Among the various forms of transport, road transport could be particularly affected by the Brexit talks between the United Kingdom and the European Union, according to research by the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee leaked by Politico on Wednesday 21 December.
Next year, the European Commission will unveil, no doubt during the first half of the year, a series of initiatives on road transport, such as rules on training, access to the international market for cars and coaches, cabotage and social aspects. All issues which raise fears and concerns among the member states, particularly over the prospect of social dumping (see EUROPE 11680).
The study says that the timing and scope of application of these proposals, along with the speed of progress at the European Parliament and the Council, could be important for the EU’s future road transport relations with the United Kingdom. In this regard, the authors consider that a transition agreement will be needed to regulate mutual access to the lorry driver profession and the market, such as over cabotage in road transport for both freight and passengers. It will be necessary to take account in this transition agreement of the duration of validity of ‘Community licences’ for international transport, which last ten years, and of "service authorisations," which last five years.
Limited impact on lorry drivers’ working conditions. In terms of social working conditions (working week, duration of weekly rest periods), the EU rules (Regulation 561/2006 and Directive 2002/15/EC) apply to all transport vehicles in Europe, regardless of the country of registration. Therefore the impact of Brexit should be very limited, explain the report’s authors. This also applies to transport from the EU to countries outside the EU, which is already covered by the European agreement on the work of teams working on vehicles carrying out international road transport.
Slowing down the rising use of alternative fuel infrastructure. The study says the UK may no longer be covered by the demands laid down in the EU Directive on the use of infrastructure for alternative fuels (Directive 2014/94/EU), which may lead to a slow-down in deployment of the necessary infrastructure in the country. For the EU, this could mean that drivers and vehicles using alternative fuels face problems driving in the UK in terms of access to recharge points.
The ten-page study focuses on all the various types of transport which are to numerous be covered in this article. It is purely speculative, stress the authors. A key parameter will be the UK’s future status within the European Economic Area (EEA), of which it is currently a member. Everything will depend on whether the UK goes for a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ exit (the government currently seems to favour a hard exit, see EUROPE 11693).
Brussels circles are busy contemplating the impact of Brexit. Recently, this newsletter set out the potential consequences of how the UK’s exit from the EU might impact the space industry (see EUROPE 11663). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)