Brewing up
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Brian Simpson MEP, the European Parliament’s transport supremo, accepts that rail cannot challenge road for the lion’s share of freight
Words: Patric Cunnane An advertising slogan above the door to Brian Simpson’s ofice marks the territory: “We serve Lancashire tea,” it announces boldly. And no one could deny that Simpson the man is a strong brew.
MEP Simpson is chairman of the European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee. He livens up even the dullest debates with his bluff Lancashire approach to the business in hand.
He would rather be realistic and make a difference than aim for targets that aren’t achievable. Take road freight versus rail freight, for example. The European Commission’s (EC) Transport White Paper, published earlier this year (CM 24 March) set goals to shift 30% of road freight to rail or water by 2030 and 50% by 2050. However, the 2009 European Rail Freight Survey identiied rail’s “worsening competitiveness compared with road freight” (log on to http://bit.ly/nrlVUZ for the full survey).
“I am not looking for a massive shift in modality,” says Simpson. “We are never going to get 60%-70% of freight on rail. A more realistic goal is 20%.” The 2008 European Rail Freight Survey estimated European rail freight has a market share of 15% and, after a steep decline caused by the recession, this is expected to be restored by 2012. It would seem then that Simpson’s expectation of 20% rail freight is at least achievable at some point in the future. Simpson says lorries are more eficient for certain loads. “Trains are not interoperable. It’s a technical issue. As soon as rail hits a border, there’s a problem with different electrics and signalling systems.” The White Paper also seeks to cut transport sector greenhouse gases by 60% by 2050. “It will take some doing,” says Simpson. “It will be good if they can get some way down the road by 2050.” Given that few of the current legislators will be around in nearly 40 years’ time, he believes it would have been sensible to provide some interim targets. “As much as I’d like to be around, I’ll be 97 then,” he relects ruefully.
What about cabotage regulations?
Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas has made no secret of the fact that he wants to get rid of cabotage regulation, and this is relected in the White Paper. At present, visiting hauliers can carry out up to three domestic jobs within seven days before returning to their country of origin. Now an EC wisemen group is reviewing whether cabotage rules should be abolished. The group will report back to the EC on the state of the internal road freight market by May 2012 and the EC has until the end of 2013 to respond with a proposal based on its advice.
But Simpson is not enthusiastic about full liberalisation. “Open cabotage runs the risk of social dumping,” he says. “However, the EC will push for deregulation and probably get it.” He believes a further problem with open cabotage will arise if the UK continues to opt out of a pan–European plan for cross-border trafic enforcement. Under the proposal, endorsed by the European Parliament, foreign drivers guilty of speeding, drink driving, failing to wear a seat belt or jumping a red light can be penalised on return to their home state. So far the UK government has declined to take part, although attitudes are said to be softening. “It’s a decision borne out of malice to the EU,” says Simpson. “The British ind it dificult to believe there are 70,000 foreign drivers escaping punishment in the UK every year.” He adds that it’s “nonsense” for the UK to claim its separate legal system makes it dificult to co-operate with cross-border enforcement. Such an attitude, he believes, will not help in setting up the electronic pan-European database of road transport offenders, due to go live in 2013.
Simpson is worried about the UK’s proposal to introduce a lorry road user charge (LRUC), believing it could lead to charges of discrimination from foreign hauliers. “Whatever they introduce they can’t go it alone,” he says. He believes the UK should sign up to the Eurovignette Directive and introduce it on main arterial roads. “My worry is that the government will not be able to deliver on its promise to compensate UK hauliers for LRUC. Eurovignette is fair and everyone will pay it.” Simpson has been an MEP since 1989 and was elected chair of the Transport Committee in 2009. From May 1997 until May 2010 he had 13 years of dealing with fellow Labour Party members in the UK government. So how is he faring with the government? “I’ve met transport secretary Philip Hammond and he’s a nice enough guy,” says Simpson. But that’s as far as the compliments go. “The Coalition has introduced a noticeable shift in government attitudes to the EU. It’s gone very nationalistic. They don’t have a European perspective, they work on the philosophy that it should all be left to the member states.”
Making an impact
He warms to his theme. “Where they do introduce European regulations, they tend to be gold plated and then the Tories blame Europe for over-regulation.” As Transport chair, Simpson’s brief ranges far and wide across different transport modes and he says there are three areas where he’d particularly like to make a mark while he’s in post.
• Improvement of road safety – including improving road design as well as safety.
• Interoperability of the railways – essential if rail freight is going to increase its share.
• Single European Sky – an EC proposal to collectively manage European airspace to achieve eficiencies , savings and greater safety.
CM meets Simpson near the beginning of Poland’s six-month presidency of the EU Council. Given that for most of the irst two months Parliament is in recess, is there not a case for making the presidency longer ? He agrees that a six-month term has its limitations, especially as the legislative process is slow. “You can start things and you can inish other things that have already been started but it’s rare that you start and inish them.” With 27 countries waiting a turn, the present system is unlikely to change any time soon. ■