Starting 1 November 2019, Denmark will tighten its rules for foreign buses and coaches. Foreign buses will be allowed to legally cabotage for seven consecutive days in Denmark per calendar month.
The current situation in Denmark is unsustainable. Foreign buses drive empty to Denmark and perform systematic cabotage on a permanent basis. Furthermore, these services are performed by drivers paid below national standards. This is due to the fact that the current EU rules applicable to international road passenger transport, i.e. Regulation 1073/2009, are difficult to enforce and the cross-border enforcement amongst EU Member States lags behind. The rules have also failed to maintain social standards for drivers.
This decision by the Danish government shows that when EU laws are incomplete and cause market distortions, Member States take the lead! This is an important step forward to end unfair competition and fight social dumping in the bus and coach sector.
The ETF and its affiliated trade unions want to see more capacity given to Member States to broaden their efforts to keep the road transport sector free from dumping practices.