On March 18 2021, during their first annual statutory meeting, the ETF Management Committee and expressed their outrage towards the continuous attempts to attack the Mobility Package.
Adopted in July 2020, after three years of intense and hard negotiations, the Mobility Package sets new and clear rules for the European transport market, for transport companies and bus and truck drivers. The package is a balanced compromise. It is the outcome of lengthy negotiations between EU countries, the European Parliament and the Commission. Its provisions will gradually come into force up until 2026 and will create a fairer transport market for companies, workers, the European Countries and citizens.
Recently, however, seven EU countries have decided to start a full-scale attack on the new rules by instigating 15 court cases in the European Court of Justice. The ETF Management Committee calls these clear attempts to question the new rules and distort or even destroy the compromise and the Mobility Package as such.
The ETF, a federation representing 5 million transport workers and their 250 trade unions, is calling for broad support for the Mobility Package.
We strongly advise the 7 European Countries to reconsider their position and withdraw from legal action.
the ETF Management Committee calls on all EU governments and politicians who have worked towards reaching a balanced compromise for the Mobility Package to strongly support the new European rules by backing up the European Council and the European Parliament in this process.
“Despite different approaches and levels of satisfaction with the Mobility Package, it is not the time to question the new rules. It is time for all of us to work constructively and take part in the process to make it work. It is time to have real fair transport! And fair competition based on fair business models. In a modern Europe with modern transport businesses and modern working places for European transport drivers.”, said ETF President Frank Moreels.
However, the ETF would like to underline that the Mobility Package could have been better if transport workers had been asked to create it.
“But that’s how a real European compromise works, and this was a delicate and difficult compromise reached over a long and strenuous process. With it, it’s true: no one can tick all boxes on their wish-list. But that’s how things work if we want rules covering the whole Europe, if we want straight answers to social and market issues in one go. The power of the Package is precisely that: it closes all doors to social dumping and cut-throat competition in road transport. For the unions, the implementation of these measures is taking far too much time right now. That’s what we all should focus all our energy on: to step up enforcement rather than spend agonising moments along ECJ corridors.”, declared Jan Villadsen, ETF Vice-President.
The Mobility Package consists of an array of different new rules covering the following elements: Posting of workers in the road transport sector, combatting illegal business models, new rules on cabotage, social protection of transport workers, driving and rest time rules and digital enforcement and fair competition.
Find more facts about the Mobility Package here.
Our short animation, explaining the benefits of the Mobility Package:
