EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/833

(2004/C 78 E/0887)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3606/03

by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(5 December 2003)

Subject: Special conditions for transport by heavy goods vehicles

The cheapest and simplest way of transporting goods has always been by truck. At the same time, the resulting environmental pollution has been getting worse each year. The far more environmentally friendly alternative of rail transport cannot compete with the comparatively cheap option of transport by road and is therefore unacceptable to many companies.

Can the Commission answer the following:

— is it true that the European Union grants concessions to hauliers? If so, of what nature;

— is it also the case that haulage firms benefit from fuel concessions from the EU? If so, of what nature;

— what has been or is being done to investigate the real costs of road transport?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(28 January 2004)

In principle, aid granted to transport undertakings is, when deemed to be State aid within the meaning of Article 87 of the EC Treaty, incompatible with the common market. However, Article 87(2) and (3) provides that, where certain conditions are met, such aid may be considered or declared compatible with the common market. It is essentially the ‘Community guidelines on State aid for environmental protection’ (1) which specify which State aid may qualify as one of the exceptions specified in Article 87. The guidelines indicate that, in principle, only aid measures which serve to attain a higher level of environmental protection than is required at Community level may be authorised. The same philosophy emerges from the directives relating to measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from motor vehicles (2).

Regarding the concessions which may be granted for fuels, Council Directive 2003/96/EC of 27 October 2003 restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity (3) authorises Member States to continue to apply reduced rates of taxation in the cases listed in an annex to the Directive. That annex refers to national measures applying a differentiated rate of excise duty on gas oil, particularly in order to encourage the use of fuels which are more environmentally friendly. By virtue of Article 18, several Member States may in addition allow temporary derogations from the new minimum levels set by the Directive for excise duties on gas oil. Such temporary derogations are subject to the condition that rates of duty be gradually brought into line with the levels stipulated by the Directive. Lastly, a specific, though not reduced, rate has been introduced for commercial gas oil to give Member States which so wish the option of applying differentiated rates of duty for different uses of gas oil.

Turning to payment by the road haulage industry of the costs linked to using road infrastructure, on 23 July 2003 the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 1999/62/EC on the charging of heavy goods vehicles for the use of certain infrastructures (4). The proposed directive constitutes a framework within which Member States, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, may provide positive economic incentives for transport operations via a price structure which better reflects the costs to society. The new framework proposed by the Commission establishes a set of common rules for charging heavy goods vehicles weighing more than 3,5 tonnes. In particular, it enables Member States to vary tolls according to the technical and environmental characteristics of vehicles, levels of congestion and the characteristics of the relevant route in the road network.

(1) OJ C 37, 3.2.2001.

(2) Directive 1999/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to measures to be taken against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from compression ignition engines for use in vehicles, and the emission of gaseous pollutants from positive ignition engines fuelled with natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas for use in vehicles and amending Council Directive 88/77/EEC, OJ L 44, 16.2.2000. Directive 98/69/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 1998 relating to measures to be taken against air pollution by emissions from motor vehicles and amending Directive 70/220/EEC, OJ L 350, 28.12.1998.

(3) OJ L 283, 31.10.2003.

(4) COM(2003) 448 final.