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International Road Transport Union Permanent Delegation to the EU

IRU

The IRU Permanent Delegation to the EU monitors and informs legislation affecting road transport.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Borja Giménez Larraz (Member of the European Parliament)

21 Jan 2026 · Priorities for the current transport files

Meeting with Jean-Louis Colson (Head of Unit Mobility and Transport)

8 Dec 2025 · Exchange of views on local passenger transport-on-demand (notably taxis)

Response to Delegated Regulation on effective and secure access to On-Board Diagnostic and Repair and Maintenance Information

2 Dec 2025

IRU welcomes the EC initiative to bridge the gap between manufacturers duty to grant access to OBD information to the independent operators and their obligation to ensure appropriate cybersecurity measures for data sharing. Safety of vehicles and cybersecurity of users is an essential aspect, and it should always come first. Vehicle manufacturers shall make detailed access rules for repairers, with a clear distinction of possible means of access. That access should be standardised, with strong safeguards to protect users from cybersecurity risks. Any access to in-vehicle data must not compromise privacy or expose users to cyber threats. The new rules must be regulated in accordance with the strictest legal requirements, establishing clear liability provisions in cases where a third party gains access to vehicle data via the on-board access. The new cybersecurity measures such as traceability, standardised secure access and authentication features are a positive addition to the legal text. Moreover, service providers in charge of repairs should receive the users permission to access the information, which is specific for the purpose. Vehicle data should not be used to deny or limit warranty claims unless there is demonstrable misuse or non-compliance with maintenance requirements requiring full transparency and consultation with the user. Users should be able to switch between different service providers of their choice without incurring excessive costs and being exposed to higher risks. Furthermore, they should be able to control who accesses their data, when this happens and for what purpose. A clear process for complaints and objection to unwanted data sharing should be introduced to strengthen the enforcement. Besides the cybersecurity concerns from the vehicle users perspective, this delegated act could bring some positive results for the transport operators. Improved access to information of high quality, matching the level of detail as is used by the manufacturer and the systems offered to their authorised partners, for independent operators should reduce the maintenance cost and shorten the repair time, helping transport operators to maintain their fleets. Addition of the newest technological developments makes the Regulation future-proof, facilitating transition to greener vehicles with more digital features. The changes anticipate technological progress, ensuring vehicles remain serviceable as systems become more digital and connected. This helps transport operators plan for long-term fleet management. Clear rules on data sharing prevent monopolies by manufacturers transport operators should be enabled to choose from a wider range of repair and maintenance providers, ensuring competitive pricing and service quality. If data must be shared for maintenance purposes or to meet legal obligations, this should occur under equal conditions for all parties (including independent workshops and the user).
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Meeting with Jens Gieseke (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

1 Dec 2025 · Roadworthiness-Package

Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport) and

17 Nov 2025 · Discussion on ongoing files affecting the road transport sector

Meeting with Claire Depre (Head of Unit Mobility and Transport)

13 Nov 2025 · Exchange of views on the position paper “Towards the modernisation of driver training and a European Commission proposal for the revision of the EU Driver Training Directive” which IRU issued on 21 October 2025

IRU Calls for Clearer Rules on Road Transport Funding Access

12 Nov 2025
Topic — Reform of EU budget rules covering performance monitoring and expenditure tracking post-2027.
Message — The organization requests clearer definitions of vehicle categories in funding rules and simplified access criteria. They want certainty about which transport modes and vehicles can receive funding and what criteria apply.12
Why — This would make funding more accessible to their SME members who lack resources for complex applications.3
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Road Transport Union Welcomes EU Competitiveness Fund for Decarbonisation

12 Nov 2025
Topic — EU budget proposals for post-2027 funding priorities supporting European competitiveness.
Message — The organization supports increased funding for decarbonisation and digitalisation, simplified procedures for SMEs, and funding for driver skills and parking infrastructure. They emphasize coordinating CEF and ECF funding streams to address driver shortages.123
Why — This would provide their SME members financial support and simplified access to decarbonisation funding.4
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Road transport industry urges EU to fund safe truck parking

29 Oct 2025
Topic — New EU regulation on long-term transport infrastructure funding for 2028-2034.
Message — The organization welcomes increased CEF funding but argues the proposal ignores a critical shortage of safe parking for professional drivers. They estimate the EU will lack 483,000 parking spaces by 2040, making the profession less attractive amid existing driver shortages.123
Why — This would address infrastructure needs critical to their members' operations and workforce recruitment.45
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Road transport industry urges EU to streamline military mobility cooperation

23 Oct 2025
Topic — EU regulation aims to harmonise national rules on military movement across Europe.
Message — IRU requests EU-wide threat-level definitions to trigger emergency measures, standardised social protocols for commercial operators supporting military deployment, and temporary override authority for transport rules during crises. They seek better alignment between civilian and military driving standards, mutual recognition of vehicle certifications, and priority funding for dual-use road infrastructure.123
Why — This would allow road transport companies to deploy vehicles and drivers for military operations without regulatory barriers.456
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Road transport industry urges VAT exemption for cross-border coach services

16 Oct 2025
Topic — EU revision of VAT rules for travel, tourism and passenger transport sectors.
Message — The organization requests EU-wide VAT exemption with full input credit for coach transport, matching treatment of maritime and air transport. They argue current fragmented rates create administrative burdens especially for small companies.12
Why — This would eliminate cross-border VAT filing requirements and reduce compliance costs for small operators.3
Impact — Member States lose VAT revenue from coach services currently taxed at standard rates.4
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Transport Union Calls CO2 Targets Unviable Without Infrastructure Support

10 Oct 2025
Topic — EU CO2 emission standards for new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
Message — IRU requests that emission reduction targets be aligned with enabling conditions including affordable vehicles, charging infrastructure, and grid capacity. They advocate for concurrent reviews every 2-3 years and technology-neutral approaches including carbon-neutral fuels.123
Why — This would give transport operators more time and flexibility to transition while avoiding costly infrastructure investments.45
Impact — Climate goals are undermined by delaying zero-emission vehicle adoption and allowing continued fossil fuel use.6
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Meeting with Peter Van Kemseke (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen)

3 Oct 2025 · Electrification of road freight

Meeting with Peter Van Kemseke (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen)

3 Oct 2025 · attached

Meeting with Kosma Złotowski (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Sept 2025 · New EU legislation in the road transport sector

Road Transport Union Calls for Visa Reforms to Address Driver Shortage

18 Sept 2025
Topic — EU strategy on visa policy for securing borders and managing migration.
Message — The organization requests streamlined visa procedures for professional drivers from third countries, harmonization of visa requirements across Member States, and reduced documentation burdens. They emphasize that 500,000 driver positions are currently unfilled in the EU, expected to reach over one million by 2026.123
Why — This would help fill critical driver shortages and reduce recruitment costs and delays.45
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Meeting with Matthieu Moulonguet (Cabinet of Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra)

18 Sept 2025 · Automotive sector and invitations to site visits and events

Meeting with Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Member of the European Parliament)

17 Sept 2025 · Current challenges in the road transport industry

Meeting with Jens Gieseke (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Sept 2025 · Austausch zu EU Politik

Road Transport Union Opposes Mandatory Zero-Emission Vehicle Targets

7 Sept 2025
Topic — The EU is consulting on setting minimum requirements for zero-emission corporate vehicles.
Message — The IRU opposes mandatory purchase quotas, arguing they cause irreversible damage to transport markets. They request financial incentives and infrastructure expansion to make zero-emission vehicles operationally viable.12
Why — Avoiding mandates prevents financial strain on SMEs and maintains their operational flexibility.3
Impact — Small subcontractors face bankruptcy if forced to adopt expensive electric vehicle technology.4
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Meeting with Piotr Müller (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

