The European ministers for transport, meeting in Brussels on Thursday 5 December, debated the proposal for a directive on a support framework for intermodal freight transport (see EUROPE 13506/16). In the absence of agreement on the definition of ‘combined transport’, they adopted a progress report.
The delay in completing the digital functionalities for electronic information platforms is causing concern in many Member States about implementation. “The Member States have continued to be on the defensive despite the work of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, especially on the definition and scope of combined transport”, said Bálint Sándor Nagy, the Hungarian Secretary of State, during the public debate. “We must therefore continue to roll up our sleeves to come up with a compromise text”, he said.
Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, the new European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, took the same line: “Maintaining the status quo would not lead to any improvement if we aim to encourage the uptake of intermodal transport. It is important to provide legal certainty for stakeholders”.
In its proposal, the Commission suggested an approach based on a threshold of at least 40% of external costs saved. Andrej Rajh, Slovenia’s Secretary of State, explained that he supported this approach and had been unable to accept the compromise based on a distance limit for the road segment. “We’re a small country, and this compromise would set us back, because we’d be using more road transport”, he stressed. In his view, the definition should be linked to the road section, which should be as short as possible. The same applies to Slovakia, where the definition is limited to the nearest terminal.
On the other hand, France, Greece and Italy have defended an approach based on limiting the distance of the road part of the journey. For the first two, the Commission’s idea is a good one, but premature, given the lack of digital tools. “Exceptions need to be made on a case-by-case basis, focusing on the existing capacity of existing infrastructures”, defended Christos Staikouras.
Finally, Chris Bonett, the Maltese Minister, expressed his support for the compromise proposed by the previous Presidency (Belgium), as it took into account the insularity of certain Member States.
To read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/eoc (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)