Brussels, 09/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - The informal negotiations which took place at the beginning of this week between Corien Wortmann-Kool (EPP-ED, Netherlands) and the UK Presidency of the EU on the Eurovignette directive ended with an informal agreement, just before the plenary vote in Strasbourg, scheduled for 15 December. The Council is said to be prepared to agree to extend the scope of the directive to heavy goods vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes, and on the wording adopted by the Parliamentary committee TRAN on 14 November on the internalisation of external costs (EUROPE 9070). This consists of asking the Commission to put forward a model to take on board external costs brought about by the use of roads by heavy goods vehicles within two years of the entry into force of the directive, and to authorise the Member States increase the basic toll fees to a level of 60% of infrastructure costs, in place of these external costs, if no agreement can be reached between the EP and the Council within the three years following the presentation of this method. In any case, this possibility will only be applicable as of 2010. This informal agreement still has to be validated at a plenary session of the European Parliament, most likely with the support of the EPP-ED, the PES and the Liberals.