The European Transport Ministers will be meeting in Brussels on Thursday 4 December to adopt their negotiating positions (‘general approach’) on the roadworthiness testing package and the revised directive on the weights and dimensions of heavy goods vehicles.
Weights and dimensions for heavy-duty vehicles. The revision of this directive, which has been on the negotiating table for two years, is part of the ‘greening freight’ package. Member States were rather reluctant to accept larger and more heavily laden HDVs on their roads for fear of the impact on their infrastructure and the costs associated with maintenance.
To address these concerns, the Danish Presidency of the EU Council has drawn a distinction between five and six axles. Six-axle electric vehicles benefit from a four-tonne supplement and five-axle vehicles from a two-tonne supplement. The compromise also allows for two clean tonnes, so if the battery weighs one tonne, it would be possible to load an extra tonne.
Link to the general approach: https://aeur.eu/f/joz
Technical inspection package. This involves amending the directives on periodic roadworthiness tests and technical roadside inspections, as well as the directive on vehicle registration documents. “A lot of the work that has been ongoing has been about striking the right balance between adding value to roadworthiness, but at the same time being very mindful of the cost and the burdens associated with this value”, said a European source.
The compromise did not retain the idea of annual checks after ten years and additional checks for vans. On the other hand, it follows the initial proposal concerning checks in a Member State other than that of registration and has extended it to light commercial vehicles.
Links to the ‘general approach’ proposals: https://aeur.eu/f/jr7; https://aeur.eu/f/jr6; and the appendices: https://aeur.eu/f/jr8;
The European Commission will present its proposal on military mobility (see EUROPE 13755/1) and its action plan for high-speed rail transport (see EUROPE 13746/5) to the ministers.
The Presidency will take stock of the constructive way to continue negotiations on the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) ‘zero net emissions’ framework, which has not been adopted (see EUROPE 13733/27).
Lastly, it will report on progress with the various regulations on passenger rights, in particular air passenger rights (see EUROPE 13764/10). (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)