In a joint press release issued on Monday 9 December, two days before the potentially decisive fourth interinstitutional negotiating session ('trilogue'), a group of fifteen associations representing road hauliers called for negotiators from the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to finally come to an agreement on the difficult issue of the social and market aspects of the 'Mobility I' package (posting of lorry drivers, driving and resting time, tachographs, cabotage and market access).
The road hauliers believe that they have made important concessions during the negotiations and are therefore expecting an outcome in return.
The associations are refusing to acknowledge the possibility of the negotiations failing, and are calling on all of the participants in the trilogue to show flexibility to make the first mobility package a success.
As more than two and a half years have passed since the European Commission's initial proposal (see EUROPE 11799/6), the associations believe that “the internal market for road transport urgently needs new and harmonised rules to meet today’s challenges and demands”.
The associations believe that, even though the third trilogue did not lead to an agreement because of major differences between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU (see EUROPE 12377/7, 12385/11), an agreement “seems very close”.
To read the press release in French, go to: https://bit.ly/38pq0x9 (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)