On Friday 28 February, the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union signed its first draft compromise—a copy of which was obtained by EUROPE—on the revision of the Directive regarding road infrastructure user charges (1999/62).
The amendments put forward by the Presidency relate in particular to one of the main bones of contention between the Member States: the variation of infrastructure charges and user charges for heavy goods vehicles according to their CO2 emissions. EU Transport Ministers, who met in Brussels on 2 December last year, were unable to reach agreement on this point (see EUROPE 12382/9).
Several Member States have therefore requested clarification on the Finnish Presidency’s proposal to introduce an EU-wide mandatory tool in order to calculate differences in infrastructure charges and user fees for heavy-duty vehicles depending on their CO2 emissions. Such a tool would replace the current referent: the 'EURO' emissions class.
This proposal was rejected straight out by the Croatian Presidency, whose new draft special agreement, however, maintains a reduction of between 5% and 75% in charges for those vehicles that pollute less.
With regard to charges for external costs linked to air or noise pollution, this draft special agreement is more or less the same as the previous text.
It now requires Member States to levy this charge on heavy goods vehicles as a minimum on those parts of the trans-European road network, or on certain sections of that network where the environmental damage caused by heavy goods vehicles is greatest and where a toll is payable. This is four years after the date of entry into force of the Directive.
The EU Council Working Party on Land Transport will discuss the new draft special agreement in a week's time on Monday 16 March.
Discussions on revising the Eurovignette Directive resumed a month ago in the EU Council, at the initiative of the Croatian Presidency (see EUROPE 12422/6).
National experts had by then exchanged views on the subject of a new proposal from the European Commission concerning both the variation of infrastructure charges and user charges for heavy commercial vehicles according to CO2 emissions. However, the content of this proposal has not yet been disclosed.
As for the European Parliament, a position has already been adopted at first reading on 25 October 2018 (see EUROPE 12125/2). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)