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The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on the European  Commission’s proposal to revise the Eurovignette Directive, providing greater legal certainty for the application of CO₂-based road charging for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) from 01 July 2026.

The agreement introduces greater flexibility for Member States to support the transition to cleaner fleets. Until 30 June 2031, Member States may apply toll reductions of up to 75% for low-emission HDVs, provided that stronger incentives remain in place for zero-emission HDVs. From 01 July 2031, the maximum reduction for low-emission vehicles will be limited to 50%.

One of the most significant outcomes of the negotiations is the decision to abandon the proposed system of trailer-based toll differentiation. The original Commission proposal would have allowed lower tolls for vehicles towing trailers with better environmental performance. However, both the Council and the European Parliament concluded that such a system would introduce considerable administrative complexity, create interoperability challenges, and complicate the operation of electronic tolling systems, while also raising concerns regarding existing concession contracts.

Instead, the co-legislators agreed to invite the European Commission to assess the remaining technical and operational obstacles before considering any future legislative proposal. The Commission is expected to present this assessment by 30 June 2029.

The revised Directive also clarifies key definitions relating to CO₂ emission classes, low- and zero-emission vehicles, vehicle groups, and vocational vehicles, providing greater legal certainty for transport operators, tolling authorities, and toll service providers.

CLECAT welcomes the agreement, which reflects many of the practical concerns raised by the freight-forwarding and logistics sector during the legislative process. In particular, the decision not to proceed with trailer-based toll differentiation avoids unnecessary administrative burdens and legal uncertainty for cross-border freight transport operations, while allowing Member States sufficient flexibility to incentivise the deployment of lower-emission and zero-emission HDVs.

The provisional agreement will now be formally endorsed by both the Council and the European Parliament before the revised Directive enters into force.

Source: Council of the European Union