Germans plead innocence
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• Germany was not responsible for last December's failure to boost EEC road haulage quota permits (CM, 22 December-6 January), Germany's Transport Minister Dr Jurgen Warnke said last week.
Warnke said that he would have agreed to increases of 40% for this year and next and blamed the stalemate instead on the insistence by "some countries" (taken to mean Britain and Holland) that the ministers should agree on an annual 40% rise each year until 1992, after which permits are due to be abolished. Warnke sees that as committing the EEC to liberalisation regardless of progress on harmonisation of taxes and other conditions of competition.
He repeated the German argument that the two processes should proceed in parallel.
Wanike, who will chair the next Transport Minister's meeting later this month, praised the commission's recent proposal to standardise heavy goods vehicle tax rates (CM, 7-13 Janaury). Foreign lorries contributed in tax only 9% of the costs they imposed on German roads.
He also emphasised the im portance of proper enforcement of Regulation No 3820/85 on drivers hours. Despite almost universal criticism (CM, 18-24 February) the commission has now formally put forward the draft regulation amending the rules, and a directive specifying the extent to which the rules should be enforced.
Warlike has accepted that there is not enough time for ministers to adopt these two instruments at this month's meeting, but he hopes that this will happen in June.
It is possible, however, if all the other EEC governments agree, that a two-year deal will be approved when the ministers meet on 14 March.