1 October Transport Council

Date: 08/10/1998

EU TRANSPORT ministers agreed on the need to reach a compromise by their next meeting at the end of November to end the long-running dispute over the charges levied by Switzerland on heavy trucks, and on the European Commission's proposals for a Eurovignette system to harmonise road tolls for commercial vehicles.

“I have told my colleagues that a common step in the same direction is needed to reach the goal,” said Austrian Transport Minister Caspar Einem afterwards. “That will necessitate a pragmatic approach at the next ministers' meeting.” A tentative deal on truck taxes struck between the Commission and Bern earlier this year as part of negotiations on a wide-ranging EU-Switzerland accord failed to win the support of Germany and other member states, which argued that the proposed tolls were too high.

TRANSPORT Commissioner Neil Kinnock argued in favour of introducing electronic road tolls and presented his White Paper on fair infrastructure pricing, published in July, which calls for taxes on commercial vehicles to reflect the true cost of travel. Austria reiterated its argument that fair transport prices should incorporate the external costs of environmental damage, accidents and congestion.

MINISTERS expressed their support for the goal of transferring a large portion of road traffic on to the railways and called for a clear definition of 'combined transport' from the Commission. They agreed to discuss the issue in working groups and come up with concrete proposals in time for their next meeting. Ministers also agreed that technical and social standards needed to be harmonised, especially in the rail sector. Einem said that working groups would discuss the issue in coming weeks with a view to presenting conclusions as soon as possible.

MEMBER states agreed on measures to reduce noise from EU aircraft from 1999 through the use of 'hush kits' on older planes, which tend to be louder.

PROGRESS in bilateral air traffic negotiations between the Commission and the US was discussed by ministers. The Commission is seeking to expand the limited mandate it was granted by Union governments in 1996 to include all aspects of common air traffic. Most ministers agreed that the Commission's mandate should be extended and urged the institution to begin a “structured dialogue” in order to speed up negotiations.

BOTH Kinnock and Italian transport officials said that they were considering measures aimed at ensuring fair treatment for airlines using the Malpensa airport outside Milan. The move follows a Commission ruling that attempts to force Alitalia's rivals to move their operations to Linate, which is further from the city centre than Malpensa, breached Union competition laws.