At the meeting of the TRAN coordinators on 21st of January 2019 at the European Parliament, they were unable to come to a decision on the next steps regarding the three key dossiers of the Mobility Package 1 : driving and rest time, posting, and market access/cabotage.
The issue is expected to be addressed once again at the next TRAN coordinators meeting, possibly on 29 January.
This also means that the process is again delayed, making it extremely difficult for a full-scale and meaningful trilogue, even in case of a positive decision and vote in the European Parliament Plenary on those three files.
The potential options currently considered within the European Parliament, as they emerge after the vote in TRAN Committee on 10 January:
a) ask the Conference of Presidents to put the three files back on the Plenary agenda
b) ask the Conference of Presidents to put to vote only the freight market access/cabotage file on the Plenary agenda, since this was the only file that obtained a positive vote in TRAN on 10 January
c) leave the three files to the next European Parliament (and the future TRAN Committee, to be constituted after the European elections)
In case a) and/or b) are chosen, it is expected that the following procedure would apply, bearing in mind that the Conference of Presidents has the final word (since the three files are considered “blocked” in Plenary):
- TRAN can only ask the Conference of Presidents to put the files on the Plenary agenda. Yet, it is the Conference of Presidents that has the final word whether they will be put to vote and debate, or to vote only
- it is also up to the Conference of Presidents to decide on the specific dates and fix a deadline for amendments
It is also important to note that a political group can also request that the files are put on the agenda of the Plenary.
Regarding amendments in Plenary:
- TRAN can only table amendments on the file which was positively voted on 10 January (market access/cabotage)
- EMPL Committee could table amendments to plenary on the two other files (driving and rest time and posting), since these are the two files EMPL is associated with
- a political group or a group of 38 MEPs could table amendments to plenary as well
It is important to note that, since the three files have been rejected in Plenary in July last year, all amendments, which have been considered before this date, are considered as “fallen”, but a political group or a group of 38 MEPs would be able to re-submit (some, part of) them.
In case a positive vote is taken in the European Parliament Plenary on the three Mobility Package 1 files, this decision would become the basis for the work of the next European Parliament, after the European elections this summer.