4 Sept 2025 · Evaluation of the Public Procurement Directives

Meeting with Apostolos Tzitzikostas (Commissioner) and

17 Jul 2025 · Corporate Fleets strategic dialogue

Response to Detailed specifications regarding functional requirements for eFTI platforms

7 Jul 2025

Please find the IRU contribution to this consultation attached. Marc Billiet IRU Associate Director - EU Goods Transport
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Meeting with Henrik Nielsen (Director Migration and Home Affairs) and

1 Jul 2025 · Entry/Exit System state of play and next steps

Meeting with Alexandr Vondra (Member of the European Parliament)

11 Jun 2025 · Corporate green fleet

Meeting with Edoardo Turano (Head of Unit Climate Action)

10 Jun 2025 · Freight transportation and its transition towards zero-emission mobility

Response to Policy agenda for cities

24 May 2025

As carriers of goods and passengers on roads, the commercial road transport sector has a big stake in urban transport and hence in the EU agenda. The strong environmental and social credentials of bus and coach transport make these collective modes essential in delivering the Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals. They are the backbone of sustainable mobility, providing access to safe, affordable and accessible journeys, particularly for vulnerable groups like children, older people and disabled persons. With cities as the starting point and/or destination of most commercial road transport journeys, operators are following closely the urban transport policies adopted. One obvious policy domain of concern relates to urban vehicle access regulations (UVARs). The proliferation of UVARs can no longer be considered a purely local issue. Their decentralised adoption has led to a diverse range of UVARs across Europe, making it increasingly difficult for road transport operators to understand these highly divergent measures and to plan journeys ahead due to the many different types of schemes, timelines, exemptions, and enforcement methods. UVARs inarguably have an impact on cross-border services & therefore the functioning of the single market. While the right to adopt an UVAR by local/metropolitan authorities is uncontested, there needs to be greater consideration of their impact on road transport services provision. There are many EU-level measures of a technological and standardisation nature - that could alleviate the difficulties experienced by road passenger & goods transport companies, including: Automatic recognition of vehicles & their performance class and harmonised vehicle registration systems. Requiring the consultation of representative stakeholders (goods and passenger transport) in the development on UVAR policy, by means of the SUMPs. Allowing exemptions where vehicle availability and the enabling conditions (eg, infrastructure & grid capability, incentives) are missing. Improve information about UVAR schemes. Besides UVARs, there are other measures adopted by cities that are creating challenges for cross-border transport operations, like the requirement to retrofit heavy-duty vehicles with specific road safety devices. IRU supports measures to improve road safety, however, their unilateral adoption is leading to a fragmented road transport system. Furthermore, many of these new urban-level policies and measures have come as a surprise to road transport operators, meaning that the current mechanisms in place to communicate such policies may not be working as intended. On the issue of the green transition, it is essential that cities integrate charging infrastructure into their urban transport strategies. Centrally located, dedicated charging facilities for coaches enable efficient operations & are a critical enabler for the widespread roll-out of zero-emission fleets. By planning for coach-specific charging hubs, cities can accelerate the transition to cleaner transport while maintaining the high passenger capacity & space efficiency that coaches provide. IRUs recommendations: To avoid further fragmentation of the road transport system & the consequent erection of single market barriers, it is imperative that the issue of harmonisation is part of the EUs agenda for cities. Recognising the role of UVARs in contributing to cleaner cities, & hence the EUs Green Deal, the EU should develop a policy on UVARs as part of the EU agenda for cities. The EU should make use of the various EU instruments (eg, TEN-T/Urban Nodes, SUMPs, AFIR) to work on issues like harmonisation, stakeholder consultation & impact assessment. The EU should establish & facilitate a structured dialogue between cities & businesses, building on the EGUM experience, particularly subgroup 2 which is facilitating public-private sector dialogue on access to cities by coaches and lorries.
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Meeting with Catalin Gheran (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu), Eva Schultz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu), Francesco Corti (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu)

14 May 2025 · Meeting on labour mobility

Meeting with Daniel Attard (Member of the European Parliament)

6 May 2025 · Regulatory legislations and Ongoing Political Discussions in the Haulage Industry

Meeting with Sérgio Gonçalves (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

10 Apr 2025 · Measures against Transport Operators that Facilitate Trafficking / Smuggling

Meeting with Kristian Schmidt (Director Mobility and Transport)

9 Apr 2025 · Exchange of views on various ongoing files in Road Transport

Meeting with Eva Schultz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Roxana Mînzatu)

7 Apr 2025 · Meeting on Automotive Action Plan and road transport workers’ working conditions

IRU Welcomes Extra-Heavy Lorry Sub-Groups But Seeks Broader Coverage

4 Apr 2025
Topic — New vehicle sub-groups for extra-heavy combination lorries under EU CO2 standards.
Message — IRU welcomes the new sub-groups for extra-heavy combination lorries but requests creation of two additional sub-groups (9-EHC and 10-EHC) to cover the full range of high-capacity vehicles above 60 tonnes used in combinations.12
Why — This would ensure efficiency benefits of all their high-capacity vehicle operations are reflected in compliance calculations.34
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Meeting with Maria Noichl (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

3 Apr 2025 · Animal transport

Meeting with Matthieu Moulonguet (Cabinet of Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra)

21 Mar 2025 · Automotive Action Plan and EU decarbonisation agenda

Meeting with Daniel Buda (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur)

20 Feb 2025 · Animal welfare during transport

Meeting with Jean-Louis Colson (Head of Unit Mobility and Transport)

12 Feb 2025 · Discussion on a weights and dimensions and the Eurovignette.

Meeting with Cynthia Ní Mhurchú (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Booking.com B.V. and

30 Jan 2025 · Package Travel Directive

Meeting with Kosma Złotowski (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Jan 2025 · Greening corporate fleets

Meeting with Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Member of the European Parliament) and Sixt SE

27 Jan 2025 · General exchange on current road transport topics

Meeting with Jens Gieseke (Member of the European Parliament) and Rheinmetall Group

24 Jan 2025 · Austausch zu EU Politik

Meeting with Anna Panagopoulou (Cabinet of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas)

16 Jan 2025 · Introductory meeting with representatives of IRU

Meeting with Ana Vasconcelos (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Transport and Environment (European Federation for Transport and Environment) and

2 Dec 2024 · Accounting of greenhouse gas emissions of transport services 2023/0266(COD)

Meeting with Hanna Gedin (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

21 Nov 2024 · Package travel directive

Meeting with Jan-Christoph Oetjen (Member of the European Parliament) and Daimler Truck AG and Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club e.V.

15 Oct 2024 · General exchange on current transitional challenges

Meeting with Daniel Attard (Member of the European Parliament)

15 Oct 2024 · Combined Transport Directive

Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

12 Sept 2024 · • Driving Licence Directive • Safe and secure Parking - CPC Directive 2022/2561 - ARIF - Digitalisation of transport documents - Greening of corporate fleets - Weight and Dimensions Directive - CountEmmissionsEU

Meeting with Daniel Attard (Member of the European Parliament)

30 Aug 2024 · Introductory Meeting

Meeting with Markus Ferber (Member of the European Parliament)

23 Jul 2024 · Legislative Agenda on Road Transport

Meeting with Andrey Novakov (Member of the European Parliament)

22 Jul 2024 · Policy priorities 2024-2029

Meeting with Caroline Nagtegaal (Member of the European Parliament) and IVECO GROUP N.V. and

16 Apr 2024 · Biomethane in road transport

Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

23 Mar 2024 · Meeting with ASMAP UA (hauliers association). Discussion topic - International road transport issues.

Road Transport Union Rejects More Complex EU Animal Transport Rules

6 Mar 2024
Topic — Revision of EU legislation on animal welfare during transport by road.
Message — IRU calls for a better and more applicable legal framework ensuring legal certainty. They seek improved compatibility between animal welfare rules and the road transport acquis. They demand keeping current surface space and height requirements which are sufficient.12
Why — Maintaining current space rules prevents a massive increase in the number of trucks.3
Impact — Farmers and traders would immediately lose access to many slaughterhouses under new caps.4
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Road transport body seeks flexible passenger rights for SMEs

