„We managed to stop the Mobility Package” – MEP Elżbieta Łukacijewska announced on Twitter this morning. Today, members of the European Parliament consulted with Antonio Tajani, the President of the European Parliament. During the meeting, they discussed the detailed regulations on professional drivers in the European Union with particular regard for posting. Also, the main focus of today’s Conference of Presidents was the Mobility Package.
What does this mean?
– We can return the Mobility Package to the Transport Committee, to analyze it again and prepare amendments that will protect the internal market, transport sector, its competitiveness, as well as costs that the consumer will incur – explains Łaciacijewska.
What’s going to happen next?
As the MEP notes, if the Commission reaches a satisfactory majority of the members about the amendments and they find a compromise, the Mobility Package could be scheduled for a vote in the European Parliament in March. If not, work on it will begin in the new term of the European Parliament – after the elections.
However, not all members are optimistic. Many think that the scenario of fixing amendments of the Mobility Package, which would satisfy everybody, is unlikely.
Such a compromise would be extremely difficult to find, and new amendments would rather not appear, because the members have already consulted on all the possible modifications. – Kozma Zlotowski, member of the European Parliament, added.
The meeting of the TRAN Committee is scheduled for February 20.
Nevertheless, it is certain that the decision on voting on the Mobility Package in the EP will not happen without a preliminary agreement reached by the Transport Committee.
Mobility Package
– Lex specialis, i.e. detailed regulations on professional drivers in the EU regarding posting. The general rules included in the Directive on Posting have already been established and will enter into force in 2020. However, they do not need concern truckers, because due to the specificity of their work, MEPs are currently working on rules that will apply to transport, i.e. Mobility Package.
These works are prolonged, and it is not known whether they will be completed at the beginning of next year. Currently, only the position of the EU Council on the Mobility Package is known. It was sharply criticized by some ministers, who described it as „protectionist”. The draft regulations, which the EU Council supported, include:
– the obligation to have second generation digital tachographs,
– limitation of systematic cabotage,
– the need for drivers to return home at least every four weeks,
– and the ban on spending a regular week’s rest in the cabin of the vehicle.
Now the common position must be worked out by the European Parliament, which will not be easy, mainly due to the reluctance of some Western Members to cooperate.
The format of the Mobility Package discussed in the EP consists of three reports on:
– cabotage,
– posting,
– driving time and rest period.
If the EP works out a common position, then it is only within the Trilogue, that is cooperation with the EU Council and the European Commission, that the final shape of the regulations can be determined.
Photo: Pixabay