Adapting the road haulage market to developments in the sector: road transport operators and access to the market

Briefing 16-10-2017

This note seeks to provide an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission's impact assessment (IA) accompanying the above proposal, submitted on 31 May 2017 and referred to Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN). The existing legislative framework regulating European cabotage operations (the national carriage of goods for hire or reward carried out by non-resident hauliers on a temporary basis in a host Member State) was adopted in 2009 (Regulations 1071/2009 and 1072/2009) with the aim of supporting the completion of the internal EU market in road transport and, in particular, of boosting its efficiency and competitiveness. To this day, however, the national transport market remains fragmented as Member States restrict cabotage operations for non-resident hauliers. At the same time, the carriage of goods, especially by light commercial vehicles (LCVs), is on the rise and is expected to increase on account of technological development, the growth of the e-commerce sector, and the related increase in demand for delivery services. In preparation for the legislative proposal the Commission conducted a REFIT exercise that showed potential scope for cutting red tape and reducing compliance costs for transport operators and national authorities. The proposed regulation aims to improve the internal market for road transport and achieve a better balance (in terms of the administrative burden and the cost of compliance) between the various stakeholders (e.g. transport operators, national authorities, drivers and the customers of transport operators) by amending the existing regulation. For the Commission, the proposal is part of a broader legislative initiative regarding European road transport legislation in general and, more specifically, the proposal concerning social legislation for road transport. In this regard, it is also related to the reform of the free movement of labour, in particular the posting of workers. The proposed regulation is also in line with the European Parliament's call to the Commission, expressed in its resolution of 9 September 2015, to clarify or review Regulation 1072/2009 in order to take measures against illegal practices that lead to unfair competition and encourage social dumping.