Mobility and transport

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Combined transport

Summary
Evaluation
Commission Proposal
Legal Act
Implementation

Overall state of play:

Evaluation finalised: SWD(2016)140, 20 April 2016
Commission Proposal:
• Adopted on 8 November 2017, COM(2017) 648 and withdrawn by the Commission in 2020
• On-going: to be adopted by the Commission in 2023

State of play, main conclusions, outlook

The Commission evaluated Council Directive 92/106/EEC on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States.

The Directive is found to be relevant for its objective to reduce negative externalities. However the evaluation showed that there is ‘significant margin for further improving the effectiveness and the efficiency of the Directive, owing to the fact that some of its provisions are outdated, its language is sometimes obsolete and ambiguous, and its scope is limited’. The shortcomings relate in particular to the definition of combined transport, the limitations of fiscal incentives and the outdated provisions relating to transport documents.

On this basis, a proposal was made in 2017 to revise the Directive to improve its efficiency and effectiveness and ensure further promotion of intermodal transport in the EU as well as contribute to reducing emissions. In 2020, the Commission withdrew the proposal with the aim to put forward a new and more ambitious proposal in 2023. The new amendment would turn the Directive into an effective tool to support multimodal freight operations involving rail and waterborne transport, including short-sea shipping and would thus better support the achievement of EU’s climate goals.

Estimated savings and benefits

The evaluation revealed that, with the Directive, a moderate shift of freight away from roads has been estimated to create annual savings of up to €2.1 billion of external costs.

State of Play:

Finalised: SWD(2016)140 - 20 April 2016

Scope:

Evaluation of Council Directive 92/106/EEC of 7 December 1992 on the establishment of common rules for certain types of combined transport of goods between Member States

Evaluation findings:

The evaluation found that the Directive has considerably contributed to the development of the combined transport (CT) market in the EU (CT operations in the EU have quadrupled during the last two decades). However, although the general freight transport volumes have grown continuously, it has not been possible to considerably reduce the share of road transport in the modal split of EU freight transport activities. Therefore there is still a need for fostering modal shift away from road to ensure less negative externalities for society. As road transport continues to be cheaper and more flexible for various reasons, support for the use of alternative modes is still needed.

The CT Directive improved the functioning of the internal market and the competitiveness of the CT industry, which in turn helps to reduce negative externalities in the EU. Without EU level action, the cross-border CT services would be faced with barriers resulting from different legal systems making the cross-border CT services uncompetitive at best and causing a reverse shift to road at worst.

However, some provisions are not entirely effective due to ambiguous language or limited scope. Inconsistent implementation by Member States and the limitations on enforcement by the Commission are the main elements causing efficiency loss. The provisions on the transport documents are also inefficient.

Estimated savings and benefits

The evaluation has found that during the period of 23 years that the Directive has provided support to combined transport, considerable growth of the sector has taken place supporting the aim of transport policy and shifting 2.5 trillion tonne-kilometres of freight away from road. This shift creates savings of up to €2.1 billion of external costs annually (2010 constant prices, source: SWD(2016)140).

At the same time, the Directive does not create considerable additional costs to the industry and the costs to national administrations (cost of tax incentives) are considerably lower than the benefits for the society. For example, for Germany, the annual cost for tax reimbursements and exemptions is €2 million annually.