Four Maltese haulage companies in tricky visit to Brussels about haulage
The Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg met with representatives from Attrans, Falcotrans Ltd, Express Trailers and Fahrenheit, all of which operate in the haulage industry in our country.
This meeting took place before the minister is set to visit Brussels to discuss aspects of the EU Mobility Package which could create obstacles for the sector in our country and in eight other countries that will also participate in these discussions.
Minister Borg explained the Maltese government’s position and solidarity with those who operate in this industry with regard to this Mobility Package.
“Government is behind you and understands your disappointment with the new rules. Malta has always made its position clear on a number of factors we disagree with and decisions were made anyway. We have joined eight other countries having the same thoughts and we have sent a letter to Commission vice president Timmermans with our thoughts, while we are also discussing with Transport Commissioner Valean,” Minister Borg said.
Particularly, the new rule forcing operators to bring trucks back to Malta every few weeks can create a number of new challenges, both with regard to costs as well as in terms of time and the environment. The minister said that such a rule threatens the competitivity of countries like Malta.
“The Maltese government is committed to be at the forefront when it comes to change, incentives and initiatives for better air quality and in the fight against climate change. We also want to do this with changes in our transport sector. In the meantime, these rules will not help these goals but will interfere with them and go against EU climate objectives and the Paris Agreement. Apart from this, they will have negative consequences for the economy and the haulage industry,” said Minister Borg.
Minister Borg said that together with Malta there are Cyprus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, while the Commission is carrying out an impact assessment of these rules, as these came into force differently than what the Commission itself had proposed.
“We are an island state and these rules will create tough challenges. Anyone on the periphery of the EU will suffer because of these rules. We don’t want our people to suffer the consequences. This is an important industry and we will be doing all we can to have the rules annulled. We are determined to work hard to strengthen competitivity and to see more equity for you operating in this sector. I assure you of the government’s support and we are willing to continue discussing with you. Let’s work together for positive change,” the minister concluded.