Europe’s logistics industry, including the CEP sector, will have to pay out more in road tollcosts in future after the European Parliament yesterday approved adding the ‘polluter pays’
principle to the Eurovignette regulation.The revision of the “Eurovignette” road haulage tax rules will make it possible for EU MemberStates to charge hauliers for air and noise pollution costs, in addition to motorway usage tolls,by introducing the ‘polluter pays’ principle. This could add 3-4 euro cents per vehicle/km tomotorway charges for trucks in order to cover the ‘external costs’ of road haulage.
The directive, covering all motorways rather than just trans-European road networks, will applyto vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes. This move effectively extends the Eurovignette directive, whichpreviously covered trucks of over 12 tonnes, to the CEP and postal industry which is a large-scaleuser of light commercial vehicles. Any exemptions for vehicles of up to 12 tonnes must be explainedby national governments to the European Commission.
The new Eurovignette rules, approved with 505 votes in favour, 141 against and 17 abstentions,still need to be formally approved by EU Member States. However, this is now expected to be aformality within the next few weeks following a compromise between the Parliament, Commission andCouncil of Ministers last month. Member States will then have two years at the latest to bring theEU legislation into national law before it applies.
Under the current “Eurovignette” Directive from 1999, Member States can, but are not obliged to,levy ‘user charges’ (time- or distance-based charges) for trucks’ usage of road infrastructure. Butthe regulation bans governments from charging for additional ‘external’ costs such as air pollutionand noise. Diverse road toll schemes for trucks currently exist in European countries but there isno mandatory EU-wide directive on road charging.
In future, road charges on trucks will have to be collected by the electronic systems foreseento be fully interoperable at EU level by 2012 and a receipt clearly stating the amount of theexternal cost charge will be given to hauliers so that they can pass on the cost to their clients.To enable hauliers to calculate their costs and plan routes, the European Commission will makeavailable a list of charges and the times when they apply throughout the EU.
To encourage cleaner trucks in Europe, lorries with the least-polluting engines will be exemptfrom air pollution charges until 1 January 2014 (EURO V emission class), and until 1 January 2018for EURO VI. In sensitive and mountainous regions, the existing “mark-up” of up to 25%may continue to apply and may be added to the external costs charged for lorries in theheaviest pollution classes (EURO 0 to II). It may also be extended to the EURO III class from 1January 2015.
In addition, countries will be allowed to vary motorway tolls for trucks by up to 175% duringcongestion times in order to manage traffic flows more effectively without generating more revenue.The highest charges can apply during five rush hours and lower rates at all othertimes.
Revenue from these charges will be used to improve the performance of transport systems and cutpollution, the European Parliament stated. Member States firmly have committed themselves to invest15% of overall revenue in TEN-T networks. The remaining amounts should be used to reduce damage tothe environment and develop all transport systems sustainably.
MEP Said El Khadraoui, who steered the legislation through Parliament, said that the compromisereached marks a cornerstone for the next decade of European transport policy as it “offers for thefirst time the possibility to Member States to charge external costs (…) and to make best use ofa wide range of toll variations to improve mobility.”
EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas welcomed the vote, saying: “This vote seals a dealon new EU-wide rules so that heavy lorries can pay the full costs of the noise and air pollutionthey cause. These new EU rules will send the right price signals to operators so they will investmore in efficient logistics, less polluting vehicles and more sustainable transport at large. Theyalso give Member States new tools to fight congestion with possibilities to vary charges atdifferent times of the day to get heavy lorries off the roads at peak periods. This is a veryimportant step forwards.”
In April, the European Express Association (EEA), which represents the major internationalexpress companies, already warned that the proposed changes to the voluntary Eurovignette schemewould effectively raise costs, failed to tackle congestion reduction and only partly ensured thatcharging revenues would be re-invested in the continent’s road infrastructure.
The International Road Transport Union (IRU), representing the road haulage industry, saidyesterday that the revision was effectively only a higher tax that would penalise the EU economysince it failed to ensure that the additional toll revenues would be re-invested in improving theroad transport infrastructure.
Alexander Sakkers, President of the IRU EU Goods Transport Liaison Committee, stressed: “Whilethe road transport industry is strongly committed to further greening its services, this new taximposed on road transport services through the Eurovignette Directive will actually impedeoperators from investing in and implementing the best technologies and techniques crucial tofurther green road transport and meet the CO2 reduction target.”
The IRU called on each EU Member State to “fully earmark all the revenues from the new fiscalcharge to road transport projects, in order to meet the objectives of the new EU Transport PolicyWhite Paper and effectively green road transport.” The association said it would closely monitorhow governments used the additional revenues raised through the broadened Eurovignette tax.
