Brussels, 13 January 2022
A deal on new road charging rules for trucks to transition from time-based to distance-based charging was approved in the Transport and Tourism Committee on Thursday.
The rules agreed by Council and Parliament negotiators, led by EP rapporteur Giuseppe Ferrandino (S&D, IT), in June 2021 and confirmed by Council last November update the rules defining charges EU member states can impose on trucks and lorries using trans-European transport (TEN-T) network roads. The aim of this update is to move road charging from a time-based model to distance-based or an actual kilometres-driven system, to better reflect the polluter-pays and user-pays principles.
Transport MEPs secured that members states will phase out “vignettes” (time-based road charging) across the core TEN-T network from 2030 for heavy-duty vehicles (trucks, lorries and buses) and instead will start applying tolls (distance-based charges). However, member states will still be able to retain vignettes for a specific parts of this network, if they can prove that a new mode of charging would mean disproportionate relative to expected revenue.
MEPs ensured that three years after the entry into force of the agreed rules member states will report publicly on tolls and user charges levied on their territory, including information on the use of these revenues. For MEPs, it is important to make sure that the revenues generated from these charges contributes to sustainable transport, infrastructure and mobility.
The update also extends the scope of the rules to cover other vehicles, such as, buses, vans and passenger cars, and instructs to gradually set different road charging rates based on CO2 emissions or environmental performance.
More details on the outcome of the negotiations between EP and Council is available here.
Next steps
The deal on new rules was approved by Transport and Tourism Committee on Thursday by 30 votes to 16 and 3 abstentions. It now needs to be approved by the full House, scheduled to convene in February.