Ivan Yates
Question:150 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Communications if he will outline current EC policy in relation to the liberalisation of international haulage.
Written Answers. - EC Policy on International Haulage.
The pace of liberalisation in the international road haulage sector has accelerated in the past few years, brought about by an EC policy aimed at complete freedom in the movement of goods within the Community by 1993.
Council Regulation EEC No. 1841/88 amending Regulation EEC No. 3164/76 on the Community Quota for the Carriage of Goods by Road between member states provided that by 1993 all bilateral and multilateral road haulage quotas within the Community would be abolished. With this aim in view, the EC Council of Transport Ministers agreed in December 1990 to a 40 per cent increase in the quota for multilateral authorisations for intraCommunity road haulage in each of the years 1991 and 1992.
The Council of Transport Ministers also approved the introduction of a limited system of road haulage cabotage, the opening up of the domestic road haulage markets to transport by hauliers of other member states.
Further liberalisation of the international road haulage market is dependent on other proposals at present being discussed at EC level which are outside my remit. These relate mainly to the charging of infrastructure costs for certain road vehicles and the harmonisation of excise duty on diesel oil, in the context of the abolition of fiscal frontiers.