On the 23rd of March 2021, the European Parliament, Council of the EU, and the European Commission met for a second trilogue to discuss the revision of the Eurovignette Directive. The meeting was said to be “constructive”, but no major progress was achieved on the contentious issues, such as the phasing out of vignette systems, the variation of charges depending on CO2 emissions, the external costs, and earmarking of revenues that had been discussed between the institutions. The gap between the respective positions of the institutions is not closed.
The European Commission and Council (Portuguese Presidency) are keen to close the file before June 2021. The European Parliament, however, is not convinced of this timeline.
ESC is supporting the position of IRU on the Eurovignette Directive, in particular on the following points:
– CO2 differentiation of charging rates should not favour any technology;
– No increase in taxes, charges, and duties for transport operators;
– The Eurovignette Directive should be used primarily to incentivise the introduction of cleaner and more efficient technologies in the commercial road transport sector;
– No new externalities should be introduced;
– Competitive level playing field should be addressed.
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