03/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - The IRU international transporters' union said recently that the EU Eurovignette Directive and the polluter-pays idea behind it fly in the face of the Lisbon strategy's aims, but the European Rail Infrastructure Managers (EIM) and UNIFE (the European rail industry) say that experience shows that the IRU's argument is out of date. Presenting the example of Switzerland, EIM and UNIFE say that the idea defended by the IRU of compensating for damage at the lowest cost was simply a way for polluters to wriggle out of their responsibilities. The EIM and UNIFE back the European Commission's revision of the Eurovignette Directive and the insertion into it of the polluter-pays principle. (A.D./transl.fl)