EEC TRANSPORT POLICY IN PERIL
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Dby SAM BUCKLEY ESPITE over five years of frustrating talks EEC experts have failed to evolve an acceptable common
transport policy.
Worse still it is now admitted that because of this long and vain wait for Community arrangements, member States are increasingly coming to resume independent action concerning transport.
For example, the Federal German Transport Ministry plans for reorganization of transport, if implemented without coordination at Community level, would be liable to rule out for all time any common EEC transport policy.
Because of this desperate situation, EEC experts started another attempt on Tuesday to break through the deadlock.
The Italian delegation proposed an interim solution based on a limited but balanced set of experimental measures. This was because they contended that it would take at least another five years for a common policy to be settled overall and definitively—probably more.
But such a delay of several years, in implementing a common policy, they claimed, entailed very serious economic and political risks.
They noted that member States were already under pressure from various economic circles, having to use transport as a means of attaining objectives which could no longer be attained in the Community by other means. As a result these separate national transport policies would make for disturbance of the Common Market itself.
Therefore it was essential, they continued, to bring into force as soon as possible--and simultaneously—a limited but balanced set of measures to enable the common policy to get under way quickly.
These measures were intended to be provisional and interim, designed so as not to prejudice in any way the "overall solution".
Included in the scope of this proposed provisional solution were the following list of measures:—
(1) Application of competition rules to transport.
(2) Initial social harmonisation measures in the road transport sector.
(3) Arrangements concerning state aids to help transport finms.
(4) Preliminary measures concerning dividing out infrastructure costs between users. An interim solution will have to be applied here. (3) Bringing into force a "Community quota" of . 1,200 authorisations for goods transport by road.
(4) Implementation of a rate bracket system for international goods freight, by road. This will involve partial rate systems: national transport and all inland waterway transport (national and international) are to be excluded.
(5) Establislunent of a supervisory committee for the transport market; for the moment its sphere of responsibility will be limited to the application of measures already adopted.
Carrimore moves in co-ordination step
THE FINCHLEY depot of Carrimore Six Wheelers Ltd. was transferred on Monday to Braintree Road, Ruislip, Middlesex (Tel: Viking 1244). This move co-ordinates the activities at one southern-area depot of Anthony Hoists Ltd., Autolifts and Engineering Co. Ltd. and Carrimore. The parent company (Steel Barrel Scanirnells and Associated Engineers Ltd.) opened a new factory at Harelaw, Co. Durham, last year to integrate the manufacturing activities of these associate companies.
LIVERPOOL TO OPEN ANOTHER GUARDED PARK
A NEW GUARDED LORRY PARK will be available from October 30 to drivers coming into Liverpool. The existing car park in Scotland Road (at the junction with Richmond Row) will be available to all commercial vehicles.
Times and charges: 5s a night or part (6 p.m. to 8 a.m. seven days including Bank Holidays) with a penalty of 5s for vehicles remaining after 8 a.m. Attics: lOs a night or part with a 1 Os penalty.