Tag: Eurovignette

A majority of Europeans would be happy to pay higher taxes for more driving, claims a study commissioned by the European Commission's transport department and published in March. EurActiv France reports.

A proposal to charge trucks for the noise and pollution they cause is set to gather consensus from EU ministers today, paving the way for the introduction of green road tolls across Europe.

A compromise on proposed environmental charges for trucks tabled by the Czech EU Presidency has failed to convince the Union's member states, many of which are arguing that the recession is not the right time to impose extra costs on the transport sector.

Amid opposition from centre-right MEPs, the European Parliament yesterday (11 March) backed the EU executive in its call to allow national governments to charge heavy goods vehicles for the noise they make and the environmental pollution and congestion they cause.

A vote on the revision of the Eurovignette directive in the European Parliament's transport committee tomorrow (11 February) is expected to relaunch negotiations between the bloc's 27 member states over the controversial issue of environmental charging for trucks. But serious progress is not expected before the autumn, when the next Parliament takes office. 

A number of outstanding issues, including internalisation of the external costs of road congestion, must still be resolved before an update of the so-called 'Eurovignette' Directive on road charging can be agreed upon, it emerged after a meeting of EU transport ministers on 9 December. 

Meeting in La Rochelle on 1-2 September for an informal session, EU transport ministers showed some reserve towards Commission proposals to charge truck drivers for the costs they impose in terms of congestion, noise and air pollution.

EU rules must be revised to enable governments to make truck drivers pay for the full costs they impose on society and the environment, insisted Johannes Ludewig, the executive director of the railway association CER, in an interview with EurActiv. But he fears strong opposition from member states and extreme time pressure will lead to an unambitious outcome.

Despite the bloc's ambitious goal to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020, Commission proposals due to be unveiled tomorrow (8 July) would effectively prohibit governments from including the cost of CO2 emitted by road transport in their toll tariffs.