EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S TRANSPORT COMMITTEE REJECTED A PART OF THE MOBILITY PACKAGE

In 10 January 2019 TRAN rejected two of the three reports from the Mobility Package and supported the proposal that freight trucks in the European Union should return every three weeks to the country of registration of the company. The rejected reports proposed amendments to the rules on cabotage, driving and rest time and the highly controversial problem regarding the application of rules on the posting of workers in relation to drivers in the highly mobile transport sector. The main opponents of the proposal have been Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and Hungary, since according to these countries the new Mobility Package, which theoretically intends to improve the social condition of drivers, would cause competitive disadvantage for the EU companies compared to the companies from third countries. The Eastern European countries interpreted the vote in the Committee as their victory and defeat for Eastern Europe. The rejected reports also included the proposal for drivers to be able to use their weekly rest in the cabins of their trucks.

The prospects of the mobility package are now uncertain. If the new rules are not enacted until the EU Parliament elections, the Commission is forced to start over and prepare a new bill.