NEW EUROVIGNETTE RULES COME AT THE WRONG TIME

Charges on heavy-goods vehicles should be based in part on the air and noise pollution they produce, according to legislation approved by the European Parliament last month.

Charging lorries for congestion at peak periods on congested roads will also be possible, although specific calculation methods and caps for congestion were excluded from the text. The proposal to include congestion charging met opposition from MEPs in the EPP-ED group. They argued that such a charge would not help reduce congestion and would be an additional burden to an already suffering industry. The Transport Committee had earlier this month reached a compromise allowing Member States to apply the congestion charge to lorries on the condition that they apply a similar charge to ”all other road users“. However these provisions were rejected, therefore charging for congestion under new Eurovignette rules would not apply to passenger cars. Also, the calculation method used to define the amount of the congestion charge would be left to Member States to decide. During the meeting in Strasbourg of the European Parliament, Adriana ºicau, vice-president of the Transport and Tourism Committee of the European Parliament, claimed that the timing for new Eurovignette rules is wrong, because the economic crisis strongly affects the transport sector.