WRITTEN QUESTION E-1736/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(14 June 2001)

Subject: Use of the Swiss financing system to encourage a switch from road to rail freight transport

1. Can the Commission confirm that, partly on the basis of the agreements between Switzerland and the European Union which the European Parliament approved on 14 December 2000, which increase the scope for freight to be carried through Switzerland by road, a system is now in use in Switzerland whereby the size of the toll levied on heavy goods vehicles - the Leistungsabhängige Schwerverkehrsabgabe - depends partly on the distance travelled, the weight of the load and the vehicle's emissions, and that the revenue from the tolls is being used to finance the bulk of the cost of building freight railway lines and tunnels for them through the Alps?

2. Can the Commission confirm that the method described at 1 above could substantially influence the way in which freight is transported between places outside the area through which it passes, and that in principle the same system could also be used in areas where there are no natural barriers to transport, such as mountain ranges or major watercourses?

3. How could a similar system within the Member States of the European Union be promoted as a way of combating the constant growth of road haulage and thus providing alternatives to the pressure to sacrifice more and more open space by widening roads and building new ones?

4. To what extent could the methods which have been developed inter alia in the Netherlands for taxing commuters for travelling individually by car be used to regulate long-distance freight transport?

5. What obstacles arising from European legislation ought possibly yet to be eliminated in order in significant measure to achieve the effect referred to at 3 above?

6. What national regulations in the Member States might still prevent the wide application of the Swiss model?

7. Will the Commission promote change along the above lines?

Source: De Volkskrant (Dutch newspaper) of 21 May 2001

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2001)

The Commission is aware that the Swiss government has put in place a road charging system on heavy goods vehicles based on the kilometres driven (leistungsabhängige Schwerverkehrsabgabe) and that a significant part of the revenues of this system are assigned to the financing of rail freight infrastructure investment projects as well as to the construction of transalpine tunnels. The Community-Swiss Agreement on freight and passenger transport by rail and road which is still awaiting ratification by some Member States allows and lays down a number of key elements of such a road charging system for both Swiss and Community traffic.

The Commission is indeed of the opinion that distance related road-charging systems, similar to the Swiss one, can have an overall positive effect on the rationalisation of road transport demand both for the regions of transit as well as those where the traffic originates or ends. In its upcoming White Paper on the Common Transport Policy the Commission will launch also a discussion on innovative transport infrastructure financing methods. One of the options is indeed the Swiss model, i.e. using the revenues of infrastructure charging schemes of competing modes for the financing of new infrastructure of environmentally friendly transport modes such as rail. Such a cross financing could be applicable within a region, for instance characterised by natural barriers such as mountains or by environmental sensibility.

The introduction of such distance based charging systems could be facilitated through an increased awareness of Member States'policy makers, authorities, transport operators and general public of the results obtained by the implementation of the Swiss system. Also, a closer exchange of information between Member States about their own needs and plans, regarding the evolution of traffic and its management, is likely to lead to the realisation that distance based charging systems could provide a better use of existing infrastructure. This, in turn, would reduce the pressure for new (or wider) roads. Furthermore, there are obstacles of legal, technical or organisational nature that need to be thoroughly examined and resolved at national level before such distance based charging systems could be introduced. Finally, realistic alternatives to road transport need to exist in order for a road charging system to be acceptable and effective.

The approach envisaged by the Dutch government addresses road congestion through the charging of daily commuter traffic in densely populated regions in the Netherlands. It cannot directly be applied to reducing environmental nuisances through long-distance freight transport activities.

At Community level a policy mix has to be deployed in order to tackle the problems caused by rising road haulage volumes in the Community. Such a policy mix aiming at re-balancing the modal split has several strands such as stimulating the rail service market, for instance, through the market opening policy that the Community pursues. The Commission also considers a fair and efficient infrastructure pricing policy for all modes vital for accompanying the policy of market opening in the transport sector. Furthermore, a sensible policy of support to develop the Trans-European Networks infrastructure and to alleviate bottlenecks can contribute significantly to rendering the European transport system more efficient and environmentally sustainable.