• Charging for unpaid costs of road freight back on EU agenda

    Belgium has confirmed it intends to shepherd the revision of the Eurovignette directive through the EU’s legislative process by the end of the year.

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    [mailchimp_signup][/mailchimp_signup]The directive, which controls what member states can and cannot charge for when lorries drive on major European highways, has failed to make progress over the past eighteen months as it was not tabled for discussion by the Czech, Swedish or Spanish Presidencies.

    But Belgium, which took over the EU presidency on 1 July, has, as expected, included the measure in its work programme.

    T&E policy officer Nina Renshaw said, ‘With 15 EU member states now either having lorry charging or thinking about it, it is entirely appropriate that the Belgian presidency has pledged to reach an agreement on the Eurovignette by December. Current budget situations all over Europe are encouraging policy-makers to look at smarter ways to balance the books and save jobs and the environment at the same time, and then road charging is the clear choice.’

    T&E has joined with two Belgian NGOs to organise a high-level conference in Brussels in September. Entitled ‘The Pricing of Progress: Intelligent road charging for a smarter, more competitive Europe’, it aims to bring together national representatives, Commission officials and MEPs to compare experiences and expectations of road charging for lorries.