Europeans say join us
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• For 10 years the Transport Commission of the Common Market has been wrestling with problems of harmonization and, according to Mr Peter Verleek of Holland. progress has been extremely slow.
Mr Verleek said this to members of the RHA's international Group at their annual general meeting in London last week. Apparently. the real barriers to progress have been erected by France and West Germany who are still desperately anxious to bolster up their railway systems.
All member countries have been set 1975 as the target for having their railways self-supporting but there are feelings that this date may not be realistic.
He said that the Commission was aiming at a transport policy which offered the greatest possible freedom, particularly for road transport, and suggested that this could be achieved only if there was a political desire for it. He suggested that Europeans were still much too nationalistic and did not think in a European way. consequently there was no political desire.
Mr Verleek was answering questions following a paper written by Mr Rob Tekke, of the Dutch haulage association, which had been read by the RHA's International Group secretary, Mr R. Duffy. He put forward a plea to British operators not to oppose entry to the Common Market: "Bring us your experience," he said.
One delegate suggested that while we in the UK would be able to purchase vehicles without import tax, this was the only advantage which might be claimed for European membership. He pointed out that the Continental driving hours were 20 per cent fewer than in Britain and this would mean a 20 per cent wage increase to British drivers. He also estimated that vehicle utilization would drop by as much as 30 per cent.
When Mr Verleek was asked how keen transport men should be to enter Europe, he said: -As an industrialist you would want to come in tomorrow, as a transport man the day after tomorrow. and as an agriculturalist—never." He agreed that transport operators in Europe had yet to achieve any benefits from the Treaty of Rome.
He suggested that if Britain did enter Europe. we should apply for 286 community licences; this is the same as the numbers held by France and Germany but almost 100 more than Italy holds. The community licence allows operators to carry goods between member countries of the Commission and not only between their own country and one other.
Both Mr Tekke and Mr Verleek are members of the panel which will judge this year's RHA essay competition which has "International Transport" as its theme.