The European Parliament has approved of the new directive Eurovignette III



Today the European Parliament has approved of the proposal of directive so-called Eurovignette III on the internalizzazione of the external costs that adds to the street tolls at the expense of the heavy motor vehicles also the costs of provoked the atmospheric pollution and acoustic from the same trucks. Al toll, that is to the cost tax up to now for I use it of infrastructures, could in fact be added medium of 3-4 cent of euro (for veicolo/km) in order on the road covering the generated external costs from the transport, as the atmospheric pollution and that acoustic.

Besides the transeuropee nets of transport (IT TRY), the directive will cover the freeways and it will be applied to the advanced vehicles to the 3,5 tons. If a Member States will intend to grant exceptions to means until 12 tons will have to communicate of the motivations to the EU commission.

Which measure in order to promote I renew of the fleet, the directive establishes that the less polluting engine vehicles will be free from the costs of the atmospheric pollution until on January 1°, 2014 for the class of emission Euro V and until 1° gennaio.2018 for the class the Euro YOU. Moreover in the sensitive areas and the montuose zones to the external costs an increase until for vehicles more polluting 25% (from Euro 0 will join to Euro II) and, beginning from on January 1°, 2015, such increase will be extended to the class Euro III.

Moreover, in order to stimulate the decongestion of the sold areas more, the percentage of variation of the tolls will be able to arrive until 175% in the congested areas, with applicable rates more elevated in the five rush hours and with rates more lowlands for the other periods. In order to allow with the companies of transport to determine their costs and to adapt their planning of the travels, the Commission will supply a directory of the rates and the timetables of application in all the EU.

The norm previews that, in exchange, the Member States are engaged to at least invest 15% of the total returns deriving from the infrastructure burdens and the burdens for the external costs in the transeuropee nets of transport, while the deep ones remaining would have to be used in order to attenuate the injurious effects and in order to develop all the systems of transport in sustainable way. In order to promote the transparency and the public debate, the eurodeputati ones have included in the directive the obligation for the Member States periodically to inform the Commission on the rates and on I use it of the perceived burdens.

The new directive is criticized by the associations of the road haulage. According to the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the adopted directive today transforms the Eurovignette simply in an onerous new additional tax at the expense of the citizens of the European Union for any service of transport goods on the road, that the European economy will penalize and the creation of places of work and will not involve environmental benefits. The international association of the road haulage has emphasized, in fact, than the new text it does not demand the billeting obligatory of the new returns to the aim to use them in order to effectively reduce to the source the externalities produced from commercial the street transport. "With the today's ballot - it has explained the IRU - the European Parliament in fact is not successful to return the transport "green" on the road not returning the destination of the returns of the Eurovignette obligatory and only creating a new tax on the services of street transport that are already heavy taxed". The IRU therefore has exhorted the States of the EU, to the action of the implementation of the directive, to preview an appropriate destination of such returns on a national level to the aim to answer effectively to the objectives of White Paper on politics of the transports of the EU.

"When the industry of the road haulage strongly is engaged to return own services still more ecological - the president of IRU EU Goods Transpor Liaison Committee has said, Alexander Sakkers - this new tax on the services of transport on the road introduced with the Eurovignette directive will have the effect to prevent to the operators to invest and to apply to the best technologies and the techniques essential in order to return more "green" the transport on the road and in order to reach the objective of reduction of the co2". "the IRU - it has added Sakkers - invites therefore everyone of the Member States of the European Union to assign integrally all the proceeds of this new fiscal tax in favor of projects of street transport, to the aim to achieve the objectives of White Paper on the political new of the transports of the EU and in order to return the road haulage really green".

Also the Italian associations of the road haulage have manifested perplexity on the content of the new European directive. Remembering not to at all contest the principle "who pollutes wage", the National Association Enterprises Transports Motorists (ANITA) has criticized rather "the lack than fairness of such provision that only penalizes the transport goods and not the other modalities and types of transport". "This provision, in fact - it has observed the association - will involve an ulterior increase for the road haulage in the crosswalk of the Alps. The forecast of an additional amount for the congestion, than will not be recoverable, will involve an increase of the current level of the tolls of beyond 10% for the emissions and of beyond 50% for the congestion in transport international".

According to ANITA, "such a increase of the street transport costs, in lack of a valid alternative of transport on railroad will have serious repercussions on the Italian economy, having considered that great railway infrastructures as Brenner and Turin/Lyon will be ready after 2025".

In forecast of the today's favorable ballot, also president of Confartigianato Trasporti, Francesco Del Boca, yesterday has emphasized that "the resources of the greater tolls would have to be obligatorily destined to the field of the street transport with the objective to return the road haulage more sustainable and efficient, for example through investments "greens" or in new technologies, particularly important for the small and averages enterprises that often are able to not to support alone the burdens you set up from the technical and environmental norms". Remembering that the text voted to Strasbourg grants instead to the Member States the faculty to decide if to use or less the returns in order to reduce the impact of the external costs with investments in the road haulage, Of Boca it has concluded that this is translate in a "attempt to introduce a new additional tax on the companies, with the solo fine "to make case" to beyond the declared environmental motivations". President of Confartigianato Trasporti has emphasized does not share not even the second formulation which no external cost falls back on the users of infrastructures: "a road haulage enterprise - it has found - already today endures the ulterior costs (fuel, delays in the deliveries, incidents) deriving from the block of the traffic".