A European Commission Working Paper adopted in July 1998 reviews the existing policies and forthcoming initiatives forming the basis of the framework for the solution of the environmental problems caused by heavy goods vehicle traffic. These measures meet a commitment made by the Council of Ministers in 1994 during the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden to the EU to take action to reduce the environmental impact of lorries.
Common environmental problems caused by heavy goods vehicles include air pollution, emission of global warming gases and noise pollution. These problems are exacerbated by traffic congestion. The analysis in the Working Paper suggests a threefold approach to address these problems: avoiding unnecessary transport; increasing the market share of more environmentally friendly transport modes, i.e. rail and other combined transport; and minimising the pollution caused by road vehicles through strict technical standards and improved traffic management.
Since then, the Commission has issued a White Paper "Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use" to fulfil one of the proposals in the Working Paper. This proposes a harmonised 'user pays' approach to paying for infrastructure use across all modes of transport to replace the patchwork of existing charging systems. The underlying principle is that charges levied for roads, ports, air traffic services and railways should be linked to marginal social costs. These are the variable costs which reflect the cost of an extra vehicle utilising the infrastructure, and include 'external' costs such as congestion, pollution and accidents. At present, the different charging systems present throughout the EU create significant competitive distortions between and within different modes of transport and between different member states and are not always related to the underlying costs. The proposed charging system would not attempt to impose a centralised charging scheme but would provide a framework within which member states would be free to set charging levels, making it possible to address specific problems effectively.
In the first phase of the creation of the charging system (1998-2000), member states would appoint transport experts to a committee whose aim would be to develop a charging framework. During the second phase (2001-2004), member states would implement their own systems on the basis of this EU-wide approach. The framework would then be reviewed to determine its effectiveness and to identify any improvements required.
Other proposals under the Working Paper requiring priority attention include measures concerning vehicle emissions, the quality of petrol and diesel fuels, and roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles. The vehicle emission and fuel quality proposals, which have just been adopted, have been discussed in greater detail in other issues of this Newsletter. In addition to these measures, the policy to encourage the use of more environmentally friendly modes of transport is reflected in proposals to develop the EU's railways and to ensure that inland waterways and short-sea shipping are made more commercially attractive.
