IRISH LORRIES travelling across Europe will be subjected to higher tolls from 2011 because of a decision of the European Parliament yesterday to support commission plans to increase tolls to control pollution and congestion.
The so-called Eurovignette report was opposed by Irish MEPs from all parties because they said it discriminated against countries like Ireland which transport most of its exports by road to Europe.
The new regulations, however, will see them charged for noise pollution, CO2 emissions, and infrastructure use on large sections of roadway throughout the EU with the least efficient trucks being tolled 12 cent per km travelled for CO2 emissions.
It has also proposed roads which already do not carry a levy should now be levied if they customarily carry a significant volume of international goods transport and the new rules would apply from 2011 to trucks over 12 tonnes and to those over 3.5 tonnes from 2012.
The European Commission, which will now move to implement the new regulations, had said cities should have the right to impose local charges on their roads even though the parliament rejected a general congestion tax.
Speaking after the vote, Jim Higgins (FG) said unless Ireland became more efficient and innovative freight costs would continue to rise thus reducing Ireland’s competitiveness.
“The report has been controversial from the start. Ireland has had difficulty with areas such as the proposed legal base, inclusion of congestion charges, the type of roads to be included and the use of electronic tolling,” he said
Seán Ó Neachtain (FF), a member of the transport committee, said he did not support the report because it sought to penalise countries situated on the periphery of Europe and this policy simply flew in the face of EU internal market principles.
“It is both disproportionate and unjust and it is rightly being opposed by Irish hauliers and by a number of EU member states,” he said.