CER welcomes Parliament's vote on road vehicle charging

On 25 October, the European Parliament voted on the revision of the 1999/62/EC Directive on the charging of road vehicles to amend the European Commission's proposal of 31 May 2017. The Parliament's plenary approved the vast majority of amendments adopted by the TRAN Committee back in May.

CER welcomes the vote as it represents a good development of the Commission proposal towards wider application of the user- and polluter-pays principles. On user-pays, time-based charging for trucks and buses would be phased out by 2021 and replaced by distance-based charging. On polluter-pays, the introduction of minimum charging values, mandatory for trucks and buses from 2021, would not only help protect the environment for society but also lead to improved fairness regarding intermodal competition of road transport with cleaner modes.

CER Executive Director Libor Lochman said: “This is another much needed step towards the clean mobility that European citizens expect. With this vote, the EU Parliament confirms a strong will to redress current regulatory imbalances, which have held back rail's development for too long. The railway sector now counts on the Council to find a position and to start trilogue discussions as soon as possible and no later than right after the next European elections in May.”

An efficient European transport sector requires fair competition between modes, with proper charging both for externalities and infrastructure. CER therefore welcomes the Parliament's vote, which will benefit society. It is now for the Council to find a position quickly and start trilogue negotiations with the Parliament.

The CER Summary Sheet on this topic is available here.