The main purpose of the regulation is to implement Directive (EU) 2022/738 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 amending Directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road.
The European Parliament adopted legislation that will ease restrictions on the use of rented vans or lorries without a driver from another EU country from April 2022, and EU member states have until 6 August 2023 to adapt their national rules.
The new law is intended to allow hauliers, rental and leasing companies to meet short-term, seasonal or temporary peaks in demand, or to replace defective or damaged vehicles.
Under the adopted rules, hauliers will be able to use rented vehicles registered in another EU country for at least two months a year.
However, Member States may require these vehicles to be registered in accordance with their legislation after 30 days of use. Companies will have to report the use of hired vehicles to their national authorities to confirm that they do not represent more than 25 per cent of the company’s total fleet of goods vehicles.
Italy has already amended its national legislation in line with the EU directive, and now Denmark has followed suit.
According to the newly amended regulations in Denmark, the rental vehicle hired without a driver may be used for the carriage of goods on behalf of another person if the following conditions are met:
1) The vehicle is registered or used in accordance with the legislation of an EU or EEA country.
2) The rental contract is only for the rental of a vehicle without a driver and must not be accompanied by a contract with the same company for the employment of personnel to drive or accompany the vehicle.
3) Throughout the rental period, the rented vehicle is at the exclusive disposal of the company that needs to use it.
4) The rental vehicle is driven by employees of the company using the vehicle. Temporary drivers are considered as employees in this context.
In addition, the regulation also states that a foreign road haulage company is allowed to use a rental vehicle when driving in Denmark when carrying out a cross-border road haulage operation.
The amended legislation can be found on the agency’s website.