Press release: Revision of Directive 92/106 announced 02/11/16

The European Commission has announced its 2017 work-plan on 26 October¹, which includes the revision of the Directive 92/106 concerning Combined Transport.  UIRR has been calling for the comprehensive revision of the Directive since 2014².  The latest position paper of UIRR³ provided further details onto the nature of the changes deemed necessary by the sector:

• Rules to support the daily operation: precise definitions, creation of an intermodal (e-)waybill, continued freedom to conduct road legs, uniform transhipment terminal rules, codification and codifying entity, identification of consignments, IT services to support intermodal operations.

• Temporary compensatory measures: to eliminate any regulatory imbalance suffered by the modes collaborating in intermodal transport including the scientific methodology to assess the prevailing disparities.

• Infrastructure for intermodal transport: state aid to the development of transhipment terminals and the adjustment of logistics fixtures at consignor-level to ensure intermodal loading unit compatibility.

• Coordination of development and monitoring: Member State level intermodal development plans, an intermodality test within the impact assessment of transport legislation and regular monitoring/reporting of progress.

The Member State specific discrepancies in the regulatory framework of intermodal (combined) transport need to be eliminated to remove efficiency obstacles as well as to reduce the inherent complexity.  Thereby the collaboration of different modes of transport to perform a single freight movement can be made more competitive. The comprehensive revision of Directive 92/106 is the European way of achieving such harmonisation.

UIRR has been collaborating with representatives of all modes active in surface transport of cargo in Europe for many years to develop a common understanding that will catalyse the reaching of a consensus on the revision.  The European Commission and the rotating presidencies of the European Council should strive to do the same with the Member State governments in order to help the development of an adequately ambitious draft and then to facilitate its passage through the legislative process.  All stakeholders need to work together – just like transport modes do every day in the marketplace – to bring the collaboration of transport modes embodied in intermodality to a continued success for the greater benefit of Europe’s citizens and environment.

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"The temporary nature of the proposed compensatory measures should act as an important motivator for Member States to correct the regulatory imbalances that prevail within their legal frameworks. The extent of compensation would be established through the scientific assessment of disparities. UIRR hopes these concepts will be embraced by all affected parties during the course of the revision." - commented UIRR President Ralf-Charley Schultze.

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¹ http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/key-documents/index_en.htm

² http://www.uirr.com/en/media-centre/press-releases-and-position-papers/2014/mediacentre/663-combined-transports-eu-transport-policy-expectations.html

³ http://www.uirr.com/en/component/downloads/downloads/1161.html