Brussels, 31/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has informed the European Parliament that he sees no call for debate over the authorisation given to the cross-border traffic of gigaliners (also known as mega-trucks).
The sudden reinterpretation in the European directive on the weights and dimensions of heavy goods vehicles (96/53/EC), presented last month by European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas, had, to say the least, upset the European Parliament. In fact, it was so upset that European Parliament President Martin Schulz had sent a letter of grievance to Barroso early July. He felt the Commission's new interpretation was detrimental to the Parliament's right to co-legislate, and also jeopardised legal clarity.
The Commission president's response came on 26 August. In a written response to Schulz, Barroso supports the transport commissioner's approach. He takes the view that the Commission has fulfilled its responsibilities in controlling the application of EU law, as it has provided “additional guidance” on the thorny issue relating to the cross-border traffic of gigaliners. Based on the opinion of the institutions' legal services, and on the exchanges between Kallas and the parliamentary committee on transport, the new guidance should clarify all previous statements on this subject made over several years, the Commission president said.
Barroso goes on to assert that, as long as the directive in question is not revised, although this is planned for coming months, the Commission will ensure that it is applied as it is, even if it is necessary to trigger infringement procedure where necessary.
In order to appease Schulz's fears that the Parliament was not consulted as a co-legislator, Barroso concludes his letter by saying that he looked forward to “continued constructive interactions” between the Parliament and the Council on the subject of the next revision of the directive concerned. Although the forthcoming revision is to focus on the streamlining and safety of heavy vehicles, it seems necessary for the question of the cross-border traffic of gigaliners to be given pride of place on that occasion. (MD/transl.jl)