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The European Parliament in Plenary session formally adopted on 17 February the revised Eurovignette Directive, updating the rules defining the charges member states can impose on trucks and lorries, but also buses, vans and passenger cars using trans-European transport (TEN-T) network roads. All amendments tabled for this vote have been rejected, the Parliament has therefore adopted the Council position which concludes the legislative procedure.

The aim of the new rules is to move road charging from a time-based model to distance-based or an actual kilometres-driven system, to better reflect the polluter-pays and user-pays principles. Vignettes for HDVs will be phased out across the core TEN-T network within eight years of the entry into force of the Directive, and Member States will start applying distance-based charges. To encourage the wider use of more environmentally friendly vehicles, EU countries will have to set different road charging rates based on CO2 emissions for trucks as of 2026. They will also have to reduce considerably the charges for zero- or low-emission vehicles. The rules will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, and EU Member States will have two years to incorporate the rules into their national law.

CLECAT welcomes the final adoption of the revised Directive, as it allows for a more harmonised framework for on-road charging of heavy-duty vehicles throughout the European Union. The revised road charging rules, contains a clause to prevent any double taxation of CO2 emissions in road haulage, in view of the proposed creation of an EU ETS for road transport. CLECAT supports this and will remain vigilant on the implementation of this clause.

Source: European Parliament