July-August 2018

Welcome to the latest edition of the FTA's European Road Freight digest, featuring news of interest to members active in the European road freight sector. We welcome any comments and suggestions for new topics you would like to see included. Send your views to Don Armour. If you no longer wish to receive the digest or wish to add colleagues to the circulation list please contact Member Services.

Countries

DENMARK

Changes to combined transport legislation

IRU (International Road Transport Union) has been informed that since 1 July 2018, the rules relating to combined transport operations have been changed in Denmark following a formal letter of notice from the Commission relating to the transposition of Directive 92/106/EEC into Danish law.

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FRANCE/ITALY

Fréjus Road Tunnel: August nights designated for alternative traffic working

The management company of the Fréjus Road Tunnel, SFTRF (Société Française du Tunnel Routier du Fréjus), has advised that the tunnel will be completely closed to all traffic in both directions overnight 31 July – 1 August for overnight maintenance work. Alternative traffic working is proposed as per the table below. Normally, works are not expected to take place overnight Saturdays to Sundays, nor on Sundays to Mondays.

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Mont Blanc Tunnel: A40 closures during August

FTA has learnt that roadworks are planned on the A40 autoroute from 6 August 2018 to 17 August 2018. Closures will take place from Monday to Friday from 20h30 until 05h00 between Etrembières and Vallard, causing traffic travelling in both directions to be diverted during the period of the works.

For the first week traffic heading from Chamonix towards Genève will be affected; the second week there will be no access for traffic heading from Genève towards Chamonix. An alternative route will be signposted.

In addition to the above, roadworks are due to take place from 6 August 2018 to 31 August 2018 on weekdays Monday to Friday from 08h00 to 15h00 at Passy. The slow lane in the direction from Genève to Chamonix will be affected for four weeks, day and night, for the construction of safety refuges. At weekends the carriageway will be unobstructed.

Note: cheques are no longer acceptable at the toll booths for payment of the Mont Blanc or Fréjus Road Tunnel tolls. Payment by other means (cash and credit cards issued by the main credit card companies) remains unchanged.

Source: ATMB

MOLDOVA

The transport trade association of Moldova, AITA (Asocia?ia Interna?ionala a Transportatorilor Auto din Republica Moldova), has published a revised list of the customs posts along its borders with Romania and Ukraine, together with details of the inland offices performing internal customs tasks, customs control zones and Freezones. As members are most likely to be approaching Moldova from Romania these details are shown below for ease of reference.

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SERBIA, BELARUS…..

UK road transport agreements

As advised to members in an international alert circulated on 4 July, the DfT (Department for Transport) has notified FTA that it is planning to sign or ratify road transport agreements with Serbia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and to revise an existing agreement with Ukraine later this year. These agreements define the conditions under which UK hauliers can operate in the various countries, and vice versa. FTA has the opportunity to make its views known on these agreements and to provide input from international members to DfT.

The principles governing the agreements would be as follows:

• Serbia: liberalised, permit-free road transport agreement
• Belarus: permit-free travel for Euro 6 vehicles; permits for other lorries
• Kazakhstan: permit system
• Ukraine: permit-free travel for Euro 5 and Euro 6 category vehicles; permits for other lorries

Although the official deadline for comments has passed, members that provide transport services in these countries or are considering doing so are invited to get in touch with Sarah Laouadi for further information or to make us aware of any points they would like to have raised by DfT at the various forthcoming meetings.

Source: Department for Transport

SWITZERLAND

Adjustments to the EU/Swiss land transport agreement

The agreement on carriage of goods and passengers by rail and road between the EU and Switzerland allows the Swiss liberalised access to these countries’ respective transport markets. In exchange for this, Switzerland must have legal provisions in place that are equivalent to those of the EU on a number of aspects: admission to the occupation of road transport haulier, social and technical standards.

