On Monday, 6 April, the Croatian Presidency of the EU Council submitted to the Member States a new draft compromise on the revision of the European Directive on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use certain infrastructures (1999/62).
This document, which EUROPE has obtained a copy of, provides some clarifications, “mostly of legal nature”, to the first Croatian draft compromise (see EUROPE 12442/11) presented in February, a few weeks after the resumption of discussions in the EU Council (see EUROPE 12422/6).
These clarifications again concern variations in infrastructure and user fees for vehicles based on their CO2 emissions.
While the Finnish Presidency’s proposal to use a European tool to calculate the variation in these fees had been rejected by the Croatian Presidency, the principle of applying a reduction in fees ranging from 5% to 75% for less polluting vehicles had been maintained.
Two categories of heavy vehicles. The amendments made here are intended to clarify the distinction, introduced by the Croatian Presidency, between the procedural rules for fees for heavy commercial vehicles covered by European Regulation 2019/1242, on the one hand, and for heavy vehicles not covered by that regulation, on the other.
Buses and coaches, for example, fall within the scope of Regulation 2018/956.
Thus, for vehicles covered by Regulation 2019/1242, the variation in fees would be applied 2 years, at the latest, after the entry into force of an implementing act provided for in that regulation.
For vehicles not covered by Regulation 2019/1242, on the other hand, the variation for emission classes 1, 4, and 5 would apply. This should be done no later than 2 years after the entry into force of the implementing act provided for, in this case, by the revised directive on the charging of heavy goods vehicles.
Variations in charges for emission classes 2 and 3 will apply once “emission reduction trajectories” have been defined for vehicles not covered by Regulation 2019/1242, the document states.
‘Zero-emission’ vehicles. Finally, this draft compromise provides for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) - all groups combined, in this case - to be granted an early reduction of up to 75%.
Member States are invited to analyse the latest changes introduced and to provide the Croatian Presidency with written comments by 24 April.
While the national delegations have been working on this dossier since December 2017 without reaching an agreement, MEPs adopted their position at first reading in October 2018 (see EUROPE 12125/2). (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)