legal office
Work is underway on the “Mobility Package”. Arguments related to environmental protection are against new regulations.
Representatives of Central European countries do not lay down their arms. Possible support may come also from Spain and Portugal. Germany and France remain the greatest proponents of the “Mobility Package”.
Certainly, adopting new regulations according to the assumptions presented so far would be a great blow to carriers from the peripheral countries of the European Union, especially Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic States.
To some extent, they would also be a challenge for enterprises registered in Poland.
In addition to legal arguments related to the need to maintain the common transport market within the European Union, recently ecological arguments have been raised.
One of the assumptions of the regulations being developed is to limit cabotage and impose the necessity of trucks returning to the country of registration.
Restrictive rules will make it necessary for truck drivers to drive without transporting any goods.
It is difficult to logically reconcile the need for such unproductive journeys with the environmental policy of the European Union.
According to the calculations of the Polish Minister of Transport, the introduction of the regulation as currently proposed will result in an additional emission of around 3 million tonnes of CO² per year in Germany alone. The source of emissions will be unloaded vehicles returning to their country of origin.
In view of the above, there is a high probability that the planned regulations will be tempered.
Source: Polish Press Agency
