The draft report by Jens Nilsson (S&D, Sweden) on the revision of regulations 1071/2009 and 1072/2009 were examined at the European Parliament's transport committee on Tuesday, 23 January. This examination again revealed significant differences between MEPs regarding their perception of cabotage practices in the European Union.
It should be recalled that this draft report is part of the first "mobility" package presented by the European Commission on 31 May last (see EUROPE 11799). Although the Commission is proposing to make an unlimited number of cabotage operations possible over a five-day period (as opposed to three authorised operations over the current seven-day period), the rapporteur is suggesting that this period is limited to 48 hours (see EUROPE 11939).
This is a highly controversial subject within civil society (see EUROPE 11911) and the Council of the European Union (see EUROPE 11919) and has also revealed significant differences at the European Parliament (see EUROPE 11811).
Therefore, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska (EPP, Poland) spoke against this option of limiting the authorised cabotage period to 48 hours in another member state. She has particular fears that peripheral member states will suffer from this. The Polish MEP also responded to the suggestion from the rapporteur not to allocate the right of cabotage to vehicles that have a low international transport operation rate. She was rather sceptical in this regard and considers this kind of provision too vague.
Kosma Złotowski (ECR, Poland) and Pavel Telička (ALDE, Czech Republic) were also rather sceptical about this draft report and spoke against the 48-hour cabotage limit. Złotowski said that with this text, Nilsson was trying “to make cabotage impossible".
At the other end of the spectrum, the draft report received a very warm response from the Chairperson of the transport committee, Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France), for whom Mr Nilsson, “has understood the urgency of the situation and the scale of the disaster, if we were to do nothing". On the same lines as Peter Lundgren (EFDD, Sweden), she also took a position against systematic and unlimited cabotage.
Although the shadow rapporteurs did appeal for a compromise solution to be found, negotiations on cabotage look like they are going to be a very sensitive affair given that different national interests are developing on partisan lines.
European employment authority for ensuring enforcement of rules applicable to transport? During the debate on 23 January, which also focused on lorry drivers' rest times and their postings (see EUROPE 11945), Elisabeth Werner, the director in charge of road transport at the mobility and transport directorate general (DG MOVE) at the European Commission, also pointed out that the Commission was currently working on the question of the European employment authority, which would present a proposal in this regard on 7 March next. There was no absolute certainty about it but Werner did indicate that this proposal could possibly include a section on transport that would involve ensuring the appropriate application of the provisions on international transport in the European Union.
Karima Delli called for a control authority and responded to these remarks by pointing out, “It is a very good thing that this idea is back in the negotiations on the road package. Social dumping is a poison that is slowly killing the European project and setting employees against one another. It requires a European response and especially a European overseer”. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)