6 Mar 2024
Topic — The European Commission is reviewing passenger rights for travel disruptions and multimodality.
Message — IRU requests that electronic reimbursement rules apply only to operators with existing digital capacity. They also seek the removal of mandatory caps on package holiday down payments.12
Why — This would protect small bus operators from significant administrative and liquidity costs.34
Impact — Travelers would face higher upfront holiday costs and assume more financial cancellation risks.56
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Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

6 Feb 2024 · - Driver shortage - Combined Transport Directive - Weights and Dimensions Directive

Meeting with Adina-Ioana Vălean (Commissioner) and

1 Feb 2024 · Impact of farmers protest in France on road transport operations

Meeting with Elzbieta Lukaniuk (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

16 Jan 2024 · Current road transport market developments, driver shortage and Mobility Package I implementation

Meeting with Elsi Katainen (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

9 Jan 2024 · Weights and dimensions directive

Response to Electronic Freight Transport Information (eFTI) common data set, data subsets and national provisions in scope

21 Dec 2023

Please find attached the IRU contribution to the consultation on draft eFTI Delegated Acts covering references to national law and regulatory information and the eFTI common data set and data subsets.
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Meeting with Elzbieta Lukaniuk (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean), Filip Alexandru Negreanu Arboreanu (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

28 Nov 2023 · Infrastructure ,Safe and secure parking initiative and standards Intermodal freight development, Driver shortage issues.

Response to Common procedures and rules for access by competent authorities to electronic freight transport information (eFTI)

21 Nov 2023

Please find the IRU contribution to to the European Commission consultation on the implementing regulation laying down common procedures and detailed rules for accessing and processing electronic freight transport information by competent authorities attached. For any further questions or information, please contact Marc Billiet, IRU Senior Advisor EU Goods Transport at marc.billiet@iru.org.
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Response to Count your transport emissions: CountEmissions EU

14 Nov 2023

IRU welcomes the introduction of a common EU methodology to calculate and disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Emissions accounting is a useful instrument to facilitate efforts made by commercial road transport operators to improve their environmental footprint and contribute to achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal and Fit for 55 package. The decision to base CountEmissions EU on ISO14083:2023 is positive, since a wide number of GHG emissions reporting methodologies are currently used in the EU. This will provide a uniform basis for the calculation and disclosure of GHG emission data for both passenger and freight transport services. Moreover, the ISO standard follows a well-to-wheel (WtW) approach, allowing for a holistic measurement of GHG emissions emitted by the vehicle, including emissions of the particular energy source used. CountEmissions EU is not mandatory for all entities providing transport services in the EU. However, the interrelation with other relevant EU legislation, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), should be monitored and assessed. Entities that fall under the scope of the CSRD may use the CountEmissions EU to collect information that is then included in their wider CSR reporting. Going beyond the approach and further strengthening the rules proposed by the EC should be avoided. The EU commercial road transport sector is composed of over one million transport companies, 80% of which are SMEs. In most cases, SMEs do not possess the necessary expertise or tools to collect data as well as to calculate and disclose their GHG emissions. A considerable number of road transport operators will therefore require support and facilitation measures, as well as mentoring on how to implement the common methodology. Several aspects of the CountEmissions EU proposal deserve more attention and need to be clarified - these include the verification procedure of output data, the relationship between a main contractor and a subcontractor, transport operations originating or ending in third countries, as well as the dates of establishment of the EU databases of default values for GHG emission intensity and GHG emission factors. Additional information can be found in the IRU Position paper attached.
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Meeting with Ciarán Cuffe (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

8 Nov 2023 · Weights and dimensions directive

Meeting with Achille Variati (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and European Transport Safety Council

1 Sept 2023 · Driving licence directive

Response to Revision of the Visa Suspension Mechanism

29 Aug 2023

Opened by the European Commission (EC), the reassessment and improvement of the EU visa suspension mechanism should consider the issuance of visas as a question of national security but also take into account international transport operation and the important time, costs and practical impediments relates to professional truck drivers visas. Unlike seafarers and aircrews, professional truck drivers do not benefit from global arrangements for visas issuance to undertake international transport operations, and visa issuance remains largely a subject for bilateral agreements. Indeed, several countries have tried to address the issue through regional agreements and international organisations have tried to facilitate visa issuance for professional road vehicle drivers. In spite of this, there is still no specific visa category for vehicle drivers in many countries and in most countries the reality is that truck drivers have to go through time consuming and complicated procedures to apply for visas and are generally granted only a single entry visa each time or short term visa even though these drivers had many Schengen visas before. European Union (EU) Member States composing the Schengen Area are some of the most important trade partner for some third countries, with most of this trade being carried out by EU road operators. For instance, 50% of exports from Turkey to the EU are being carried out by EU-capital road companies operating in Turkey. Professional drivers from third countries, including from Iran and Turkey are currently facing challenges to obtain visas from Schengen country embassies. Indeed, embassies are currently applying different visa procedures, with different set of documents required and with various and high duration of processes, going up to one year in some instances. These restrictions affects both the movement of drivers and their vehicles, ultimately causing, costly supply chain insufficiencies. It is therefore crucial to ensure that professional truck drivers visa processes are being carried out in the most reliable and effective way, to ensure the continuation of trade between third countries and the EU without interruption. IRU calls on the European Commission (EC) : - the granting of special status for professional drivers requiring facilitated visa treatment; - the delivery of long-term (minimum one year) multi-entry visas; - the increment of duration of stay from 180 days to 240 days in a year for professional drivers; - the simplification of the visa application procedure; and - the unlimited use of issued visas (regarding time or routes). Apart from these general improvements the application procedures should also be simplified and IRU calls on the EC to ensure that: - the requirement of invitation and confirmation letter (the common list of Supporting Documents is expected to be applied by all EU embassies) is removed and - the overall number of visa application documents is reduced, - to issue multi-entry long-term visas to professional drivers, introducing digital visas (e-visas). The digitalisation of visa process would provide increased security and transparency for visa applicants. Professional drivers are crucial to ensure the sustainability of the EU economy, therefore, the IRU calls on the EC to consider professional drivers as an "urgent, priority" group during visa evaluations, as well as establish a Single Visa Center for professional truck drivers, on behalf of all Schengen member states and work on the digitalisation of visa process and the introduction of e-Visa. IRU welcomes the initiative of the EC and is happy to engage further to develop necessary approaches to the obtention of visas that are suitable to professional truck drivers and meeting the objectives set forward by the EC .
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IRU urges flexible driving rules for EU coach tourism

19 Jul 2023
Topic — This initiative addresses specific needs of the bus and coach sector regarding working time.
Message — The IRU proposes splitting the mandatory 45-minute break into three shorter segments. They also seek to postpone weekly rest periods and daily rest starts to accommodate leisure travel schedules.12
Why — Increased flexibility would help operators manage the driver shortage and peak seasonal demand more effectively.3
Impact — Private car travel loses market share as coaches become a more competitive and attractive option.4
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Meeting with Joan Canton (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

3 Jul 2023 · Corporate fleet initiative, transition of the automotive sector

Response to Revision of the specifications for EU-wide Multimodal Travel Information Services (Delegated Regulation 2017/1926)

