The European Transport Ministers, meeting at an informal video conference on Tuesday 8 December (see EUROPE 12617/15), gave almost unanimous, albeit timid, support to the latest version of the compromise text on the revision of the ‘Eurovignette’ Directive on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (see EUROPE 12613/14).
After 3 years of discussions and two failed attempts at agreement (see EUROPE 12509/19, 12382/9), this videoconference thus paves the way for a political agreement in principle (general approach) by the EU Council.
It will be up to the Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) - who continue to meet physically - to formally vote on the compromise text on Friday 18 December.
Following Tuesday's exchange, German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer, who chaired the videoconference, received confirmation that all Member States except Austria would support the text.
Austria on the sidelines
Austrian Minister Leonore Gewessler had implied that her country could not accept the draft compromise as it stands. In particular, she opposed the last two adjustments made to the text by the German Presidency of the EU Council.
The first introduces the possibility of exempting from charges vehicles with a mass of between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes carrying out an operation to transport materials, equipment or machinery on their own account and, more specifically, “for the driver’s use in the course of the driver’s work, or for delivering goods which are produced on a craft basis”.
The Austrian Minister considered this new provision “difficult to implement” and claimed that too extensive a derogation regime would be a departure from the “polluter pays” principle, which is the basis of this draft revision. “Vehicles used for business purposes also contribute to pollution”, she said.
The second adjustment made by Berlin is intended to give several Member States the possibility of applying a mark-up (additional toll) on the same regularly congested road section, provided that a prior agreement is concluded by all the States forming part of this corridor and those sharing a border with the territories hosting the section of the corridor concerned.
“Austria demands the possibility of implementing a 50% increase without prior authorisation from the other Member States”, Ms Gewessler insisted, referring to the “dramatic” situation of the Brenner Pass.
The German proposal, which is too complicated to implement, “will nip in the bud” any attempt to apply an additional toll, she regretted, stressing that this would have enabled “the transfer from road to rail” and thus “a reduction in the burden on local populations and the environment”.
Lots of “yes, but...”
Many delegations supported the Austrian position. As regards the first proposal, several States also regretted that it is not in line with the EU's climate ambitions and fear that it will be difficult to apply and monitor: Spain, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, in particular, and Italy as well, for whom this solution risks placing too much of a burden of costs on heavy goods vehicles.
Dutch Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen expressed concern “about the cross-border applications of these derogations”. Others have called for particular attention to be paid to the definition of the vehicles concerned in the subsequent negotiations with the European Parliament.
As for the second proposal on mark-ups, several States - Slovenia and the Czech Republic, among others - said that it would have been preferable not to use an agreement and to require only a simple consultation between the main parties concerned.
Many delegations, like Lithuania, therefore indicated that they gave the green light “reluctantly”, in order “not to endanger the adoption of the text”, as formulated by the Spanish Minister José Luis Ábalos.
During the discussion, Andreas Scheuer reiterated that the result “could not be anything other than a compromise” and agreed that there would not be a “100% satisfactory solution”. In a few weeks' time, the German Minister will hand over to his Portuguese counterpart, Pedro Nuno Santos, whose country will hold the Presidency of the EU Council starting 1 January 2021.
The Portuguese minister has expressed his determination to start negotiations with the European Parliament as soon as possible. “Listening to our transport ministers today, the negotiations will be challenging”, commented, on social networks, Austrian MEP Barbara Thaler, EPP shadow rapporteur for this dossier.
“But if concluded successfully, we will make a big leap towards an efficient single European transport area”, she added. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)