The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament expressed the opinion about further provisions of the Mobility Package. This time, the Committee’s proposals concern changes in regulations on the access to the occupation of road transport operator (EC/1071/2009) and to the international road haulage market (EC/1072/2009). Unfortunately, they are not favorable to the single European road transport market. Consequently, they will also negatively impact the EU economy.
The opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs is naturally only of auxiliary significance. At this stage of the legislative process in the European Parliament, the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism will be of fundamental importance. However, the opinion shows the possible voting patterns among MEPs. It appears that the views of those who would opt for solutions limiting the access to the market to transport operators from the peripheral Member States or even entirely denying it, prevail.
The results of the Committee’s work show that the Mobility Package submitted last year by the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for their consideration at the end of the day may take even more anti-market form.
Cabotage severely limited?
The proposals of MEPs dealing with social issues include among others:
– applying from the first day full regulations on posted workers to all international transport performed within the territory of the country of loading and unloading and cabotage transports;
– setting the obligation – irrespective of financial capacity – to have in place financial means in the amount equal to at least a product of the number of workers employed by the operator and their monthly salary;
– creating the possibility to incorporate into the Member States’ legislation the obligation of periodical training (every 3 years) for employees holding the certificate of professional competence;
– reducing the period of obligatory inspection of each transport operator on the fulfilment of requirements for the access to the occupation of road transport operator from 5 to 3 years;
– extending the scope of information processed by the National Electronic Register by adding: the number of employees of the operator, their personal data, their country of residence, labour law applicable to their employment contracts, country where their social contributions are paid and their social insurance IDs;
– granting the competent bodies of all Member States real-time access to the data collected in the national electronic registers;
– introducing controls of cross-border companies having subsidiaries in order to identify disproportionate diversion of profits or incomplete clearance of infringements;
– setting the obligation to install a smart tachograph as an additional requirement to be fulfilled to pursue international road transports;
– reducing the period for cabotage operations to 48 hours;
– setting the obligation to organize cabotage transports in a way which will guarantee a driver a rest at home or in a location of his choice;
– introducing at least a seven-day period separating subsequent 48-hour cabotage operations within the territory of the same country – to enable the vehicle to return to the country where the operator has its head office;
– setting the obligation to notify in writing the bodies of the Member State about the cabotage transports not later than on the day of their commencement – such a notification will include detailed data of the companies, vehicle, driver, employment and social insurance of the driver and the duration of the cabotage operation;
– removing “multi-drop” journeys.
Photo: Trans.INFO