The Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and representatives of the European Parliament met on Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 November for a second session of interinstitutional negotiations ('trilogue') on the social and market aspects of the first 'mobility' package (posting of lorry drivers, resting and driving time, tachographs, cabotage and market access).
As planned (see EUROPE 12341/9), the discussions were divided into three trilogues. While Monday's meeting concerned cabotage and market access, the 2 meetings on Tuesday focused respectively on the posting of drivers and resting and driving time, and tachographs.
Cabotage and market access. According to information gathered by Europe, even if the negotiations on cabotage and access to the profession have made it possible to remove certain technical aspects, most of the points on the agenda have remained unanswered, particularly on relatively minor subjects, which suggests there will be further difficult discussions to come.
For example, the parties were unable to reach agreement on the date of entry into force of the regulation on light commercial vehicles (vans). While the EU Council is calling for a two-year transition period, the European Parliament wants the text to apply immediately.
In addition, the most political points, i.e. those on which the EU Council's position (see EUROPE 12152/10) and Parliament's position (see EUROPE 12229/1) diverge most, will only be discussed at the next trilogue.
This relates in particular to: (1) the return of lorries to the country of establishment of the company employing the drivers (unlike the EU Council, Parliament requires that at least one loading or unloading be carried out in the company's State of establishment every 4 weeks) (2) the cabotage model (the European Parliament is championing an unlimited number of cabotage operations over 3 days followed by a waiting period of 60 hours, compared to a maximum of 3 operations over 7 days followed by a waiting period of 5 days for the EU Council) ; (3) Parliament's proposal to include combined transport in the scope of the regulation.
Posting. Posting is the least complicated issue, with the positions of the European Parliament and the EU Council being relatively close. However, Parliament's representatives are divided on the issue of driver inspections. While some consider that a driver who does not have the required documents at the time of an inspection should not be able to continue his journey, others consider the opposite.
Resting and driving time / tachograph. As regards rest periods and tachographs, although the major political issues will only really be discussed in the next round of interinstitutional discussions, the negotiators nevertheless rapidly addressed them with a view to reaching an agreement at the next trilogue.
Controversial topics include: (1) the inclusion or not of light commercial vehicles within the scope of the text ; (2) the date of entry into force of second generation tachographs; (3) the definition of the criteria for the construction of secure car parks ; (4) the reference period for resting time ; (5) the driver's return.
On Wednesday 6 November, the Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Permanent Representatives Committee - Coreper) discussed the results of these trilogues. During this meeting, a majority of member states expressed a common desire to reach an agreement under the Finnish Presidency. However, six Member States have recently asked the highest EU representatives to reassess the proposals related to the 'mobility I' package (see EUROPE 12357/4).
Scheduled for 25 November in Strasbourg, the third trilogue will cover all subjects simultaneously (posting of lorry drivers, resting and driving time, tachographs, cabotage and market access). The outcome remains very uncertain given the many thorny issues that will be addressed. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)