The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union on Wednesday 8 May proposed a final draft compromise, obtained by EUROPE, concerning the revision of Directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road, in advance of a potential agreement between the EU Transport Ministers on 6 June.
The latest text proposed by Bucharest contains only a few adjustments compared to the last draft compromise detailed in our columns (see EUROPE 12233/6). The submission of this new draft text to national delegations is not surprising, as it was expected at this time (see EUROPE 12248/7).
These discussions echo the European Commission's proposal in May 2017 as part of the first ‘mobility’ package (see EUROPE 11799/6) and remain marked by the multiple developments around the social and market aspects of this package of proposals (see EUROPE 12229/1, 12152/10).
Among the latest changes envisaged here by Bucharest is one relating to the rental, on own account, of a vehicle with a maximum permissible laden mass of no more than 3.5 tonnes that is registered or brought into conformity with the law of a Member State, but not with the law of the country of establishment of the company leasing it. In this specific case, the Member State where the company leasing the vehicle is established could limit the use of the vehicle on its territory.
In addition, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU suggests here that the Commission particularly consider the clauses relating to tax revenues in the monitoring report to be published a few years after the entry into force of the text (the draft compromise currently opts for publication five years after the deadline for transposition of the Directive).
Finally, States are advised to transpose the text twenty-four months after its entry into force, rather than eighteen months after.
Despite differences between Member States, it would appear that a political agreement ('general approach') is a likely option for the EU Council ‘Transport’ meeting on 6 June. The meeting of Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper - Committee of Permanent Representatives) on 15 May will provide more information on this subject. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)