Negotiations between EU Transport Ministers on the social and market aspects of the first ‘mobility’ package (posting of drivers, driving and rest time, market access, cabotage and tachograph) still seemed as uncertain as ever, as we went to press early in the evening (19:00) on Monday 3 December, with discussions expected to continue at least for part of the evening.
The prospect of reaching a general approach at this Transport Council meeting was indeed quite difficult to predict at that time in the ministerial discussions. These were based on the sixth and final draft compromises put on the table by the Austrian Presidency of the Council on 28 November last (see EUROPE 12148), which were themselves similar to the previous ones (see EUROPE 12142, 12135).
"If we don't get an agreement today, we're not going to get there", said Norbert Höfer, Austria's Transport Minister, as an introduction to the debates. "Please do not compare your final outcome in the negotiating point with your ideal picture", said Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, emphasising that an agreement would necessarily lead to concessions from everyone. "Please keep in mind from where we are starting." she added.
A first round of discussions took place in the morning, before discussions on other subjects on road, air, rail or maritime transport, which were the subject of less divergent analyses between national delegations (see other news). During this first exchange of the day, the ministers recalled their traditional positions and red lines, echoing the statements made by the Member States' ambassadors to the EU ('Coreper') at their meetings on 14 and 23 November (see EUROPE 12138, 12146).
Nevertheless, the national delegations expressed their wish to reach an agreement at the end of this meeting and thanked the Austrian Presidency for its efforts to try to reach a solution acceptable to all. However, these efforts have not reduced the differences between national delegations: "The divisions between Member States are still deep", summed up François Bellot, the Belgian Minister for Mobility, before adding that he did not want the negotiations to be limited to "bargaining" on the stumbling blocks.
Two blocks always opposed. Two well-identified blocks expressed, for different reasons, their disagreements with the latest texts presented by Vienna.
On the one hand, the States of the Road Alliance (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Sweden), which had also met in the morning before the Transport Council meeting, reiterated their desire to defend the harmonisation of social and market rules. These include defending the prohibition on taking regular weekly rest periods (45 hours or more) on board the truck or limiting exemptions from the application of posting rules. They also expressed their willingness to regulate cabotage practices, particularly in the context of combined transport, a dossier resulting from the second ‘mobility’ package to be linked to the first ‘mobility’ package (see EUROPE 12143).
On the other hand, the Central, Eastern and Peripheral European States called for a more competitive and open international transport sector. These States are in particular in favour of broader exemptions than those proposed by Vienna with regard to the application of posting rules, including several cross-border operations before or after a bilateral operation, or for more flexibility regarding drivers' rest periods.
Several delegations from Central and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, Latvia and Slovenia, expressed their approval of the draft text presented by five Member States (Portugal, Czech Republic, Ireland, Finland and Slovakia) in advance of the last Coreper meeting.
Bilateral meetings and round table discussions were still planned for the evening, or even for the night, on the basis of new texts submitted by Vienna. "I note that at this stage we cannot yet complete our work [...]. There are certainly differences of opinion, but they do not seem insurmountable to me," said Mr Hofer at the end of the first exchange between all parties. "I stay cautiously optimistic.” Ms Bulc said.
EUROPE will, of course, come back to the results of the negotiations in its next issue.
As a reminder, the results of these negotiations could be decisive for the continuation of the debates in the European Parliament. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)