Brussels, 21/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 April, the European Commission organised its first high level consultation exercise aimed at helping the road haulage sector, considered to be the sector that has been hit harder than all other transport sectors by the current economic crisis. This first meeting brought together round the discussion table about 100 representatives of road haulage associations, the European Parliament (represented by Socialist MEP Boguslaw Liberadzki and Christian Democrat Mathieu Grosch), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Commission, allowing first hand information to be collected on the impact of the recession and opinions to be exchanged on efforts to be deployed if progress is to be made. Concrete proposals aimed at developing a recovery plan aimed especially at this sector are awaited by the European Parliament representatives as well as by the transporters, who hope work will be resumed after the European elections during the second half of the year. No date has been set, however, for the second meeting, but the Commission has stated its determination to closely follow developments in the sector.
The Commission recognised that transport is suffering from the crisis, especially freight transport, which is more closely linked to trade and economic activity than passenger transport. According to the study presented by DG TREN, the demand for transport services is in rapid decline and transport companies are having to face economic difficulties and bankruptcy. The Commission points out, however, that one should not allow measures taken to remedy the situation to endanger the internal market or allow the crisis to slow down investment in transport infrastructure. This idea was backed by the Christian Democrat representative from Parliament during the meeting but was countered by a number of proposals aimed at bringing in more regulation at European level. Speaking on behalf of the EPP-ED, Mr Grosch stressed that possible measures adopted to combat the crisis should be of a transitional kind and limited in time and should not prevent further investment in cross-border infrastructure, security or the environment. On the contrary, a number of associations, Polish in particular, called for the development at European level of a minimum transport price (a price below which transport services would not be profitable) and the setting in place of tax exemptions in favour of road haulage companies (including exemption, also recommended by Poland, from the payment of taxes for vehicles withdrawn or suspended from service). Poland is the second largest freight carrier after Germany. The International Road Transport Union (IRU) presented its own recovery plan, at the same time reaffirming its opposition to the setting in place of the Eurovignette directive. In a press release, its general delegate to the EU, Michael Nielsen, said “the time for analysis and debate is over (…). We now need a coordinated recovery plan from the Commission and concrete measures from member states to help resolve the problem of the crisis in road transport”. The association suggests, moreover, that: - costs in the sector should be reduced, without the creation of any new tax or environmental levy (such as the Eurovignette directive) but reducing taxes on fuel and the charges currently in force; - credit should be restored to encourage financial institutions to reopen credit possibilities to road haulage companies and authorise moratoria on debts; - the rules of insolvency should be reviewed to allow companies to reduce their transport capacity; - the free movement of goods and the provision of services should be protected by greater harmonisation of freight inspection at borders; - workers should be protected with the adoption at national level of “economic unemployment” schemes that would bring in the status of “inactive” employee, without, however, the employee losing his/her job; - and there should be reinvestment in road infrastructure and the adoption of tax incentives for business so that they are able to invest in innovative, safe and clean vehicles. According to IRU figures, a total of 140,000 jobs in EU road freight transport are currently at risk or have already been lost since the end of 2007. According to figures from the industry, as of January 2009 an estimated 10,000 jobs have been lost in France, 16,000 in Spain and 4,000 in Belgium. (A.By./transl.jl)