Brussels, 29/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - A number of transport associations have warned that inter-modality is being threatened by the revised directive on the weights and dimensions of lorries (96/53/EC). There is a growing mobilisation against the mega trucks, whose authorisation to cross borders is envisaged as part of this review. Voting on the revision is due at the European Parliament transport committee (TRAN) meeting in February, on the basis of the draft report by Jörg Leichtfried (S&D, Austria).
The International Union for Road Rail Combined Transport (UIRR), European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP), European Barge Union (EBU), Community of European Railways and the International Union of Wagon Keepers (CER and UIP) have been upping the ante and argue in the press on 29 January that the current review is damaging to transport inter-modality. The organisations are against heavy-duty vehicles weighing more than 44 tonnes (which currently restricted to combined road-rail-inland waterways) being able to cross borders. They state that “a small number of number states should not be allowed to encourage decision-makers at Parliament and the Council to authorise these mega trucks for cross-border traffic”. They argue that this could have a negative impact on international competition and on the balance between the different modes of long-haul transport and insist that an impact study be carried out.
They also criticised the new definitions on intermodal and combined transport in the current review. They argue that the definition of combined transport should reflect the definition already established in the directive on this kind of transport (92/106) or that it is developed within the next review. They warn that this approach could lead to the risk of creating legal uncertainty. (MD/transl.fl)