Brussels, 12/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 12 April, the European Parliament's transport committee endorsed at second reading the report on the Eurovignette directive aimed at authorising the inclusion of costs relating to noise and air pollution caused by heavy good vehicles (HGVs) in road tolls. The vote takes up most of the proposals put forward by the rapporteur, Saïd El Khadraoui (S&D, Belgium) (see EUROPE 10328 and 10337), despite the very differing stances within the various political groups. On the strength of a vote in favour (26 for, 1 against and 11 abstentions), the rapporteur will seek Council endorsement before the text is presented and voted in plenary session during June. The first meeting between the rapporteur and the Council delegation should take place next week.
As proposed by the rapporteur, MEPs backed a pragmatic approach in the hope of reaching agreement with the Council on the text as a whole by the summer. The compromise drafted by El Khadraoui provides, as suggested by member states, for congestion to be abandoned as a separate charge, with its cost being recovered through variation of the infrastructure toll during peak hours (200% of the maximum level during 8 hours a day). As advocated by member states, especially Germany, the committee also kept in place the option of exemptions for commercial vehicles between 3.5 tonnes and 12 tonnes on condition that member states can justify their choice. Nonetheless, this is a concession on the part of the MEPs who generally took the view that HGVs weighing 3.5 tonnes should come within the scope of the directive, El Khadraoui said during a press conference after voting.
Unlike the Council, however, the Parliament plans to reintroduce the compulsory allocation of revenue, or of its financial equivalent, raised from charges for costs that are external to the transport sector, to ensure that the proceeds from this tax allows the financing of research and innovation for clean engines, investment in alternative modes of transport such as freight or inland waterway transport, and adjustments for reducing these external costs, Saïd El Khadraoui said. It also introduces partial allocation of the revenue from the infrastructure tax to the benefit of road transport, and provides for at least 15% of external cost tariffs and infrastructure fees to be allocated to supporting trans-European transport network (TEN-T) projects. It allows member states to accumulate, in relation to the most polluting HGVs (EURO 0 to EURO II class), charges imposed for external costs and infrastructure with “mark-ups” in mountainous regions. Finally, it insists on reviewing the text within four years in order to adjust it to other forms of pollution (cost of CO2 emissions, congestion, accidents and loss of biodiversity) and to other vehicle categories (cars especially).
“This is an important step but not a final step”, said El Khadraoui after the vote, specifying that the Parliament had great expectations regarding future review of the text. The question of cumulating charges as well as the way in which tax proceeds will be allocated will be the two trickiest points in talks with the Council, he said.
The Social-Democrats take the view that the challenge is a sizeable one as it is a matter of introducing the principle of polluter-pays into the road transport sector for the very first time. The Greens and the Christian Democrats remain divided, especially concerning the arrangements for allocating proceeds and extending exemptions to the less polluting vehicle categories. (A.By./transl.jl)