Hauliers should have a say in the debate on the Mobility Package

The European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism Committee organized a two-day public hearing on the Mobility Package, a forum for professionals to share views on the initiative. In classic Western European fashion, hauliers and experts were underrepresented as labor and trade unions dominated the event. To provide some balance, Fidesz MEP Andor Deli suggested that Ferenc Lajkó, CEO of Waberer’s International, one of the biggest hauliers in Europe, should join the board of experts. Lajkó brought concrete examples to convince the MEPs that the proposed additional administrative and financial burden contradicts the fundamental goals of the European Commission.

“In the transportation sector we need straightforward regulation, a decrease in bureaucratic and administrative burden, and protection of the single market, while we continue our natural fight against companies that pursue illegal business and fraud,” Deli emphasized. Elaborating on the regulation, the Fidesz MEP said: “A regulation is needed that takes the interests of all the Member States, market participants and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) into account. After all, our common goal is that goods and services reach the customers as quickly as possible.”

After the public hearing, a conference on the practical effects of the Mobility Package took place in the European Parliament. The event, organized by Andor Deli, Dutch MEP Wim Van De Camp and Polish MEP Elzbieta Lukacijewska, focused on hauliers and SMEs. The introductory remarks of the Dutch EPP politician were followed by a panel discussion with Hungarian participants. The position of Hungarian economic actors regarding the Mobility Package was presented by Ferenc Lajkó and Pál Krajcsovics, coordinator of international issues at NiT Hungary (the Federation of National Private Transporters).

Deli highlighted in his speech: “Certain proposals of the Mobility Package will impact the everyday lives of transportation companies and the future of tens of thousands of employees. Despite this, characteristic of the attitude of Western European Member States, it was not the representatives of hauliers and professional organizations who were present at the two-day session of the TRAN committee, but labor and trade unions. Therefore, we decided with my two colleagues that it is necessary to listen to the opinions of professionals about the Commission’s proposals and that we hear some professional, practical arguments in the European Parliament.”

“NiT Hungary is worried about the livelihood of Hungarian SMEs in the transportation sector because we believe that the proposed amendments will have a largely negative impact on their activities,” said Pál Krajcsovics in his address.

Background: The “Europe on the Move” package was presented in May 2017. Known as the Mobility Package, it is a long-awaited draft proposal set to address the contemporary challenges of the transportation sector. The package contains seven pieces of draft legislation, one of which deals with the social aspects of haulage and would lay its foundations in a separate law (lex specialis).