Higher expenses with European road tolls

An European Commission directive applicable in 2008 will significantly increase the road tolls paid by transporters.

The regulation is specifically in reference to freight transport and introduces such principles as "the polluter pays" or "the user pays". The directive allows authorities to tax (in the form of motorway tolls or vignettes) vehicles weighing more than 12 metric tons. The money collected this way is supposed to finance maintenance, development, managing and modernization of highways and other important national roads. The tolls will vary according to the type of vehicle, waste gas pollution, maximum authorized weight of vehicle and other factors. Enforcing this new European regulation in Romania will increase vignette's costs some 50% over the levels mentioned in the national legislation for 2008. By then, highway access will cost 2.5 times more money than in 2006. On the other hand, canceling the current necessity to pay for a yearlong valid vignette could compensate high taxation. On November 14th, the Romanian Senate passed a law regarding short-term vignettes (with single day, week, month or six months validity).