Mobility and transport

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Enhancement of the social legislation in road transport

Overall state of play:

Evaluation finalised, SWD(2017)184, 31 May 2017
Commission Proposal adopted on 31 May 2017, COM(2017)277 and COM(2017)278
Legal acts adopted, Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 and Directive (EU) 2020/1057

State of play, main conclusions, outlook

The evaluation showed that the social legislation (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006, Directive 2002/15/EC and Directive 2006/22/EC) remains a relevant tool, but it is only partially effective in achieving the policy objectives of improving working conditions, road safety as well as ensuring undistorted competition.

On 31 May 2017 the Commission adopted a proposal aiming at clarifying, simplifying and adjusting certain provisions to the specificities of the highly mobile road transport sector and improving effectiveness and consistency of enforcement. The proposed amendments also aimed to facilitate the implementation of the relevant provisions in force by Member States, decrease administrative burden for operators and bring a more uniform application across the EU.

The initiative was complementary and supportive to other ongoing road transport initiatives, in particular to the proposal on the internal market rules (Regulation 1071/2009 on access to the occupation of road transport operator and Regulation 1072/2009 on access to the international road haulage market). The proposal provided a balance between, on the one hand the objective of internal market, aiming at ensuring a genuine level playing field for the transport industry and, on the other hand, the objective of ensuring adequate working conditions and social protection to workers.

In 2020, Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 and Directive (EU) 2020/1057 were adopted.

Estimated savings and benefits

It was estimated that the proposal would bring benefits to drivers with regard to improving their working and resting conditions. It would assure that drivers working in other Member States for certain period of time are paid according to the local minimum pay rates and that they are provided with an adequate accommodation for taking a regular weekly rest if it cannot be taken at home.

The lighter administrative and control requirements concerning the implementation of posting rules in road transport would reduce administrative costs by 58 % (from almost EUR 1,352 million to EUR 567 million per year).

It would also allow for more harmonised and cost-effective enforcement which should lead to a reduction of infringements and subsequently reduction of non-compliance costs.

State of Play:

Finalised, SWD(2017)184, 31 May 2017

Scope:

Evaluation of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 on driving times, breaks and rest periods of drivers, Directive 2002/15/EC on the working time of road transport mobile workers and Directive 2006/22/EC on enforcement requirements.

Evaluation findings:

The evaluation confirmed that the relevant social legislation remains an appropriate legal framework. However, it was only partially successful in achieving a fair level playing field, mainly due to diverging national interpretations and implementation of the rules, inconsistent and ineffective enforcement practices as well as certain deficiencies of the legal provisions, which cannot address the new risks arising from the market and the sector.

Several shortcomings that hamper the effectiveness of the social rules were identified, such as lacking clarity and flexibility and lack of effective enforcement measures due to diverging national interpretations, differences in the use of control tools as well as insufficient administrative cooperation between national administrations.

Estimated savings and benefits

The main benefits are the reduced risks to road safety and improved and harmonised working and business conditions in the carriage of goods and passengers. Due to the limited availability of data, these costs and benefits could not be further quantified.

State of Play:

Adopted: COM(2017)277 and COM(2017)278, 31 May 2017.

Which objective(s) will the Commission pursue?

With its proposal the Commission aimed at simplifying the current rules and reducing administrative burden for transport undertakings and Member States. The proposal would also improve drivers' working conditions and enhance consistency and cost-effectiveness of enforcement.

Estimated savings and benefits

The benefits are improved working conditions of drivers and a better level playing field for operators as well as rendering enforcement more effective, due to better adapted rules to the specificities of the sector, clarity on applicable pay rates and other terms and conditions of employment when working abroad, better resting conditions, provisions on adequate accommodation and regular return to home. It should lead to the improvement in operators' ability to organise the drivers' work more efficiently. It is estimated to generate cost savings to operators in administrative costs of around € 785 million/year and to ensure legal certainty and consistency in enforcement.

State of Play:

• Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs
• Directive (EU) 2020/1057 laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012

Outcome of Legislative Procedure

The Regulation sets out the revised framework of rules on driving times and rest conditions of drivers in commercial road transport operations, which will improve working conditions, work-life balance and health and safety of drivers. It establishes legal basis for the improvement of tachographs, which helps drivers to record their activities and enforcers to control them more effectively. It provides for the adoption of several Implementing and Delegated Acts, including on EU standards for safe and secure truck parking areas and for a new generation of smart tachographs.

The Directive combines in one legal framework both the enforcement requirements and the common control standards of the social rules applicable in road transport. The latter consist of driving and rest time rules, as well as the sector specific rules on posting of drivers. It provides for the adoption of implementing acts to make enforcement more consistent and digitalised. For instance, the implementing act can harmonise risk rating systems and enable digital inspection of posting rules via the use of the IMI (Internal Market Information system).

Estimated savings and benefits

The use of harmonised, targeted, more effective and partly digitalised enforcement tools will reduce administrative burden for operators linked with controls and in the longer term will bring savings in enforcement costs for authorities. More efficient controls will reduce non-compliance costs in general thanks to improved level of compliance. Drivers will earn according to the pay levels of countries where they habitually work.

The proposed REFIT aspects from the Commission proposal were not fully confirmed by the co-legislators. The Commission proposal did not base the posting of drivers on a split model between bilateral operations and cross trade, but on a time limit for the application of the posting rules in the host Member State. Requirements that were not initially proposed by the Commission, were adopted by the co-legistators. This includes the obligation for trucks to return every 8 weeks to the Member State of establishment and “cooling-off” period of 4 days for cabotage. Those rules are currently challenged by a number of Member States before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

State of Play:

Implementation by Commission

The Commission adopted the following:

• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/799 regarding requirements for a new generation of smart tachographs (smart tachographs version 2).

• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1012 on EU standards and procedures for the certification of safe and secure parking areas.

• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2179 on the functionalities of the public interface connected to the Internal Market Information System for posting drivers in the road transport sector. On 2 February 2022, the public interface connected to IMI was successfully launched¹. It allows road transport operators to submit posting declarations and for national authorities to check enforcement of the new rules, in accordance with Directive.

• Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/695 laying down rules regarding the common formula for calculating the risk rating of transport undertakings.

Implementation by Member States

As far as Directive (EU) 2020/1057 is concerned, the transposition deadline was 2 February 2022. As of 4 January 2022, 15 Member States have notified full transposition, 7 partial transposition, and 5 have not notified any transposition measures. The transposing measures are now being checked by the Commission services, while infringement cases have been opened for the Member States which did not communicate any transposition measures.

The Commission created a dedicated Expert Group on the posting of drivers in road transport to guide Member States and stakeholders (including road transport associations) in applying the new rules. Several guidance documents were released in all EU official languages (Q&As including analysis of scenarios and factsheet)².

Regarding the new provisions introduced by Regulation (EU) 2020/1054, the Commission is closely monitoring the implementation by Member States. It released several guidance documents in all EU official languages (Q&As, clarification notes) following discussion in expert groups³.

¹ https://www.postingdeclaration.eu/landing

² https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/mobility-package-i/posting-rules_en

³ https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-modes/road/mobility-package-i/driving-rest-times_en