New rules for goods transport
EU goods carriers are obliged to return trucks to the companys headquarters every eight weeks, as part of the mobility package.
Daniela Budu, 21.02.2022, 13:50
New rules as part of the mobility package are in place from Monday for goods carriers working in EU member states. Trucks must be returned at companys headquarters every eight weeks, which businesses say leads to higher fuel consumption, pollution and delays at customs, especially for companies from eastern Europe, Romania included. The new measures were decided two years ago and were taken so as to provide more rights for drivers, the EU says.
Together with other states, Romania challenged the mobility package in the EU Court of Justice, saying the measure contradicts the European carbon neutral policy and affects the free movement of goods. According to Romania and eight other EU states including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lithuania, Poland and Hungary, the new move will increase the use of carbon emissions, with a thousand daily extra trucks on European roads and border, without any justification. A survey by the consultancy and auditing firm KPMG conducted two years ago after the adoption of the mobility package estimated a 4.5-billion-euro reduction in incomes from international good transport for Romanian companies and the risk of business relocation, the National Union of Road Carriers from Romania says in a statement.
The beginning of the month also saw the application of the posting of workers directive for companies carrying out cross-trade or cabotage operations, with tens of thousands of Romanian drivers being involved in this activity. According to the National Union of Road Carriers from Romania, Bucharest is the 8th biggest EU transport market and the third biggest in terms of cross trade and cabotage operations. Official data show that road transport accounts for some 5% of Romanias GDP, being the main contributor to the countrys services exports, some 22 billion euros in the last four years. 36,000 companies are active in Romania in the field of transports, employing some 250,000 professional drivers. (CM)
