package I

18.02.2020

The final shape of the regulations on the functioning of international road transport included in the Mobility Package I, was the main subject of the talks between Minister Andrzej Adamczyk and transport ministers of the like-minded countries (apart from Poland, these are Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Hungary, Cyprus, Estonia and Malta) with Adina Vălean, EU Commissioner for Transport, and Frans Timmermans, Commission's Executive Vice President responsible for the EU climate strategy, otherwise known as the European Green Deal.

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A shared voice on the Mobility Package

Before the start of the second reading of the controversial provisions of the Mobility Package I in the European Parliament, a coordination meeting of the like-minded MS was held in Brussels, where Minister Andrzej Adamczyk emphasized that joint efforts and continued dialogue is bringing positive results. The European Commission noticed the harmfulness of some of the proposed solutions and announced an impact assessment of the regulations, which may lead to a review of the most problematic elements of the Package.

According to the Polish side, such an assessment should be prepared within a time limit allowing for the elimination of the provisions deemed harmful before the end of legislative work and its publication.

Expertise of the Motor Transport Institute

When examining the proposed solutions, especially the compulsory return of the vehicles to the country of residence, restrictions imposed on combined transport, cabotage, as well as the cross-trade, scientists from the Polish Motor Transport Institute (ITS) calculated that  the obligation for the vehicles to return to the country of residence at least every 8 weeks will cause pointless and unnecessary additional 3 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year in the EU.

- The proposed EU regulations impose administrative restrictions on transport services, artificially reduce the efficiency of transport services and simply force carriers to make unnecessary journeys. It is thus our duty to eliminate such bad regulations before they enter into force - urged Minister Andrzej Adamczyk.

Talks about the effects of implementing the new regulations

During the meeting with Transport Commissioner Adina Vălean, Minister Adamczyk also urged to extend the assessment of the proposed provisions to elements that were not previously considered. In addition to their compliance with the European Green Deal, also more broadly - their compliance with the idea of ​​strengthening the internal market and removing barriers in it, and thus supporting the development of transport.

During the meeting with the European Commission Vice-President for European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, Minister Adamczyk pointed out that the coherence of EU legislation should be maintained. The currently proposed provisions of the Mobility Package I not only lead to artificial restrictions on the functioning of the EU internal market, but will also hamper the reduction of the negative impact of transport on the environment.

These are issues related to the cabotage and the restrictions on repeated loading and unloading (so-called multi-drop operations), which may result in carriers avoiding topping up their cargo space. Such solutions will contribute to additional CO2 emissions.

None of these proposals have so far been evaluated for their impact on the road transport sector, climate or indeed the environment.

- I regret that the issue of protecting national markets and the sanctioning of protectionist measures taken by some EU Member States in relation to the international road transport sector has taken precedence over the protection of the environment and climate and, above all, the desire to improve the working conditions of drivers. We are also preparing for a potential negative outcome of these heated debates on the Mobility Package I in general, which could potentially result in submitting a complaint to the Court of Justice of the EU - underlined Minister Andrzej Adamczyk.

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