EP adopts reform of road transport sector with impact on Romanian haulers

The European Parliament (EP) backed revised rules “to improve drivers’ working conditions and stop the distortion of competition in road transport.”

Haulers in Eastern Europe, including Romania, have protested against the new regulations, claiming that they aim to eliminate the competition of drivers in lower-income countries who are ready to work for lower wages. Romanian haulers and MEPs have urged the Romanian Government to challenge the new regulations at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), G4media.ro reported.

The European Parliament endorsed all three legal acts without amendments, as adopted by EU ministers in April 2020. The political agreement with the Council was reached in December 2019.

The authors of the regulations claim that the revised rules for posting of drivers, drivers’ driving times and rest periods and better enforcement of cabotage rules (i.e. - transport of goods carried out by non-resident haulers temporarily in a host member state) aim to put an end to the distortion of competition in the road transport sector and provide better rest conditions for drivers.

Romanian haulers, however, argue that the mandatory requirement of sending the vehicle in the country of origin every eight weeks and sending the drivers in the country of origin every four weeks generates unnecessary fuel consumption (with an impact on the CO2 emission) and breaks the drivers’ right to decide where they spend their rest time. The return of vehicles in their country of origin would generate 418,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, they calculated.

(Photo source: Jaroslav Pachy Sr./Dreamstime.com)