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UK

Driving licences post-Brexit: International Driving Permits

FTA has discussed the issue of driving licences for international haulage post-Brexit with Department for Transport (DfT) officials. At the point of Brexit, or at the end of the transition period if the withdrawal agreement is ratified in time, UK driving licences will cease to be recognised and accepted ‘by default’ in the EU. Drivers with a UK licence will need to obtain an International Driving Permit (IDP). There are different templates for the IDP, corresponding to different international conventions. While the 1949 Geneva Convention is the only recognised one in Ireland, Spain, Malta and Cyprus, several EU member states (like Germany) only recognise the 1968 Vienna Convention, and therefore IDPs on the 1968 format.

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Port and ferry news

Eurotunnel safety reminder

Eurotunnel Freight has asked us to remind members, now the summer holidays are here, that only children aged 12 years and over are authorised to travel on the Freight Shuttles, for safety reasons. When drivers travel with their families, please ensure that they have all the relevant IDs to hand so that unnecessary delays can be avoided.

Eurotunnel has also produced an information leaflet on this topic and for further safety matters of interest please click here.

Source: Freight Commercial Team, Eurotunnel

New study published on trade flows through the Channel Tunnel

As part of its contribution to the debate over Brexit and the functioning of the UK/EU border Eurotunnel and EY have recently presented the EU Commission with a new study on trade flows between the UK and EU via the Channel Tunnel. An earlier study was published in 2016.

This new report shows for the first time, detailed traffic flows through the Tunnel between the UK and its five principal European partners (Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland) including a number of case studies. The total amount of trade passing through the Tunnel each year has increased to almost €140 billion, with imports and exports being almost equal. Analysis of the different sectoral flows confirms that it is the speed and ease of passage from one side of the Channel to the other that is most important for both industry and consumers. It demonstrates the vital role that the Channel Tunnel plays in the transportation of goods, freight, and people between mainland Europe, the UK and Ireland; and the need for ongoing frictionless trading.

The full report is available here and on the Groupe Eurotunnel internet site.

The first EY report published in 2016 is also available here.

Source: Eurotunnel

Customs news

Use of ATA carnets

Not all members will be familiar with the use of ATA carnets, as almost all perishable or consumable items cannot be covered for customs purposes by such a document. The initials ATA are an acronym of the French and English words ‘Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission’ which describes specifically the purpose for using the carnet.

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News from FTA's Brussels office

Brussels catch-up

With the Brussels institutions starting to enjoy their summer recess the past few weeks have been full of developments in the world of road transport. Just when MEPs thought they were about to finalise their position on the revision of the road haulage rules (the Mobility Package, described in the June edition of this Digest), a majority rejected the compromises some of their colleagues had brokered. The way forward on the files should now be made clearer in September. By contrast, the discussion on CO₂ reporting obligations for truck manufacturers made progress (see below).

Austria takes over the rotating presidency of the Council

Every six months, a new country takes on the rotating presidency of the Council, where national ministers from the 28 member states discuss European policy and legislation. On 1 July, Austria took over the Presidency from Bulgaria.

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Minimum wage requirements

One of the most controversial items on Austria’s to do list is to settle the question of whether minimum wage requirements should apply to international transport. Views have been so split, not only between political parties but also between central and peripheral countries, that none of the options on the table obtained a strong enough majority.

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Monitoring and reporting of CO₂ emissions from HDVs

On 29 July 2018, new CO₂ monitoring and reporting requirements for vehicle manufacturers and member states entered into force. The EU regulation was formally adopted and is expected to provide operators with better information on fuel consumption and emissions and to enable them to make informed purchasing decisions. Thanks to increased transparency, manufacturers are expected to be incentivised to develop more efficient vehicles.

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Revision of the combined transport rules should be good news for road freight

Discussions during the latest European Parliament Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) indicated that MEPs are taking positive steps towards modernising the Combined Transport Directive 92/106 and are building on earlier proposals made by the European Commission.

TRAN has made headway in updating the current legislation in the interests of all transport modes, noting discrimination against road freight, which has been a criticism of combined transport by industry observers in the past. Now MEPs have floated the possibility that additional incentives might be made available to companies with road transport operations contained within combined transport activities, which is welcome news for the sector. For example, the maximum allowed fixed distance of a road leg in combined transport (150km) may be exceeded, with due justification in the case of road-rail combined transport, in order to reach the nearest terminal offering the required services to deal with the cargo shipped and the type of loading unit used.

