Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands did not want to change the definition of combined transport in the directive on this subject, according to a European source contacted by Agence Europe on Tuesday 11 June.
In the absence of a compromise, the European ministers have simply been invited to take note of the most recent progress at the Transport Council meeting in Luxembourg on Tuesday 18 June (see EUROPE 13424/8). According to the source, the four countries believed that the definition proposed by the European Commission – which stipulates that in order to qualify as combined transport, an intermodal transport operation shall reduce by at least 40% external costs compared to an alternative road unimodal transport operation – would be “excessively complex and difficult to control”. That is why they proposed returning to a definition that was based on maximum distance, adding in “a level of flexibility to take account of the variety of situations encountered”.
“In the latest compromise, the Belgian Presidency proposed introducing limitations on road segments in the form of a percentage of the maximum journey, up to 50%”, explained the source. The four countries acknowledged that this did represent progress, but that it was “not entirely satisfactory”.
They also felt that the platforms for sharing company data electronically with authorities (eFTI platforms), which would be used by organisers of combined transport to record data, would create “a barrier to entry”.
Finally, they are also cautious about approving support plans. “I am confident that this text will be adopted under the Hungarian Presidency”, concluded the source. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)