26 Jun 2023

IRU welcomes the revision of the Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1926, as it does not mandate the sharing of data types listed in the annex to this document free of charge. Access to data via national access points (NAPs) may be subject to licence agreements or other arrangements. NAPs are responsible for providing discovery services that allow stakeholders to find out which data is accessible and the terms and conditions for its reuse. However, IRU cautions against imposing strict technical requirements within a short timeframe. Meeting these requirements may present challenges in terms of the necessary technology and infrastructure associated with providing dynamic data. If the concerns raised below are properly addressed, the MMTIS Delegated Regulation presents a genuine opportunity to improve operational efficiency, reduce congestion, and enhance customer satisfaction. By leveraging predictive analytics with historical data, operators can optimise their operations and mitigate the impact of delays. Moreover, this will make the services more appealing to consumers and facilitate the transition towards collective mobility. Embracing the potential of the MMTIS Delegated Regulation can lead to significant benefits in terms of operational effectiveness and customer experience.
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Road transport group IRU urges technology-neutral CO2 standards

17 May 2023
Topic — The consultation reviews CO2 emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles.
Message — The IRU requests technology-neutral rules including hydrogen, electric, and combustion engines using renewable fuels. They propose a voluntary crediting system and specific exemptions for specialized heavy-duty vehicles.123
Why — This would allow transport operators to avoid high costs and maintain operational flexibility.45
Impact — Environmental groups lose as the proposal risks slowing the transition to zero-emission road transport.6
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Meeting with Adina-Ioana Vălean (Commissioner) and

17 May 2023 · transport policies

Meeting with Karima Delli (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Samaritan International

4 May 2023 · Driving Licence Directive

Meeting with Jens Gieseke (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Deutsche Bahn AG

3 May 2023 · Verkehrs- und Umweltpolitik

Meeting with René Repasi (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

27 Apr 2023 · Binnenmarktnotfallinstrument/ Single Market Emergency Instrument (SMEI) - Staff Level

Meeting with Jens Gieseke (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Verband für Schiffbau und Meerestechnik e.V.

17 Apr 2023 · Verkehrspolitik

Meeting with Alexandr Vondra (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur) and Transport and Environment (European Federation for Transport and Environment) and

21 Mar 2023 · EURO 7

Meeting with Ismail Ertug (Member of the European Parliament)

28 Feb 2023 · The revision of the EU driving licence directive

Meeting with Ciarán Cuffe (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Feb 2023 · Truck driver shortages and other road transport issues

Meeting with David Casa (Member of the European Parliament)

31 Jan 2023 · The revision of the EU driving licence directive, The revision of the driving and rest time rules for professional drivers

Meeting with Nicolas Schmit (Commissioner) and

23 Jan 2023 · Labour shortages in the transport sector, drivers training, European Year of Skills, minimum wages, the posting of workers, Social Dialogue initiative

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

12 Jan 2023 · CO2 standards trucks and buses

Meeting with Jakop G. Dalunde (Member of the European Parliament)

11 Jan 2023 · Transport Policy (Staff level)

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and FuelsEurope and

20 Dec 2022 · CO2 standards trucks and buses

Meeting with Ciarán Cuffe (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Dec 2022 · (Staff level) Road haulage issues and decarbonisation

Response to Creation of the Common European Mobility Data Space

30 Nov 2022

On behalf of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), please find attached our feedback to the call for evidence on the upcoming initiative on Transport data creating a common European mobility data space.
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Meeting with Ismail Ertug (Member of the European Parliament)

11 Oct 2022 · Better working conditions for truck drivers

Meeting with Alin Mituța (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur) and Business Software Alliance

19 Sept 2022 · Data Act

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

5 Sept 2022 · Social issues and mobility package

Response to Type approval of motor vehicles regarding access to in-vehicle generated data

2 Aug 2022

On behalf of the International Road Transport Union (IRU), please find attached our feedback to the call for evidence on the upcoming initiative on access to vehicle data, functions and resources.
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Meeting with Barbara Thaler (Member of the European Parliament, Rapporteur for opinion) and European Association of Mining Industries, Metal Ores & Industrial Minerals

21 Jun 2022 · RED

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

1 Jun 2022 · Fit for 55: The Road Ahead": keynote on decarbonising road transport

IRU urges binding EU framework for transport data transparency

13 May 2022
Topic — New EU legislation aiming to facilitate data access and ensure fair data value allocation.
Message — The IRU requests a binding legal framework to guarantee transport operators access to generated data. They insist on explicit consent for data re-use and clearer rules for government data requests.12
Why — These measures would prevent data monopolies and ensure operators are compensated for providing their data.3
Impact — Large online platforms acting as gatekeepers would lose their exclusive control over aggregated business data.4
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IRU Calls for Fuel-Neutral Approach to Heavy-Duty Decarbonisation

14 Mar 2022
Topic — The European Commission is revising CO2 emission performance standards for heavy-duty vehicles.
Message — IRU advocates for a technology-neutral approach that includes carbon-neutral fuels alongside electric vehicles. They argue standards should not force all new vehicles to be zero-emission by a specific date. They also want incentives for energy-saving technologies like aerodynamic trailers.123
Why — This would protect transport operators from high costs and lost cargo capacity.45
Impact — Aviation and maritime sectors might lose access to limited renewable fuel supplies.6
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Response to Evaluation and revision of the Weights and Dimensions Directive

18 Feb 2022

The IRU contribution to the European Commission call for evidence on weights and dimensions can be found in the attached document. The IRU contact person for this file is Marc Billiet, Senior Adviser EU Goods Transport (marc.billiet@iru.org)
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Response to REGULATION on measures against transport operators in relation to illegal entry into the territory of the European Union

28 Jan 2022

The IRU contribution to the consultation on the European Commission proposal for a regulation on measures against transport operators who engage in or facilitate people trafficking or migrant smuggling can be found in the attached document. The contact person for this file at IRU is Marc Billiet, Senior Adviser EU Goods Transport (marc.billiet@iru.org).
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Response to EU standards for safe and secure parkings

24 Jan 2022

IRU, the voice of the commercial road transport sector, welcomes the adoption of the delegated regulation supplementing Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the establishment of standards detailing the level of service and security of safe and secure parking areas and to the procedures for their certification. The content of the delegated regulation contains important elements which derive from the EU-funded study on safe and secure parking places for trucks, a study in which IRU participated and provided input to. IRU, together with the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), has repeatedly called for dedicated EU support and priority funding for the creation of a genuine network of safe and secure truck parking areas (SSTPAs) in Europe. The adoption of the delegated regulation is a step in the right direction as professional drivers are road transport’s main asset.
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Response to Better protection for passengers and their rights

13 Jan 2022

IRU considers that the current provisions under Regulation (EU) No 181/2011 concerning the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport are proportionate and sufficient to ensure that the rights of passengers are protected. IRU would like to bring to your attention a set of key principles for bus and coach operators which should be taken into account at all stages when analysing and contemplating any further legislation in this field: - Principle 1. Legislation covering the rights of passengers travelling by bus and coach must take into account the specific nature and limitations of the sector - Principle 2. The scope of the Regulation should be limited to commercial intercity regular lines - Principle 3. Obligations should be set in careful consideration of those in control of the passengers’ comfort or distress - Principle 4. No liability for delay at arrival - Principle 5. The regulation on passengers’ rights should concern the transport service - Principle 6. The impact of digitalisation on passengers’ rights should be considered - Principle 7. Better regulation COVID-19 – IRU Response to European Commission re. the Level of Activity in Road Passenger Transport and Rights of Passenger in Bus and Coach Transport While passenger transport companies remain mobilised to help the world keep moving, SMEs, which represent the majority of companies are on the brink of bankruptcy, with severe cash flow problems being reported. To ensure the survival of passenger transport services during COVID-19, immediate financial support measures are therefore needed. In addition, the operators are equally in need for greater flexibility in terms of bus and coach passenger rights obligations. As the European Commission is in the process of revising the Guidelines on Passenger Rights, the following also needs to be considered to ensure that private operators in the bus and coach sector are still around after COVID-19: • Long-distance bus and coach tourism services should be recognised as essential in facilitating the mobility of the largest possible numbers of people by providing them an affordable, accessible and sustainable alternative. The continuation of these services once the situation stabilises is in the mutual interest of the operators and passengers, as the latter will preserve the freedom of choice when it comes to travel. • There needs to be equal treatment of long-distance bus, coach tourism, incl., package travel services and other modes of travel in the specific case of refunds/voucher redemption. From a passenger standpoint, there should not be any difference when it comes to the application of the passenger rights regulations and any compensation mechanism adopted therein should equally be applicable to all modes of transport. The principle of fairness should apply and any discrimination based on the mode of transport will be considered unreasonable to passengers. IRU will continue the dialogue with the European Commission on this important issue. See attachment to read more about the Principles.
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Response to Count your transport emissions: CountEmissions EU

