Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1302895
3 MALTA has filed a complaint before the Court of Justice of the European Union against the Mobility Package I, a series of trucking rules which have affected the local industry be- cause of its onerous obligations. Maltese industrialists said the new rules will raise their costs of cabotage and logistics by at least 10% because of mandato- ry conditions for drivers' rest times and their place of rest. Despite a late bid this year by transport minister Ian Borg to take up the matter in the Eu- ropean Council, no agreement was reached, with EU ministers taking none of Malta's pleas for regard of its industry on board. The rules force companies to provide a paid rest period of around 45 hours every three to four consecutive weeks, at "the employer's establishment or to the drivers' place of residence". They also force companies to have the trucks return to the company's headquarters every eight weeks, in a move designed to prevent haulage companies from trying to register in other EU countries to take advantage of lower taxes. Maltese companies believe it will cost them between €500,000 and €1 million be- cause of the need to buy more trucks and employ more peo- ple. The government said that the measures adopted by the Coun- cil and MEPs in July, which include the return-home and cabotage cooling-off rules, were not part of the original propos- als presented by the European Commission but added to- wards the end of the legislative procedure, notwithstanding the objections of several member states, including Malta. "These measures were there- fore not subject to a proper impact assessment by the EU institutions. A KPMG study commissioned by the govern- ment shows that both these rules are expected to have a negative impact on Malta, mak- ing road haulage operations more costly, mainly as a result of Malta's geographic position, and having also a negative im- pact on the environment," Borg said today. Borg said the adopted meas- ures violate the EU Treaty pro- visions and lead to distortion of the EU Single Market by includ- ing measures that serve to dis- rupt road haulage operations, increase costs for consumers and exports, and dispropor- tionately and adversely affect a peripheral and island member state like Malta. "Malta is therefore requesting the Court of Justice to annu- al these measures. Like Malta, there are other European Union member states that have initiat- ed or are in the process to initi- ate a similar annulment action on the same or other measures within the Mobility Package. This is the first time, Malta is challenging a measure in the CJEU." The new rules will help ensure better rest conditions for driv- ers and allow them to spend more time at home, by forcing companies to return drivers in international freight transport every three or four weeks. The mandatory rest period at the end of the week, known as regular weekly rest, cannot be taken in the truck cab. If this rest period is taken away from home, the company must pay for accommodation costs. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 OCTOBER 2020 NEWS Adapt for the future. Christopher felt it was time for his business to take a step further. So he contacted the local Enterprise Europe Network to explore all the opportunities available to SMEs in the EU. The Enterprise Europe Network helped him search for new business partners thanks to the Europe's largest online database of business opportunities. Find out how the Enterprise Europe Network can support your business : enterprise-europemalta.com Christopher Busuttil Delbridge Managing Director, Evolve Ltd. Looking to develop your business in a changing world ? Malta challenges EU law that could cost trucking €1 mllion