Brussels, 22/09/2005 (Agence Europe) - During presentation of the mechanisms for the Swiss levy on heavy vehicle traffic, on 21 September, at the Swiss Mission with the EU, the representative of the Federal Office for Spatial Development, Ulie Balmer, showed that the method chosen by Switzerland for calculating external costs reached results that are relatively close to those reached by other known methods (UNIT, OECD, PETS, etc.). Since 1 January 2001, Switzerland has gradually introduced a distance-related heavy vehicle fee (HVF), the proceeds of which are largely used to finance modernisation of the rail network. According to Enrico Grillo Pasquarelli, Director at the DG on Transport at the European Commission, the example set by Switzerland allows the idea that external costs cannot be calculated and internalised to be demystified. However, there are major differences concerning what one can include in the calculation, and it is precisely on this point that a political agreement must be reached with Council on the basis of the method and the impact study to be presented by the Commission, the European Parliament rapporteur on the Eurovignette, Corien Wortmann-Kool (EPP-ED, Netherlands) stressed. “We need an acceptable method for the Member States and fuller information on the economic impact before proceeding to internalisation of external costs”, she said. The EP rapporteur defends an approach that she describes as “realistic and practical”, given the sensitiveness of Member States on this issue. She goes on to warn: “There is the risk that an agreement will not be reached and, if this is so, there will be nothing left”. Nonetheless, the European Parliament is determined to fully play its role as co-legislator on the dossier. Greater flexibility can be granted to Member States but it must not go too far and the rapporteur plans to defend extending the directive to the whole TEN network and to vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes in weight. If exceptions are tolerated, the Commission fears that the States will take advantage of this to apply, preferably, tolls on transit routes of their national network on which more foreign than domestic trucks travel. “This directive is not the end. It is a first step”, Wortmann-Cool said. On the subject of allocating proceeds of the fee, Mr Pasquarelli regrets that the European Commission's proposal will be only a recommendation, but points out that the Commission will support the realistic position of the rapporteur. The transfer from road to rail transport has not been automatic in Switzerland and the tariffs must be accompanied by other measures, mainly investment in other modes of transport, Mr Balmer said for his part.