17 Dec 2021

As the world’s road transport organisation, IRU represents nearly 1 million road transport companies in Europe. IRU is in favour of a harmonised approach in carbon measuring and counting of road and multimodal transport and logistics operations but would prefer this to be agreed upon by market players, and not imposed by the EU Institutions through legislation. IRU notes that any solution should not lead to additional burden for road transport companies and should be easily accessible and usable by companies of any size, including the SMEs. IRU is available to discuss with the European Commission and industry stakeholders to find suitable solutions.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

18 Nov 2021 · Recent developments in trucking

Response to Updating the list of infringements which may lead to the loss of good repute by the road transport operator

2 Nov 2021

IRU welcomes the proposal to update Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/403, as regards the new serious infringements of the Union rules, which may lead to the loss of good repute, and which have been introduced by the entry into force of the Mobility Package 1 rules. Atatched is IRU's full submission. In addition, it is proposed that in a future joint exercise (EC, Member States, social partners, and enforcers) a transparent system of pre-defined criteria is worked out, to define the gravity/seriousness of an infringement, thus ensuring transparency, fairness and legal certainty in appraising the gravity/seriousness of infringements and their implications for the good repute of the transport undertaking or the transport manager. In addition, it might be worthwhile considering, in Annexe II, to work out a more precise mechanism to re-evaluate serious infringements (SI) and very serious infringements (VSI), so that those operators and drivers with occasional and unintentional infringements could be clearly distinguished from those with intentional and repeated infringements.
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Response to Common risk rating formula for road transport undertakings

18 Oct 2021

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) welcomes the EC proposal for a common risk rating formula, aiming at more efficient and targeted controls, to mobilise increasingly scarce enforcement resources and focus on addressing high risk companies. Indeed, intelligence-led and targeted controls, based on a harmonised risk rating systems and procedures (and not just a common formula) across Europe, have the potential to reduce the number of inefficient checks, both at the roadside and at premises, bearing also in mind that the large majority of companies are low-abiding and essentially “clean” operators, whilst focusing on heavy and frequent offenders. However, the IRU believes that these objectives have to be further detailed in order to make them increasingly useful and operational on the ground. In this respect, the divergent levels of controls and coverage of controls, as well as the very different control cultures and in particular procedures, applied by the individual Member States must be addressed, to make the systems comparable and fairer for all. The same is true for the correct maintenance and updating of companies’ infringement records, including with infringements committed abroad, but also clean checks: correctly registering and reporting clean checks at the roadside, including abroad, and at premises, should be an essential feature of any national risk rating system. Equal treatment of operators engaged in domestic and international transport has to be guaranteed, as well as between for-hire and own account operators. The system must ensure fair and equal treatment of large companies, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and micro-enterprises. It has to take into account also those companies, which might not be subject to control for relatively long periods. The IRU believes that further testing of the common formula is needed, including by the competent enforcement authorities, to ensure the highest possible amount of alignment between national systems. The IRU urges, therefore, the European Commission services to take the necessary extra time, possibly 1-2 months, to test the formula in real situations, with real infringement records of real companies from a selection of representative Member States. The IRU is ready and willing to partner with the EC services and the relevant enforcement authorities, to carry out such tests.
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Response to Contingency plan for transport

28 Sept 2021

IRU welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the European Commission (EC) roadmap that will ensure the required resilience is in place for smooth functioning of the EU mobility and supply chains and to withstand any external or internal shocks. In the event of a crisis, the `EU crisis manual`, should take into account the following to mitigate any negative impacts on the transport sector, passengers and the internal market: - Green Lanes: Establish green lanes for trucks at all borders, backed by policies and procedures that prevent additional and systematic stopping of trucks at all borders. This should include at the core of the green lane concept, `that there be no quarantine or mandatory testing for professional drivers; and in the case of any checks, waiting time at the border should not exceed 15mins. A similar green lane concept should be established for passenger transport, especially, when providing repatriation services and carrying essential workers. In addition, establish a centralised EU Information hub and ensure full coverage of EU internal and external border crossing points by the Galileo Green Lanes’ app, with timely and free of charge information to operators and authorities. When it comes to enforcement, digital enforcement should be the way forward. - Flexibility: Allow for maximum flexibility on the interpretation of driving rules, driving restrictions and tolerance measures to prolong the validity of expired control documents including visas, certificates, and licences. When it comes to exams, distance-based training and/or online exams need to be considered as an alternate during the crisis period. - Collective Urban transport: Public transport and taxi services, should be untouched during the crisis as they remain the backbone of urban mobility. Prioritise collective urban passenger transport, particularly for essential workers, with appropriate health-protective measures in place. - Essential workers: Designate road transport workers as essential workers, by giving them priority access to vaccination and medical checks; by giving proper protection material like the disinfection equipment; and by giving access to rest facilities at restaurants and sites, which have not yet been made sufficiently available during the COVID-19 pandemic. - Financial measures: Create an EU framework that enables i) the provision of direct cash grants to road transport companies, as temporary aid; ii) the extension of payment deadlines for loan repayments and lease instalments and/or temporarily facilitate to reduce or waive the following: insurance premiums, taxes, charges and duties including corporate taxes, social contributions and fuel tax, especially, for non-operational vehicles due to halted goods and passenger services; and iii) the set-up financial support programmes for temporarily unemployed road transport workers and facilitate reintegration back into the transport workforce of skilled people made unemployed due to the crisis. The `EU crisis manual` should facilitate better coordination between the Member States across the EU to avoid any confusion for operators and create tools that provide necessary financial support to transport companies that cannot easily cope with external shocks such as the economic impacts of Covid-19. The harmonisation/coordination along with financial support is important to maintain a competitive and efficient EU transport landscape.
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Response to Revision of the Directive on Driving Licences

