• by Karen Miles Fears over the damage eastern European
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hauliers and drivers are inflicting on operators throughout the European Union are about to be addressed by the European Commission.
It is writing to transport officials in all 15 EU states asking them to assess the extent of these problems. The EC plans to hold an initial meeting of the states most interested in dealing with this issue—probably the UK, Germany and the Netherlands—followed by a meeting in September with officials from most EL' countries.
If an agreement is reached the EC could promote plans for tougher enforcement, viith a directive to reduce the effect of corn petition from the East. The activities of cutprice east European hauliers have been attracting complaints by operators from Norway to Portugal.
East Europeans can legally travel to EU
destinations, but queries arise when they carry loads from one EU state to another. Many hauliers believe they are exceeding the number of trips authorised on the few thousand bilateral and ECMT (European Conference of Ministers of Transport) permits issued every year.
Operators such as German-owned Willi Betz will also come under discussion at the EC. UK officials have already discovered from their German counterparts that Betz follows the employment laws of each EU state. Betz uses EU drivers in the EU country in which its vehicles are registered, then replaces them with cheaper east European drivers once they are in another EU state (CM27 May-2 June).
If a political agreement is reached, the EC could propose a directive which would outlaw this practice.