Strasbourg, 06/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 5 September, with the adoption of the own-initiative report by Ines Alaya Sender (PES, Spain) on freight logistics in Europe, the European Parliament suggested that member states should obtain explicit permission from the European Commission if they want to allow longer and heavier vehicles over 60 tonnes on specific domestic routes (see EUROPE 9370). According to Parliament, three factors must be taken into account when assessing these requests for authorisation: existing infrastructure and environmental and security aspects.
The vote, which was the result of a compromise between Christian Democrat MEPs (who are more practical) and the Socialist MEPs (who are ready to openly condemn the introduction of this kind of modular transport in Europe) was considered “responsible” by the rail associations which, in a press release published on Wednesday, note that, in 1996, “EU ministers of transport - with the exception of Sweden and Finland - agreed that they would not admit super-sized road vehicles in their territory until the Commission has evaluated the possible effects”.
Speaking after the debate on Tuesday 4 September, the Commission vice-president responsible for transport policy, Jacques Barrot, called for this question to be looked at in earnest and for a debate to be held after the Commission survey into the matter (see EUROPE 9468). “I believe one should consider any amendment with great care as the consequences may be complex”, Mr Barrot said. He stressed that one should examine the impact that broader and heavier vehicles could have on the infrastructure, and with regard to security, the environment, the carrier/loader economy and intermodal competition.
During the debate, Gilles Savary (PES, France) was more outspoken saying on behalf of his group that “the larger vehicles are, the more competitive they will be compared to rail or waterway transport and the more detrimental they will be for your policy on rail, waterways and motorways of the sea, Mr Commissioner”. (aby)