EP GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO THE DIRECTIVE ON HIRED VEHICLES
On 5 April, MEPs formally approved the revised Directive on use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road.
The new Directive will ease existing restrictions in place for the hiring of these vehicles from other EU countries. It will allow transport operators to meet short-term, seasonal or temporary demand peaks or to replace defective or damaged vehicles. It should also contribute to the EU’s climate objectives, as hired vehicles tend to be newer, safer and less polluting than the fleet average.
Under the new rules, companies will have to report to their national authorities their use of hired vehicles, to ensure that it does not constitute more than 25 percent of the overall goods vehicle fleet used by the business involved. The minimum guaranteed lease period for an individual vehicle registered in another Member State is set at 2 months, but Member States may also choose to require these vehicles to be registered under their rules after 30 days of use.
After its publication in the Official Journal if the EU, Member States will have 14 months to incorporate the new provisions into national law.
Source: European Parliament