MEPs will not vote on the social and market aspects of the first ‘mobility’ package (posting of truck drivers, driving and rest time, tachograph, market access and cabotage) during the plenary session to be held from 11 to 14 February.
This was the outcome of the meeting of the Parliament’s Conference of Presidents, held on Thursday 7 February in Brussels, ahead of the next plenary session.
This followed the recommendation made on Monday 4 February by Karima Delli (Greens/EFA, France), chair of the Parliament's ‘Transport’ Committee, to Antonio Tajani (EPP, Italy), the Parliament’s President, advising political group presidents to decide to vote on these dossiers directly in plenary session, without going through the parliamentary committee again (see EUROPE 12186). This recommendation was itself the result of the votes of the MEPs on the Parliament's ‘Transport’ Committee on 10 January, who rejected the reports on posting and driving and rest time, but approved the report on cabotage (see EUROPE 12169).
Before the meeting of political group presidents, it was conceivable that they would opt for a vote in plenary session as early as next week. The textual basis would then have been the report approved for cabotage and the Commission's two initial proposals on posting and driving and rest time, to which many amendments have been suggested.
However, in the absence of any assurance that any text would be adopted, the political group presidents decided to postpone this vote. The most likely possibility today seems to be a vote in March, during one of the two plenary sessions. However, the parties will try to agree on a compromise before a plenary session, which could be tricky. No specific date has therefore been brought forward.
In any case, such a timetable makes it very difficult to conclude inter-institutional negotiations ('trilogues') with the EU Council by the end of the mandate. This, despite the fact that the Council adopted its negotiating position last December (see EUROPE 12152).
Opinion of the ‘Employment’ Committee. On the same day, MEPs from the Parliament's ‘Employment and Social Affairs’ Committee also voted to file their opinions on posting and driving and rest time as amendments at a forthcoming plenary session (see EUROPE 12010). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)