Transport ministers spark off Euro toll row
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patric.cunnanerarbi.co.uk EU TRAN SPORT ministers are on a collision course with N'IEPs and the industry after ruling out mandatory earmarking of funds raised from HGV tolls for transport infrastructure.
Instead, the Council of Transport Ministers (CTM), in considering the Eurovignette Directive, says it will "encourage the revenue from the additional charges to be used to finance investments into making transport more sustainable". It says the money should go into clean vehicle technologies, construction of alternative infrastructure, and reduction of pollution.
The Eurovignette Directive gives member states the option of charging vehicles above 35 tonnes to cover the cost of air and noise pollution from traffic emissions.
Chris Yarsley, European affairs manager for the Freight Transport Association, says the Belgian presidency tried to reach a compromise between member states that favoured earmarking and those that opposed it.
"In the final text they agreed to leave it out and 'encouraged' member states to use the revenue for transport, which is about the weakest level of vocabulary they could use," he explains.
"There is no guarantee that the money raised will be used to solve the problem," says a spokesperson for the International Road Transport U nion." It will most likely just be part of the general tax revenue of a country."
The issue will next be considered by the CM in December before returning to parliament for a second reading.