COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT Accompanying the document PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for carriage of goods by road
Date: 2017-05-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, carriage of goods, intra-EU transport, road transport, vehicle rental

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.5.2017  SWD(2017) 197 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE IMPACT ASSESSMENT  Accompanying the document PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL amending Directive 2006/1/EC on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for carriage of goods by road {COM(2017) 282 final} {SWD(2017) 196 final} {SWD(2017) 198 final} {SWD(2017) 199 final}  
 
 
Executive Summary Sheet 

Impact assessment of a proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2006/1/EC  
on the use of vehicles hired without drivers for the carriage of goods by road 

A. Need for action 

What is the problem and why is it a problem at EU level?  

1)  In  some  EU  Member  States,  own  account  operators  (i.e.  companies  carrying  their  own  goods)  cannot  use 
hired goods vehicles above six tonnes and therefore cannot benefit from the associated advantages (in terms of 
flexibility, productivity and allocation of capital). 

2) Vehicle hiring markets in EU Member States with restrictions remain underdeveloped, leading to higher prices 
and less choice for those not affected by the restrictions. 

3) The ability of EU Member States to prohibit the use of vehicles hired in another EU Member State leads to a 
patchwork of restrictions. The resulting legal uncertainty keeps hauliers away from hiring vehicles in another EU 
Member State. 

4) Companies active in the vehicle hiring business and transport operators cannot make the most efficient use of 
their fleet (e.g. by moving their vehicles around to respond to temporary demand peaks) 

What should be achieved?  

- Further integration of - and the creation of a level playing field in - the EU road haulage market; 

- Create a uniform regulatory framework on the use of hired vehicles; 

- Allow transport operators across the EU to carry out their activities in the most efficient way possible; 

- Support the reduction of negative social and environmental impacts of transport. 

What is the value added of action at the EU level (subsidiarity)?  

Road transport is increasingly international. A level playing field in the internal road haulage market and vehicle 
hiring sector can only be achieved through action at EU level. EU Member States cannot find uniform solutions.  

B. Solutions 

What are the various options to achieve the objectives? Is there a preferred option or not? If not, why?  

Option 0: Issue recommendations and guidelines on the application of the Directive in the EU Member States 
and promote a common approach to restrictions on the use of hired goods vehicles. 

Option 1: Targeted legislative amendments. 

1a: Allowing the use of hired goods vehicles for own account operations across the EU. 

1b: Allowing the use of goods vehicles hired in another EU Member State for three-to-four months. 

1c: Combine Option 1a and Option 1b. 

Option 2: Applying the same rules on the use of hired vehicles as the ones on the use of vehicles owned by 
operators (or at least not more restrictive rules, as the use of hired vehicles should not be disadvantaged) 

Option  1c  is  the  most  effective  option.  It  creates  the  highest  economic  benefits  at  relatively  low  costs.  It  is 
better than Option 2 as it provides for uniform rules across the EU on the use of vehicles hired in another EU 
Member State during a given period of time. 

What are different stakeholders' views? Who supports which option?  

Transport  operators  and  the  vehicle  hiring  industry  support  the  creation  of  uniform  rules  for  the  EU  road 
transport market. Some public authorities and trade union representatives fear more competitive pressure from 
the removal of restrictions for own account operators and more difficulties in enforcing road transport legislation 
by allowing the use of vehicles hired in another EU Member State. 

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C. Impacts of the preferred option 

What are the benefits of the preferred option (if any, otherwise of main ones)? 

Removing the restrictions on the use of hired goods vehicles for own account transport (which are currently only 
applied  in  Greece,  Italy,  Spain  and  Portugal)  should  by  2030  create  around  EUR  75  million  of  annual  cost 
savings for own account transport operators in these countries. In addition, allowing the use of vehicles hired in 
another EU Member State for three-to-four months should generate cost savings of some EUR 83 million. Option 
1c could therefore reduce operating costs by a total of EUR 158 million per year. In addition, the profitability of 
the vehicle hiring sector is expected to increase by EUR 81 million, bringing the total economic benefit to around 
EUR 240 million per year by 2030. 

Option  1c  will  lead  to  almost  5  000  additional  jobs,  2  900  in  the  vehicle  hiring  sector  and  1  700  in  the  road 
haulage business. Road safety should improve slightly as newer and better maintained vehicles are used. 

The environmental effects are positive (lower emissions due to higher fuel efficiency) although not significantly 
due to the relatively small size of the sector. 

What are the costs of the preferred option (if any, otherwise of main ones)?  

As the preferred option removes restrictions on the use of hired vehicles, compliance costs for operators will be 
lower.  National  authorities  may  face  some  additional  enforcement  costs  to  prevent  their  companies  from 
flagging out the whole fleet to low-tax countries and renting it back from there. The use of existing enforcement 
systems such as the European Register of Road transport Undertakings (ERRU) should limit the additional costs. 

Fears  of  possible  negative  impacts  on  working  conditions  have  been  raised  due  to  the  expected  higher 
competitive pressure in more open markets and due to a feared increase in illegal competition from own account 
operators (a fear not shared by anyone from a country without restrictions). Allowing the use of vehicles hired in 
another EU Member State could make enforcing road transport legislation more difficult. 

What are the impacts on SMEs and competitiveness?  

Enabling the use of hired goods vehicles e.g. by allowing temporary cross-border hiring can help companies in 
the road haulage sector (which are mostly SMEs) save costs and increase their flexibility and productivity. The 
same  applies  to  SMEs  among  the  own  account  operators  who  are  currently  banned  from  using  hired  goods 
vehicles. The vehicle hiring sector also mainly consists of SMEs which will be able to increase their productivity. 

Will there be significant impacts on national budgets and administrations?  

Due  to  the  on  average  higher  utilisation  rate  of  hired  vehicles,  the  more  hired  vehicles  are  used  the  fewer 
vehicles are needed to carry out all the transport operations. In Option 1c, this is assumed to lead to a loss of 
EUR  18  million  in  vehicle  taxes  across  the  EU.  At  the  same  time,  the  increased  productivity  of  transport 
operators  and  of  vehicle  hiring  companies  is  expected  to  lead  to  EUR  67  million  in  additional  corporation  tax 
revenues. So, in total there should be additional net tax revenues of around EUR 49 million. 

Limited  enforcement  costs  may  occur  to  prevent  operators  from  flagging  out  their  entire  fleet  to  low-tax 
countries and then hiring it back through renewed short-term contracts (see above). 

Will there be other significant impacts?  

No. 

Proportionality?  

The preferred option does not go beyond what is needed to achieve the objectives of the initiative. 

D. Follow up 

When will the policy be reviewed?  

A review clause has been inserted which states that the Commission will submit a report on the implementation 
and effects of the Directive at the latest five years after the end of the transposition period. 

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