17 May 2021

IRU supports the revision of the EU Driving Licence Directive revision and submits proposals, including to adapt minimum age of professional drivers Background Driver shortage has been plaguing the road transport industry for a number of years. Yet, today driver shortage has transformed into a genuine crisis, threatening the functioning of supply and collective mobility and travel chains. The pandemic has only partially alleviated the shortage of drivers, yet it is also likely to contribute to its further exacerbation in a medium term, bearing in mind the departure of a number of skilled aged drivers from the profession during the pandemic. One of the main barriers for the road transport industry to improve its capacity to recruit young people is the currently established, by law, minimum age for professional drivers, which in many cases creates an unsurmountable gap between school and wheel. Adapting professional drivers’ minimum age during a future revision of the Driving Licence Directive, will unlock the industry potential to rejuvenate the rapidly aging driver’s population, whilst at the same time contributing to considerably reducing youth unemployment (IRU leaflet attached). Road safety has always been a priority for road transport operators. Yet, the industry opposes the automatic and unfounded association of young professional drivers with an inferior safety record. On the contrary, thanks to the mandatory extensive initial training and regular retraining they receive and the continuous in-company coaching, young professional drivers are usually as safe as other drivers’ age categories. In fact, according to data available in the CARE database, the accident rate is higher in countries where the minimum age is 21 than in those where the minimum age is 18. IRU proposals IRU’s core proposals for the upcoming revision of the EU Driving Licence Directive can therefore be summarised as follows: • Clarify fully and unambiguously, including within the future revised Driving Licence Directive, the conditions under which 18-year-old professional truck drivers can drive freight transport vehicles in both national and international traffic. • Remove distance limitations and align minimum driver ages for bus and coach drivers with those applicable to truck drivers (18 years). • Reduce the minimum age for trained young professional road freight transport drivers to 17 on the condition that they are duly accompanied by a competent and experienced professional driver. • Enable 17-year-olds to start vocational training as professional truck drivers so that they can take the exam and begin driving as soon as they turn 18. • Create a genuine D1 driving licence allowing drivers to drive passenger transport vehicles of 23+1 seats (currently 16+1). • Adapt the EU driving licence categories A and AM to include electric cargo bikes and small electric delivery vans, which are increasingly used in green urban delivery. • Adopt an EU list of third countries for which the official driver CPCs are recognised as meeting EU professional driver training standards. Should it not be possible to establish an EU list, allow EU Member States to have the flexibility to draw up such lists at national level. • Enable road transport companies to access available public/official databases providing information on temporary or definitive loss/withdrawal of professional driving licences so that they can verify at all times the validity of their own drivers’ driving licences.
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Meeting with Helena Hinto (Cabinet of Commissioner Kadri Simson), Laure Chapuis (Cabinet of Commissioner Kadri Simson) and

30 Apr 2021 · To discuss priorities in climate policy and carbon emission reduction in the mobility sector.

Meeting with Filip Alexandru Negreanu Arboreanu (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean) and FuelsEurope and

23 Mar 2021 · Renewable fuels to climate neutrality and economic growth

Meeting with Adina-Ioana Vălean (Commissioner)

15 Mar 2021 · Call to discuss the latest developments related to road transport such as the green lanes and testing for drivers.

IRU calls for specific rest rules for coach drivers

18 Feb 2021
Topic — This consultation addresses driving and rest time rules for the passenger transport sector.
Message — The organization requests specific rule changes for drivers in occasional passenger transport. They argue current rules fail to distinguish between goods and passenger services.12
Why — Specific rules would improve profit margins and lower costs for small transport businesses.3
Impact — Rigid rules reduce industry competitiveness and prevent the delivery of high-quality passenger services.4
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Meeting with Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

8 Jan 2021 · Digital Markets Act. B2B data sharing

Response to Digitalisation of visa procedures

28 Dec 2020

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is the global organisation, representing the interests of road transport operators (bus, coach, trucks, and taxis) worldwide, including in the European Union. The road transport industry would very much welcome an ambitious digitalisation of EU’s visas and visa procedures, to resolutely facilitate visa procedures for professional drivers, since visas are an essential element for road transport companies and their drivers (and in general for trade and tourism and the mobility and supply chain), enabling them to offer their services internationally. We consider the European Commission analysis precise and to the point. Regarding the proposed options, we would favour option 4 and even potentially option 5, but in the latter case always with the possibility for a transitional period, to ensure a smooth transition from the paper to the digital solution. Regarding the proposed alternatives for technical sub-options, we strongly support the creation of a central hub, with a notification, containing a digitally signed bar code, and the digitalisation of all types of visas. As already indicated in discussions with the competent European Commission (EC) services, the road transport industry would be willing to be among the first sectors participating in a potential European Commission-led pilot project for e-visas for professional drivers. For the road transport industry, it is of paramount importance that a potential future EU e-visa application procedure contains all the facilities of a modern electronic system, such as a multilingual portal, automatic confirmations, as well as an alert system and overview of the progress of the procedure for applicants. In some cases (i.e. as per the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 1.c of the EU - Russian Federation Agreement on Visa Facilitation), the representative road transport associations have been offered a special status and role of officially recognised intermediaries for their member companies and their drivers, in submitting visa applications for their members. Such a system has proven its efficiency and facilitation potential, and must be retained and recognised, as an option in the future EU e-visas regime.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

20 Oct 2020 · IRU EU Conference: speech on digital transport

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport) and European Transport Workers' Federation

19 Oct 2020 · Key issues for road transport sector

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President)

28 Sept 2020 · Road Transport in the European Green Deal

Meeting with Elzbieta Lukaniuk (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

28 Sept 2020 · Meeting to present the latest developments.

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

11 Sept 2020 · Road transport in the European Green Deal

Response to Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy

10 Aug 2020

As the voice of the commercial road transport sector, IRU shares the objectives of the European Commission (EC) to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and to harness digital technologies to make mobility and road transport smart as well as sustainable. EU takeaways from COVID-19: The future EU Strategy on Sustainable and Smart Mobility should learn from the crisis, as commercial road transport is and will continue to be the backbone of mobility and logistics, and as such, should always remain at the centre of policy decisions. Lessons learnt from the past: All freight transport modes should be used to establish a resource-efficient and sustainable EU goods transport network. IRU therefore calls for abandoning the forced modal shift policy and putting a co-modality approach at the heart of all EU transport policy with the objective to increase the efficiency and capacity of every mode of transport to connect businesses and markets. The EC strategy should set out the principles and prescribe the main ways to achieve the EU’s fundamental objectives, such as: Decarbonisation: The future decarbonisation of the road transport sector calls for a holistic approach setting out solid and realistic pillars including: - Boosting operational efficiency, through measures such as improving load factor optimisation, digitalisation and greater use of collaborative transport platforms (CO2 savings of 10%). - Eco-driver training. - Increasing the use of alternative fuels, including greater blends of low-carbon fuels in conventional engines, and shifting to new powertrain solutions where the business case exists. In the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive, IRU is calling for a high carbon price of 200,-+ and non-discriminatory road user charging for any alternative to diesel. IRU does not support the exclusive deployment of zero emission tailpipe technologies, which effectively means battery electric vehicles and would exclude important contributors to climate protection such as biomethane or HVO or synthetic fuels. - Improving fuel efficiency, engine efficiency improvements, waste-heat recovery and improved aerodynamics. - High capacity vehicles: IRU calls for a higher maximum authorized weight of at least 44 tonnes for cross-border operations with standard vehicle combinations. In addition, establish an EU legal framework which aligns the existing national rules and conditions for the use of such vehicle combination with a higher capacity than the standard ones in order to facilitate the mutual recognition of vehicle standards and their cross-border use. This could bring a reduction of the number of truck combinations on European roads by 30% (or over 2 million) and will also mean less CO2 emissions. For example, a truck of 25`25 reduces CO2 emissions by 25% and additional max authorised weight can decrease it up to 40%. Digitalisation & data: IRU calls on a more precise and effective definition of platform responsibility under future EU legislation governing online business services. Equally, IRU calls for an EU legal framework which clarifies data governance in the transport sector, especially, in B2B scenario, including the collection, storage, privacy, sharing, use, and access of business generated data. The overarching principle should remain the voluntary provision of data. As with any other data generator, road transport operators should be able to decide and negotiate to what extent and under what conditions they will share/open their data. An adequate legal framework can promote data trust and encourage a commercial win-win situation between data generators and data aggregators.
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Road transport group urges EU focus on hydrogen for trucks

8 Jun 2020
Topic — The EU consultation explores clean hydrogen's role in decarbonizing the economy by 2050.
Message — The IRU advocates for hydrogen as the primary decarbonization solution for long-haul heavy vehicles. They urge the EU to invest in refueling infrastructure and maintain support for biofuels. Regulatory stability must guide new CO2 reduction standards.123
Why — Hydrogen adoption avoids high investment costs and range limitations found in battery-electric systems.45
Impact — Battery manufacturers lose market share in the heavy-duty sector due to weight and payload constraints.6
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Response to Revision of the Energy Tax Directive

