EU wants to reduce vegetable transport prices

Siim Kallas, EC Vice-President and Commissioner for Transport, has called for a simplification and clarification of the EU rules regarding the transport of goods by road. Kallas made these comments after publication on Monday 14 April, of a report about the integration of the internal road transport market. The report concludes that while some progress has been made, the abolition of some remaining restrictions would help in the improvement of Europe's economy and the environment. 

According to Kallas, "the current rules are uneconomical for European companies, affect all road users and are harmful to the environment. We need clear rules for the sector and at the same time, we need good working conditions for truck drivers. Hopefully, the next Commission will follow this path."

The lifting of cabotage restrictions, with costs amounting to about 50 million Euro per year, would reduce the number of empty runs by facilitating the possibility of carrying mixed cargo and using round trips.

Road transport accounts for almost three quarters (72%) of the EU's inland freight transport; its annual turnover amounts to 300,000 million Euro, which represents about 2 percent of the EU's GDP. 

Ground transportation is the only form of logistics with decreasing labour productivity, with a -0.2% decline since 2001. 

Domestic transport represents around 67% of all road transport in the EU. However, access of foreign carriers to domestic markets remains very limited.