A pollution tax on HGVs moved a step closer last week when the European Parliament's Transport and Tourism Committee voted to approve the latest draft report on the Eurovignette Directive. The report now moves to the full European Parliament in Strasbourg on 1 March and will then be considered by the Council of Ministers.
The key measures in the directive allow member states to charge HGVs for using major
roads on the basis of air and noise pollution and introduce congestion charges at peak hours for both lorries and cars. The revenue collected will be earmarked for research into cleaner vehicles, better infrastructure and alternative modes of transport.
The directive, sponsored by MEP Said El Khadraoui, is a revision of the 1999 Eurovignette Directive. A spokesman for the Transport Committee says that proposals to include congestion charging and to earmark revenues for transport purposes will prove controversial, especially with finance ministers. "It might be a rather protracted process so it's not clear if the directive can be approved before the parliament elections in June," he adds.
To do so, the directive will need to clear the hurdle of the parliament's last sitting in May.
However, the new Czech presidency, through Czech transport minister Petr Bendl, has identified it as a priority.
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