FTA calls in the EEC
Page 8
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
TI IL BRITISH road transport industry is taking its fight against the London lorry ban to Europe.
Freight Transport Association director-general Garry Turvey has written to EEC Transport Commissioner Stanley Clinton Davis, claiming that the night and weekend lorry ban infringe the Treaty of Rome.
In his letter, which expresses manufacturers' and traders' "deep concern" about the proposed introduction of the ban on January 31, Turvey says the ban may infringe Articles 30 and 34 of the Treaty.
They prohibit quantitative restrictions on the free movement of imported or exported goods.
"It is true that Article 36 allows restrictions to be nnposed on grounds of public policy, but such prohibitions shall not constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between member states," Turvey says.
He argues that the GLC's ban could be termed arbitrary as exemption permits are available by reference to a non-specific policy statement which can be varied at will.
Turvey has also drawn Clinton Davis's attention to the fact that EEC Directive 157/70 prohibits the GLC from banning any vehicle on grounds that its sound level and exhaust system fail to meet standards superior to those laid down by the EEC.
"While the traffic regulation order implementing the ban and allowing application to be made for permits does not require vehicles to meet higher standards than those imposed by the EEC directive, applicants for permits are being asked what steps they arc considering tak ing to meet the standards beyond those required by law, with the inevitable implication that a permit may be refused of no steps arc being considered," he says.
The GLC has approved all of the 1,500 permit applications it has processed so far, hut still has 1,800 more to process. It anticipates this will take six weeks.
And its caution in dealing with the noise law problem is clear from the conditions at tached to the permits it has granted to Sainsbury's, the major supermarket chain.
Noise suppression equipment, approved by the manufacturers to meet Swiss regulations, is to be fitted to Dal and Volvo lorries in the fleet, but Leylands — for which no manufacturer-approved equipment is available — will not be modified.
Turvey has told Stanley Clinton Davis that the Commission should also consider the serious implications for foreign operators running into London unaware of the ban conditions until they reach the London boundary.