The Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union has put on the table, on Tuesday 20 November, slightly modified fifth draft compromises on the social and market aspects of the first ‘mobility’ package (posting of hauliers, market access, cabotage, driving and rest times) in preparation for the meeting of Member States' ambassadors to the Union ('Coreper') to be held on Friday evening, 23 November.
According to our information, these new texts are indeed in keeping with the spirit of the latest compromises presented to the national delegations (see EUROPE 12135), which were examined by Coreper on 14 November last (see EUROPE 12138).
Posting. The recommendations relating to the application of and exemptions from the posting rules in the context of international transport operations would thus remain essentially the same as previous recommendations.
That being said, the synchronisation clause, which aims to align the date of entry into force of the revised provisions on the posting of hauliers and the date of introduction of second-generation smart tachographs on board all vehicles operating on the territory of other Member States (the scheduled date being 2024), would be remodelled.
In a rather complex arrangement, it would therefore not apply only to bilateral international operations between the State of establishment of the company employing the driver and another Member State, so the provisions in this area could apply as soon as the new text enters into force. On the other hand, the clause would apply to exemptions from the application of the rules on posting relating to the two additional operations (loading and unloading) that the driver could carry out on the way to and from different States without the worker being considered as posted.
Rest time. On this point too, a rather complex arrangement seems to have been envisaged by Vienna. Thus, a driver could take two consecutive reduced weekly rest periods (24 hours) over a four-week period, which would correspond to three weeks of driving without regular weekly rest periods (45 hours or more). In this case, the driver should return to the company's operational centre in the State of establishment during the third week.
If this option were not chosen, which would mean that the driver would take a reduced weekly rest period and then a regular weekly rest period over this period, he could return to the operational centre only once every four weeks.
In addition, there have been no major changes to the exemption from the prohibition on taking regular rest periods on board the lorry. But the transition period during which a lorry could, for this purpose, park in a car park with sanitary facilities, but not all the facilities envisaged, if the cab meets a number of conditions, would be reduced to 18 months and not three years (see EUROPE 12121).
Market access and cabotage. On the 'cabotage' side, no changes would be considered, in particular with regard to the seven-day cooling-off period following a cabotage operation, before a new 'cabotage right' is granted.
As for the return of the lorry to the State of establishment of the company after operations in other Member States, it should take place every six weeks and not every four weeks on average (see EUROPE 12129). In addition, companies based in Malta and Cyprus could consider returning their vehicles to the port of transshipment on the continent. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)