EEC's 'timid' permit proposals attacked
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THE EEC Commission's "timid" and "niggardly" proposals to increase permit quotas next year by only 20 per cent was fiercely attacked last week by MPs in the European Parliament.
They called for a new system of awarding permits and guggested that the Commission amends its proposal for 1980 by raising the total number of authorisations from 413 to 696.
Dutch MP Willem Albers, a member of the Parliament's Transport Committee said :hat disagreement in the EEC's Council of Ministers as the reason why the -lumber of quotas has -emained almost static.
He suggested that the lumber should be automatiincreased by 25 per cent if .he Council has reached no iecision before the end of ■ lovember of the previous Tear.
Mr Albers "strongly protsted" at the way the Council iad ignored, for the fourth :onsecutive year, Commission n-oposals and resolutions rom Euro MPs.
The problem is caused by West Germany which is notorious for favouring rail transport and always opposes plans to boost international road haulage, writes our Brussels correspondent. Mr Albers was presenting to Parliament the 12th report on the regime of community authorisations and he said the system was an effective means of regulating the capacity of international road haulage and competition between EEC hauliers.
Many MPs who spoke in the debate backed .Mr Alber's call for more permits.
The Reverend Ian Paisley said the Commission's 20 per cent proposal was "basically unfair" to Britain and Ireland.