Austrian truck plan comes under attack

Date: 22/06/2000

By Renée Cordes

SEVERAL EU governments have called on the European Commission to come up with plans to ease the burden of legally required cuts in foreign lorries using Austrian roads.

Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has suggested Vienna should spread a planned 20% reduction in emissions from non-Austrian lorries over three years, instead of making the change in one go. The move reflects concerns in other member states that their lorry drivers could soon be denied access to vital Alpine routes into southern and eastern Europe.

But transport ministers from countries such as Germany, Greece, Italy and Belgium argue the reductions should be spread more evenly among all member states. They will urge De Palacio to go back to the drawing board at a meeting next week where they will reiterate concerns about the lack of alternative Alpine routes after last year's Mont Blanc tunnel disaster.

"Politically this is a very sensitive issue," said one EU diplomat, adding that if ministers failed to agree a compromise, the Commission's plan would be implemented. A De Palacio aide said that although the Union executive understood the concerns voiced by some member states, "we would be embarrassed to renege on a deal with Austria".

Vienna launched the scheme to limit the number of trucks travelling through its territory long before it joined the Union, in a bid to ease congestion and limit environmental damage from traffic. Under the system, lorries 'pay' one point for each unit of polluting gas emitted, with greener vehicles collecting fewer points. There is also a limit on points individual countries can accumulate.

Austria insisted on retaining this system when it joined the EU in 1995, despite fears that it contravened single-market rules. It was agreed then that the number of eco-points available would be reduced if the number of journeys increased significantly.

Several EU governments have called on the European Commission to come up with plans to ease the burden of legally required cuts in foreign lorries using Austrian roads.