Brussels, 27/02/2001 (Agence Europe) - The preliminary verdict of the Court of Justice on the road transit system in Austria, the Ecopoints, would lead to a reduction of 10% of transit rights for the year 2001 alone, or a reduction of 1 million eocpoints, corresponding to 130,000 road shipments, says the International Road Transport Union, IRU, in a press release. "In real terms, this verdict will affect trade conservatively valued at 28 billion euro per year, mostly between Italy and other EU Member States", the IRU states. "This is a major trade issue, not a minor transport question", says the IRU's head of delegation in Brussels, Soren Rasmussen. You may recall that the Court's preliminary verdict will prevent the Commission and Council from spreading over several years a reduction in transit rights available should road transit in Austria have exceeded in 2000 the threshold set by Austria's accession protocol with the EU (see EUROPE of 26/27 February, p.11).