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have thought that everyone would have thought like me, hut they didn't.''

6th May 1999, Page 7
6th May 1999
Page 7
Page 7, 6th May 1999 — have thought that everyone would have thought like me, hut they didn't.''
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EC checks non-EU drivers

The European Commission is investigating the increasing use of cheap, non-European Union drivers by EU hauliers after complaints of unfair competition from many European hauliers and drivers' unions. The EC plans to assess the scale of the problem—one study has already estimated that east European drivers are 70% cheaper than Dutch drivers—and to estimate how many could be employed illegally. Member states might then be told to refuse work permits to non-EU truck drivers: the Germans and Dutch currently give some non-EU drivers temporary work permits.

Alternatively, the EC might press member states to provide better roadside enforcement so that work permits can be regularly checked.

The number of permits for non-EU drivers (currently some 3-4,000) is expected to rise next year.

• The activities of German haulier Willi Betz will be discussed this month in Bonn by officials from the UK and German ministries of transport.

UK officials want to know how Betz appears to make so many journeys between EU countries with Bulgarian-registered vehicles, and whether the company has the necessary numbers of cross-border permits.

Betz, which employs 6,500 people, insists it is operating entirely legally.

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