Brussels, 13/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - The transport ministers of the EU are meeting in Luxembourg on Friday 15 October to try to “forge an agreement” on the revised proposed directive on the taxation of heavy-goods lorries for the use of certain infrastructure (Eurovignette II). The talks will be held on the basis of a compromise put together by the Belgian Presidency (EUROPE 10226). At this point, the compromise appears to have the support of most delegations, including the European Commission, which is determined to make progress on this text, presented in 2008, to allow the states to bring into toll charges the costs for noise and air pollution and congestion caused by the transport sector. The ministers are likely to focus on the trickiest points of the compromise, which are: - the exemption for EURO VI vehicles (which pollute the least) from the air pollution charges. The delegations will have to bring together their opinions on how long this exemption should last (under the Belgian proposed compromise, it should be limited to two years); - the maximum limit and duration for the variation of infrastructure charges to reduce congestion: the Presidency's compromise would allow the member states to vary the infrastructure charges brought in by the Eurovignette directive during peak times in order to cover the costs of congestion. It provides for a maximum increase of these charges of 300% (with proposals varying between 100% and 500%) for a maximum of 6 hours per day (compared to proposals by the member states from 4 hours to 8). In so doing, it also brings in the principle of neutral revenue, which stipulates that the profits generated in this way would have to be balanced out once the peak period ends; - the exemption for vehicles between 3.5 and 12 tonnes: the compromise specifies that the member states are free to decide to levy charges solely on vehicles greater than 12 tonnes if they are of the opinion that applying the charges to vehicles of less than 12 tonnes would disturb the traffic flow or increase the administrative burden. The ministers will also tackle the issue of allocating the revenue (taken out by the Presidency). Eleven member states (Spain, Portugal, France, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Austria, Slovakia and Slovenia), together with Poland and Hungary, which are currently rolling out electronic tolls across their territory, would be affected by the revised Eurovignette at this stage. The Commission states that the increase in tolls would not be more than 3 or 4 euro cents per kilometre and per vehicle. The Council is also to adopt a negotiation mandate for the conclusion of a global aviation agreement with Brazil and hold an exchange of views on the future White Paper on transport. (A.By./transl.fl)