31 Mar 2020

IRU POLICY ELEMENTS FOR AN UPDATED IRU POSITION ON THE EU ENERGY TAXATION DIRECTIVE • The European commercial road transport sector is committed to decarbonisation and energy transition. If the role of the ETD in the context of the European Green Deal is to contribute to reducing the CO2 emissions of transport, its guiding principle should be to enable the uptake of efficient and affordable low-carbon fuels and vehicles. • Any tax regime should enable and encourage investments. As such, IRU would welcome a switch of the tax burden from the energy content of the various fuels to a new formulation based on the energy content and the CO2 price, as long as the resulting tax increase on fossil fuels does not to discourage investments, remains gradual and proportionate, and is accompanied by support measures and incentives for the purchase and use of efficient and affordable low-carbon alternative vehicles. • IRU calls for a high CO2 price to: - Promote green fleets with renewable and synthetics fuels. - Support the use of improved fuels in existing fleets. • To efficiently realize the uptake of low-carbon alternative fleets in the commercial road transport sector, the ETD will have to be accompanied by: - Financial support for the purchase of low-carbon vehicles, to be programmed and budgeted for at the EU and national levels. - The implementation and financing of the Directive on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure (DAFI), budgeted for at the EU and national levels. • In the ETD, the treatment of fuels used by the commercial road transport sector should reflect the fact that different fuels offer different optimal solutions depending on the market segments targeted. • Other taxation and charging frameworks, such as the Eurovignette Directive, should be used to support the same objective and follow the same principles as the ETD, to avoid cases of double taxation. Parallel measures should be encouraged to reduce fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and the number of vehicle-kilometres driven.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

25 Mar 2020 · Discussion on freight transport and COVID-19 crisis

Meeting with Adina-Ioana Vălean (Commissioner) and

17 Mar 2020 · Road transport

Meeting with Elzbieta Lukaniuk (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

13 Mar 2020 · on EC representation and message for Conference on Fair Data on 10 June.

Response to Climate Law

5 Feb 2020

The European Green Deal and the Road map for a future Climate Law – IRU’s reaction IRU welcomes the European Green Deal initiative aimed at making Europe climate neutral by 2050, including the European Commission’s decision to draft a road map for a future Climate Law. As an essential service sector responsible for driving economic prosperity and providing vital connectivity to peripheral regions, the road transport industry recognize the important role it has to play in European decarbonisation efforts and remains fully committed to moving towards a low-carbon future. It stands ready to take all the necessary steps required to drive further decarbonisation in road transport, including by investing in vehicles with fuel efficient technologies to advance sustainability. The road transport sector pledges to boost the uptake of alternative and renewable fuels and new powertrain concepts, where those alternative options are technologically and commercially viable. Transport operators themselves have also committed to promoting higher levels of eco-driver training and further use of driver assistance and ITS systems, and will continue to optimize their respective operational measures. While the road transport industry remains committed to reaching the climate-neutral objective, it cannot solve all the challenges ahead nor meet the Paris Agreement targets alone. The success of the Green Deal initiative will therefore depend on the adoption of an integrated approach across all sectors and modes. Steps will also be required to spread the cost burden of the initiative across all parties of the supply chain including consumers, so that it does not fall solely to transport operators to absorb the costs. The first European Climate Law For commercial road transport operators, the future Climate Law should present new opportunities to help Europe on its path towards sustainable and inclusive growth, as long as any related policies entail smarter rather than reduced road transport. IRU would like to promote the introduction of a WtW approach in the next revision for the CO2 HDV Regulation; also IRU would like to promote the cross boarder use and rapid introduction of longer vehicles (25,25) and increasing its weight to 44t as the quickest gain to reduce CO2 emissions (>30%) and congestion (2 instead of 3 trucks means 2,4 million vehicles less on the road). When it comes to updating the CO2 performance standards for vehicles, it will be essential to set realistic targets for commercial vehicles. The aim to reduce trucks’ CO2 emissions must ultimately respect commercial and technological viabilities and must bear in mind that the majority of truck purchasers face very low profit margins. Targets must also be supported by an enabling legislative framework, including sufficient refueling and recharging infrastructure. IRU suggests that the role of low-carbon alternative fuels, including liquid, gaseous synthetic and bio fuels, should be considered within the framework of the next revision of EU vehicle CO2 performance legislation along with the role of high capacity vehicles. Wider use of passenger transport should be promoted as a measure in itself to decarbonise road transport. In fact, a shift from private car use to collective transport is one of the most effective ways to decarbonise road transport. Commercial road passenger transport is the only mode that can compete with private car use in terms of offering a door-to-door service with a high degree of flexibility. At the same time as reducing CO2 emissions, this trend also helps in decreasing congestion and in increasing road safety and connectivity in and between communities. Find out more about this topic: IRU’s Vision for decarbonising commercial road transport leading up to 2050 IRU’s Commercial Vehicle of the Future road map
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Meeting with Elzbieta Lukaniuk (Cabinet of Commissioner Adina Vălean)

29 Jan 2020 · Transports

Response to European Partnership for Safe and Automated Road Transport

27 Aug 2019

IRU, the world road transport organisation, welcomes the progress made towards an agreement for the next framework programme Horizon Europe. The European Partnership for Safe and Automated Road Transport paves the way for enhanced cooperation across the road transport sector. IRU believes that Option 1 represents a solid starting point as it can be established in a quicker and more efficient way. Nonetheless, Option 2 guarantees consistency and would enable a coordinated legislative approach. As a result, IRU suggests to begin by implementing a Co-programmed European Partnership which would then incorporate fundamental elements of an Institutionalised partnership (based on Article 187 TFEU). All relevant stakeholders should be consulted and included in the decision-making process in order for CCAM to be a reality. Clear objectives of the partnership and key performance indicators will narrow down the scope of the proposed Partnership in order to achieve concrete and tangible results. The road transport industry embraces innovation and is in favour of a transition which allows for the safe, secure and sustainable operation of autonomous vehicles. It is evident that automated commercial vehicles will have certain advantages such as improving road safety, increasing transport efficiency, decreasing transport costs, reducing emissions and have potential to bridge the gap in driver shortage by making the job of the driver more attractive. Despite this, the transition to CCAM is also expected to trigger potential impacts resulting in jobs shifting increasingly away from driving to service-based jobs, and job losses. In addition, challenges will emerge related to acceptability, in particular by passengers and other road users. Data security and data ownership should also be addressed, including questions related to data protection both for businesses, owning valuable customer data bases, and customers themselves. Moreover, with higher levels of automation, the balance of liability will shift from driver liability to owner/product liability, ultimately leading to complete liability resting with vehicle manufactures and technology providers. Therefore, governments, insurance companies and technology providers need to evolve existing liability laws in order to provide legal certainly and identify appropriate solutions for damage and injury. Transport operators should be consulted and made aware of the novelties, changes of the vehicles’ functionalities and behaviour whenever a software update takes place. The European Partnership for Safe and Automated Road Transport should clearly outline how transport operators will be guided throughout the transition to higher levels of automation. Particular attention should be paid towards SMEs by allowing them to fairly compete with larger players. Moreover, the participation of commercial road transport operators should be guaranteed in real-world testing situations. For example, commercial road transport operators should be included in truck platooning pilots in order to assess the benefits and limitations of emerging vehicle technologies. At the moment, there is insufficient collaboration and exchange of R&I initiatives’ results that is penalising the entire road transport sector. IRU will continue to engage with relevant partners and stakeholders in order to ensure an efficient and safe deployment of CCAM on European roads.
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Meeting with Grzegorz Radziejewski (Cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen)

12 Jun 2019 · environment and urban mobility

Meeting with Rolf Carsten Bermig (Cabinet of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska)

