TRAN COMMITTEE ADOPTS REPORT ON WEIGHTS & DIMENSIONS
On 14 February, the EP’s TRAN Committee adopted its report on the revision of the Weights & Dimensions Directive. MEPs sets incentives for the uptake of zero-emission vehicles while setting additional obstacles to the use of EMS vehicles.
MEPs retained the Commission proposition to increase the maximum weight of zero-emissions trucks up to four tonnes, and additional lengths to accommodate the needs of zero-emission technologies. This provision would ensure that such vehicles would not be less competitive compared to standards trucks due to the extra weight of batteries or length of hydrogen tanks.
The report also allows the cross-border use of EMS vehicles between countries allowing their circulation in their territory, provided that they meet several additional requirements: Member States should perform a prior assessment of their impact on road safety, road infrastructure and modal shift. Countries that have already established EMS routes in their territory should be exempted from this assessment.
CLECAT welcomes the TRAN report, especially on the clarification of the provisions allowing Member States to authorise cross-border movements of longer/heavier/higher/wider trucks between them. Nevertheless, we regret the imposition of unnecessary barriers to the development of EMS vehicles, As already stated in our position paper, no robust evidence of reverse modal shift or increased road safety risks for the use of EMS vehicles had been found in the Commission’s impact assessment or scientific literature. Therefore, imposing a prior assessment of the impact of EMS on road safety, infrastructure and modal shift would hamper logistics service providers’ efforts to optimise the efficiency of their road transport operations. In addition, we still consider that cross-border movements of 44-tonne fossil fuel trucks should still be allowed after 31st December 2034, as there are still uncertainties regarding the deployment of zero-emission vehicles and corresponding infrastructure in time.
The Parliament is expected to formally adopt the report in Plenary session in March. As the Council is expected to agree on its position in June, the trilogue negotiations will be conducted under the new legislative term.
Source: European Parliament