EU transport policy
Admission to the Occupation and Access to the Market
The European Commission, after consultation, has decided to update the rules governing admission to the occupation of road haulage operator and access to the international road haulage market.
Significantly the rules will change from directives, which allow member states flexibility in their interpretation, to regulations, which will be uniformly applied across the EU.
The proposals are divided into two separate regulations - ‘Access to the International Market’ which deals with cabotage and ‘Admission to the Occupation of Road Transport Operator’ that deals with financial standing, Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) requirements and good repute.
With regard to access to the international road haulage market, on 7 April 2008 the EU Transport Council expressed its support for European Commission proposals enabling foreign carriers to undertake up to three contracted domestic journeys within another member state over a maximum period of seven days before a return international leg. At present domestic journeys by a foreign vehicle, known as cabotage, need to be ad-hoc and unplanned. There was little support for the UK Government's opposition to the proposal. However draft regulations are currently going through the legislative process.