12 Jun 2019 · UVARs

Meeting with Violeta Bulc (Commissioner) and

7 May 2019 · handing over a joint IRU-ETF statement on safe and secure parking areas

Response to Evaluation of the 2011 White Paper on Transport

6 Mar 2019

IRU welcomes the possibility to contribute to the evaluation of Roadmap of the 2011 White Paper on Transport. For details, please refer to the extended version of the document (IRU opinion White Paper Evaluation Road map) and the attached files. Decarbonisation: o Decarbonising commercial road transport will require an integrated approach across sectors and through a range of different measures. The path to decarbonisation will rely on five pillars, as outlined in IRU’s 2050 Decarbonisation Vision [1] – vehicle efficiency improvements, alternative fuels, operational measures, eco-driver training and more use of collective transport. Specifically, IRU has the following recommendations: - Ensure regulatory stability; - Promote the uptake of fuel saving technologies on new vehicles; - Foster real business incentives to facilitate the penetration of innovative transport technologies; - Ensure decarbonisation policies are founded on evidence based impact assessments; - Invest in the full roll-out of alternative fuels infrastructure; - Ensure funds from road-user charging are earmarked for further greening the commercial road transport sector; - Promote the use of collective road transport; - Ensure further flexibility in weights and dimensions legislation. o The actions taken by the EC since the 2011 White Paper have not always respected the principle of technology neutrality and have pushed too strongly for electrification across the board, regardless of the energy source. While electrification is a good solution for buses and smaller vehicles carrying out urban or regional operations, it is unlikely to be the solution for long-haul heavy duty transport due to the payload vs battery weight conflict. In addition, full-scale electrification will cause supply and grid capacity issues. Other options, such as hydrogen fuel cells, LNG and advanced biofuels will play a more important role. o There must be more legislative coherency so that policies on vehicles, fuels and infrastructure are aligned. o A key policy shift should be towards measuring emissions based on a Well-to-Wheel or lifecycle approach. o VECTO and the HDV CO2 standards: Important steps have been achieved in establishing HDV CO2 standards for trucks which should help to bring more fuel-efficient technologies to the market. - Automation: IRU strongly supports the progress which has been achieved in 2016 with the European Truck Platooning Challenge. However, cross-border platooning is still far from being a reality but at the same time represents a small step towards the actual deployment of fully autonomous vehicles in commercial road freight and passenger transport. For IRU, the following steps are important [2]: o Connected and Automated Mobility represents an opportunity for the transport sector to tackle issues related to road safety, environmental emissions and improving congestion on roads. o IRU is in favour of a transition which allows for the safe, secure and sustainable operation of automated vehicles. - Weights and dimensions of vehicles: IRU considers this a very positive step in the right direction as new opportunities are being offered to further reduce road transport’s environmental footprint and to improve efficiency. See examples of benefit in the CVOF [3]. - Road Safety: IRU and its Member Associations support any measure that will effectively increase road safety [4]. - Make digitalising and enforcement a priority - Driver Shortage: the European road transport sector is facing the most acute professional driver shortage in decades. Therefore, IRU has made driver shortage one of its key priorities for the coming years. - Passengers Transport: In 2011, IRU welcomed the objective of “a greater use of buses and coaches” in order to develop “an efficient core network for multimodal intercity travel and transport" but lamented the lack of concreate actions in the White Paper.
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IRU Urges Faster Infrastructure Rollout For Heavy-Duty Trucks

5 Mar 2019
Topic — Evaluation of the EU directive for alternative fuels infrastructure deployment.
Message — IRU calls for faster deployment of infrastructure to match new truck emission targets. They advocate for technology-neutrality and lifecycle emission measurements.123
Why — Universal infrastructure coverage reduces financial risks for transport operators switching vehicles.45
Impact — The wider economy and consumers face higher costs if regulations precede commercial viability.6
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Response to Commission Implementing Act on on-board weighing equipment

16 Jan 2019

- IRU notes that the current draft proposal still leaves too many concerns of the transport operators unaddressed - IRU does not agree that accuracy is sufficient for roadside checks. A vehicle cannot be preselected without knowledge on the type of operation it is carrying out. - IRU appreciates the key importance of this implementing act and underlines our readiness to further engage in finding technical and legal solutions that provide concrete and tangible benefits for the road freight transport operators: - The legislation propose a two-step approach in which the first step is to use existing technology to calculate the GTW. However, the legislation force the members that may chose the first step to continue to the second step, indicating a more expensive system, both with respect to vehicle implementation and to authority inspections by members states. This is due to the introduction of security requirements, which were not included in the mandate that COM got in this legislation. - In conclusion, IRU is convinced that there is a considerable risk that transport operators will have to pay for an additional potentially costly device, which will not provide any benefits from an operational efficiency perspective: It is enough to know the GVW. Cost benefit analyses has not demonstrated the need for OBW on all vehicles. Further analyses needs to be done on alternatives.
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Meeting with Jocelyn Fajardo (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc) and European Transport Workers' Federation

5 Dec 2018 · IRU-ETF's conference on enforcement

Meeting with Jocelyn Fajardo (Cabinet of Commissioner Violeta Bulc)

29 Aug 2018 · Road transport issues

Meeting with Kilian Gross (Cabinet of Vice-President Günther Oettinger)

20 Apr 2018 · CO2 standards

IRU demands flexible productivity-based heavy vehicle CO2 standards

15 Dec 2017
Topic — The Commission is developing a framework for heavy-duty vehicle carbon emission standards.
Message — They request productivity-based metrics and exemptions for specialized vocational heavy vehicles. The group favors manufacturer flexibility and technology neutrality over mandatory electrification.12
Why — Transport operators would avoid high upfront costs for mandatory zero-emission technologies.34
Impact — Environmental advocates lose as the group opposes mandatory targets for zero-emission vehicles.5
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Meeting with Stephen Quest (Director-General Taxation and Customs Union)

18 Oct 2017 · Discussion on transit and other issues

Response to Electronic documents for freight transport

15 Jun 2017

The International Road Transport Union ("IRU") supports the EU’s policy move towards a more digital transport environment and thanks the European Commission for providing stakeholders with the opportunity to contribute at this stage of the process. IRU welcomes the support for the use of electronic control documents in the recently published Mobility Package, particularly relating to the potential of eCMR to be used in the enforcement of cabotage and as a tool to make the EU carrier industry more competitive and robust as a whole. Therefore the EC should continue to actively pursue the introduction and full recognition of electronic documents in EU road freight transport, as this could reduce the administrative burden for transport companies as well. IRU is therefore encouraging the European Commission to further increase its legislative and non-legislative actions and to subsequently enable and align the implementation of electronic documents for road freight transport and logistics. IRU is prepared to continue to work together with the Commission in a constructive way to achieve this. IRU reiterates the need for the continued support of the EU Commission not only with regard to road transport relevant initiatives such as eCMR but also with regard to the need to standardise all relevant electronic road transport documents in order to ensure the interoperability of data between all modes of transport and the full acceptance of such electronic systems by national authorities. Since the digitalisation of the road transport sector is making significant progress, IRU is proposing the initiation of an impact assessment in order to evaluate how this upcoming development might impact the society as the whole. The scope of such assessment shall therefore apply to new business opportunities on the one side whilst not ignoring the social aspects of such developments, especially as far as they affect job security, on the other side. Following the ongoing eCMR operations between Spain and France, and the important eCMR pilot will kick-off on 22 June 2017 in Greece, IRU is also looking into further pilot initiatives with its member associations that would link up all relevant countries into major eCMR pilot corridors, making the logistics operations more efficient, transparent and safer thanks to modern IT technologies. Since it is so important to go fully digital for the transport industry, IRU is also using its global reach and supports initiatives such as eCMR on a global level through its close cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and other relevant organisations such as the World Customs Organisation (WCO). In addition to its support to eCMR, IRU encourages the digitalisation of all transport operations, including the usage of electronic TIR, which has already proven to function adequately within computerized environment, electronic invoicing and all other daily operations and documents in transport business.
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