Logistics Portrait of the Day: Christina Scheib
Jul 10, 2020 at 6:02 AMLoginfo24 is Media Partner of the HOLM Start-up Day 2020
Jul 10, 2020 at 6:04 AMThe EU Parliament has approved a major reform of truck transport in the EU. This means an improvement in working conditions for drivers and clear rules for the posting of drivers. Additionally, the decision includes better enforcement of regulations against illegal practices. Here are the statements from the associations BGL and DSLV regarding this decision.
The Parliament supports the revised road transport regulations. These aim to improve the working conditions of drivers and eliminate distortions of competition.
On Wednesday evening, the Members of Parliament approved all three legal acts that the EU ministers adopted in April 2020 without changes. In December 2019, the Parliament had already reached a political agreement with the Council.
The revised regulations are intended to bring improvements in several areas: the posting of drivers, their driving and rest times, and the enforcement of regulations for cabotage (i.e., the temporary transport of goods within a member state by transport operators from another member state). This is intended to eliminate distortions of competition on the road and improve the rest conditions for drivers.
Better Working Conditions for Drivers
The new regulations ensure better rest periods. This allows drivers to spend more time at home. In the future, freight forwarders must ensure that drivers transporting goods across Europe can return home at regular intervals (depending on the workload every three or four weeks). The prescribed regular weekly rest period cannot be spent in the cab of the truck. If drivers do not spend this rest period at home, companies must pay for accommodation.
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Fairer Competition – Combating Illegal Practices
To prevent fraud, cross-border trips will in the future be recorded with tachographs. To ensure that the only temporarily allowed cabotage is not applied systematically, further cabotage trips in the same country with the same vehicle may only be conducted after a waiting period of four days.
Shell companies will be prevented from operating as freight transport companies must prove to be significantly active in the member state where they are registered. According to the new regulations, trucks must also return to the company’s operating center every eight weeks. The EU regulations for transport companies will also now include the use of light commercial vehicles over 2.5 tons, which must also be equipped with a tachograph.
Clear Rules for the Posting of Drivers – No More Wage Disparities
The new regulations provide a clear legal framework so that member states do not establish different regulations in the future and drivers are fairly compensated. The posting regulations apply to cabotage and international freight transport. However, transit traffic, bilateral freight transport, and bilateral freight transport with two additional loading or unloading operations are exempt from this.
Next Steps
The regulations now adopted will come into force in a few weeks once they are published in the EU’s Official Journal.
The applicability of the posting regulations begins 18 months after the entry into force of the legal act. The applicability of the regulations on rest times and the return of drivers begins 20 days after the entry into force of the legal act. The applicability of the regulations on the return of trucks and further changes to market access rules begins 18 months after the entry into force of the market access legal act.
Photo: © Adobe Stock/thomaslerchphoto
To the EU Parliament’s announcement
Statements from the Associations
BGL
Today, the European Parliament finally adopted the mobility package after difficult and lengthy negotiations. New regulations will ensure better competitive conditions, clearer and more uniform EU regulations for the posting of drivers, better combating of illegal practices, and more social regulations for drivers’ rest times.
“This is a very positive day for European road freight transport. This package will put an end to shell companies, social dumping, and systematic cabotage operations. Drivers will now work under better conditions. This includes the Europe-wide ban on using the cab for the regular weekly rest period. Furthermore, they will be able to return home more often, which allows for a better work-life balance,” says Erik Østergaard (Chairman of the NLA and CEO of DTL).
“This is the result of years of hard work, and I am pleased that our three associations have contributed to this in fruitful collaboration with the European Commission, members of the European Parliament, and our member states,” says Florence Berthelot (CEO of FNTR).
“We are satisfied with today’s outcome and would like to thank the decision-makers for their hard work over the past three years. The new legislation will have significant and positive impacts on the road freight transport market. Now we must focus on the implementation and efficient control of the new rules,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Dirk Engelhardt (BGL Board Spokesman).
DSLV
The DSLV Federal Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics expresses its general satisfaction that the European Parliament has now reached a final position for a uniform legal framework for European road freight transport. Whether the compromise reached will actually lead to a harmonization of competitive conditions and social regulations, as well as a clarification of market access conditions, will largely depend on the implementation and future control density in the member states.
It must be assumed that the current competition and working conditions in European road freight transport have not only been exacerbated by exploiting regulatory gaps in a free European market but primarily due to an overload of state controls. “Brussels and the member states have taken years to develop new laws instead of creating the conditions for enforcing existing laws. If a restricted parking ban were made an absolute parking ban, it would not prevent illegal parking if the ban is not regularly monitored,” warns Frank Huster, Managing Director of DSLV. “Nevertheless, it is correct that EU states will in the future have significantly less leeway for national regulations.”
The future regulations provide for a legal right for truck drivers to return to their home country at least every three weeks. Additionally, transport companies will be required to return their vehicles to the respective registration state every eight weeks.
With the fundamental possibility of so-called cabotage, empty trips within the EU are to be prevented and CO2 emissions saved. The number of transports that a foreign transport company is allowed to carry out within another EU country is now capped at three. Additionally, foreign companies will have to leave the country for at least four days after their last cabotage trip. Huster: “The Parliament’s decision does not align with the fundamental idea of free European markets, which is also significant for logistics, but from a German perspective, the competitive conditions for complete market liberalization are still lacking in the EU.”
To further level the playing field against domestic transport companies, drivers from foreign companies must be paid the local minimum wage during cabotage. For this, a posting law specifically for truck drivers has been created that deviates from the general EU posting norm but is still restrictive (‘Lex Specialis’): The wage must be at least equal to the wage level of the country in which the driver is operating. Only transit trips and round trips from the home country to another EU country with a maximum of two loading or unloading operations during a tour will be exempt from this in the future. Huster: “It is commendable that the EU Parliament has reached a compromise here. However, the practical implementation and proof will be very difficult.” Given the 27 nationally different minimum wage regulations in the EU, the administrative burden for internationally operating freight forwarding companies and their transport service providers will increase significantly.”
Brussels therefore has high expectations for the intelligent tachograph, which must be installed in all vehicles by 2025 at the latest to reliably monitor the new regulations digitally. “Reliable technology is needed to enforce the new law; otherwise, good political intentions will fizzle out,” says Huster. “It is important that national implementation is carried out uniformly in all member states.”
On July 8, 2020, the European Parliament made a final decision on the reform package for European road freight transport, the first part of the so-called Mobility Package. This followed over three years of negotiations among the factions of the Parliament, the EU member states, and the European Commission regarding the design of future working, social, and competitive conditions for road freight transport.