FTA will be following this dossier and hoping for similar progress in the Council during future negotiations with the Parliament and the Commission and will keep members informed of the details.

Round up

FTA International Road Transport Operator Conferences – everything you need to know to operate internationally

The Association is holding three regional International Road Transport Operator Conferences in October 2018. These events will focus on compliance with international haulage rules and forthcoming changes, not least with Brexit. Whether you operate across Europe or conduct road haulage contracts with international operators, these conferences will be for you and tackle questions such as:

• what will Brexit mean for international haulage?
• what are the rules and regulations you need to comply with if you operate across Europe?
• how can you increase the protection of your drivers and vehicles against stowaway incursions?

We will answer these questions and many more at our International Road Transport Operator Conferences, which will take place as follows:

• Monday 1 October – Milton Keynes
• Tuesday 9 October – Liverpool
• Wednesday 24 October – Dartford

These conferences will:

• provide compliance information on how road haulage rules are enforced in various countries
• update you on forthcoming regulatory changes with a range of external speakers discussing the most recent developments
• provide you with networking opportunities with your peers in a forum dedicated to international road transport operations

For further information, please contact Sarah Laouadi.

Next Brexit webinars

Members may be interested to note that the next webinar will take place on 20 September 2018 – click here to register.

For the following webinar on 18 October 2018, to register, please click here.

New car registrations, a snapshot across Europe

In June 2018, passenger car registrations posted an increase (+5.2 per cent) across the EU, totalling almost 1.6 million new cars. In volume terms, this result marked the highest June total on record to date. Results were diverse among the five major EU markets: the United Kingdom (-3.5 per cent) and Italy (-7.3 per cent ) both posted declines, while demand for cars increased in France (+9.2 per cent), Spain (+8.0 per cent ) and Germany (+4.2 per cent).

Over the first half of 2018, the European passenger car market grew by 2.9 per cent to reach 8,449,247 units. The strong performance of the new EU member states is worth highlighting, as registrations increased by 11.4 per cent so far this year. Looking at the major markets, demand went up in Spain (+10.1 per cent), France (+4.7 per cent) and Germany (+2.9 per cent), although sales contracted in the United Kingdom (-6.3 per cent) and in Italy (-1.4 per cent) during the first six months of this year.

Source: SMMT/ACEA

Public holidays

Dates for August and September 2018 include:

SDR (Special Drawing Right) rate

The SDR rate in mid-July was 1 SDR = £1.0697, making a CMR liability of £8,910 per tonne.

For those members preferring the Euro valuation, 1 SDR = €1.2002, making a CMR liability of €9,998 per tonne.

Source: IMF

Fuel prices

The following price list is compiled regularly by the IRU and shows the average price per litre at the pump in each country.

Please click here for the latest fuel prices chart. Week no. 30.

FTA services available only to International members

Do not let language be a problem when a driver is in difficulties at the roadside or border crossing

FTA has entered into partnership with LangCommLive to provide language assistance in the event of an accident or other driver problems. Contact enquiries@LangCommLive.com or tel: 0845 055 9756 and ask for Andrew Rowley.

Helping our international members with recovering VAT

Let FTA take away the hassle and administer recovering duty on fuel purchased overseas and motorway tolls etc for you. For more information email info@fta.co.uk or call 03717 11 22 22*.

A one-stop-shop for all your transport consumables

Shop's regularly expanding range offers a wide variety of transport products of interest to Interantional members, including FTA's European Road Transport Guide, CMR Consignment Notes and lots more. To place an order click here, call 03717 11 11 11* or email sales@fta.co.uk.

Embark here for ferry services information

International department has concluded an agreement with Freightlink Solutions Ltd offering an online enquiry and booking service which is now available to members directly from the International road freight pages of the FTA website. Members can also contact the company at freightlinkbookings@freightlink.co.uk and www.freightlink.co.uk

Essential documents available from FTA

FTA has a range of documents available to purchase for international members. These forms include on-hire certificates (VE103) sold on behalf of the DVLA and own-account documents. To order these items, email international@fta.co.uk or call 03717 11 22 22*.

*Calls may be recorded for training purposes