Plans for an EU-wide electronic register of transport operators by 2010 have been welcomed but branded "ambitious" by industry insiders. The register, to be linked to national databases, would mean national enforcement agencies can access information about internationally travelling hauliers, making it easier to monitor operators who commit offences outside their home state.
The plans were discussed at a conference hosted by the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the International
Road Transport Union (IRU) to promote harmonised enforcement of operators across the EU. FTA chief executive Richard Turner says: "We might well have free movement of goods, let's have free movement of enforcement too." But he concedes a database by 2010 is a "very ambitious target".
Hubert Linssen, general delegate to the EU for the IRU, also says the target is "very optimistic".
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