International

This week, on behalf of the truck drivers, I presented three sets of written questions to the European Commission. Evidently the Commission isn’t about to take any action off its own bat, despite all its fine-sounding promises. Fraud, exploitation and the mess surrounding passes for tollbooths don’t make the life of the average truck driver any more pleasant. Together with the member states the Commission could be tackling these practices, but its silence is deafening. If I don’t get satisfactory answers, I’ll hold an emergency meeting with the various drivers’ organisations, because things can’t go on like this.

The first series of questions concerns the enforcement of the cabotage rules. Last year, the Commission official responsible for this promised that there would soon be public consultations, followed by a clarification of the rules and improved enforcement. Nothing of the sort has appeared as yet. In the meantime, exploitation of drivers, most of them from eastern Europe, continues, with lorry parks throughout Europe full of drivers sleeping and cooking in their trucks. On the eve of the summer holidays we can expect even more chaotic situations along motorways.

The second series of questions concerns the uncovering by the French police of a new system of fraud for waiting- and rest times. The fraud was detected on a Czech truck. According to media reports the Moldavian driver had been driving for three days without a break, but the tachograph registers a trajectory of only 320 km, just under 200 miles. It speaks for itself that this fraud could cause life-threateningly dangerous situations. Truckers who drive on while their tachograph registers that they are resting are behind the wheel for far too long, creating a greatly increased risk of accidents. In addition, bona fide drivers are at an increased disadvantage as if they don’t participate in the fraud their labour becomes relatively expensive. You might expect that the European Commission and the member states would take action, but once again nothing is being said or done. I want to see my questions responded to with rapid action and I also want to know whether member states are performing additional checks on the tachograph and if all of the information on this is being exchanged between them.

Finally there’s a set of questions on the mess surrounding the tollbooth passes which drivers need if they pass through various member states. One driver showed me a photo of his dashboard, which was full of the things. Not only was his view obstructed, but this means that he runs the risk of being charged with an offence. A double punishment. Full harmonisation isn’t necessary, but we should at least implement the EU decision of 2009, under which the member states voted in favour of an electronic system valid for all toll systems. That would mean you’d need only one pass for all member states. A simple solution, and you’d think given the existing technology not too difficult to put into practice. Yet once again nothing is being done. That’s why I put my questions, hoping that this would spur the Commission into action.

The European Commission is never behind the door when it comes to producing a plethora of ideas concerning areas for which the EU has little or no right to act. At the same time it’s failing to do anything about things for which it does have competence and where it’s ordinary people who would benefit. I will therefore not rest until we - if necessary together with large numbers of drivers – can put the Commissioner responsible, Violeta Bulc, to work.