The Romanian Government notified, on Friday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) with three actions in the annulment of the problematic Mobility Package I provisions.
The complaints concern those provisions which „will have significant negative implications for the internal market and will affect the competitiveness of the transport of goods within the Union”.
According to a press release sent by the MFA on Friday, the provisions of the EU acts targeted by the annulment actions brought by the Romanian Government concern „those aspects that will have significant negative implications on the internal market and will affect the competitiveness of the transport of goods in the Union”.
Reference is made to the “prohibition of the normal weekly rest period onboard the vehicle; the obligation for the driver to periodically return to the employer’s operational centre or to his place of residence; the obligation to return the vehicle to one of the operational centres within 8 weeks from departure; establishing additional limitations when performing cabotage operations; establishing specific rules on the posting of drivers.
„The establishment of Romanian Government’s position in the annulment actions submitted today to the CJEU was made through the coordination between the MFA and the Ministry of Transport and the notification of the Court was submitted by the Government Agent for the CJEU within the MFA. The notification of the Court of Justice of the European Union follows the steps constantly promoted by the Romanian authorities for counteracting the restrictive and disproportionate nature of these provisions of the Mobility Package I,” the MFA transmitted.
The source mentioned states that the Romanian Government intends to formulate intervention requests in actions for annulment that will be submitted to the CJEU by other EU member states with similar interests.
The three legislative acts that represent the Mobility Package I, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 31 July 2020 and against which the Romanian Government has introduced actions for partial annulment, are the following:
– Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 as regards the minimum requirements regarding maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) no. 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs;
– Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009, (CE) nr. 1072/2009 and (EU) no. 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the road transport sector;
– Directive (EU) 2020/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 laying down specific rules on Directive 96/71 / EC and Directive 2014/67 / EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012.
„We remind you that Romania opposed the adoption of the three legislative acts, together with other 8 Member States with similar interests in this matter (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland). The Romanian state voted against the approval of the texts resulting from the negotiations with the European Parliament,” the MFA also transmitted.