Microsoft word - 20060215_kerekasztal nyilatkozatvéglegesb_angol.doc

A JOINT DECLARATION BY EUROPEAN ROAD TRANSPORT OPERATORS
CONCERNING THE PROFESSIONAL ROUNDTABLE MEETING HELD
IN BUDAPEST
The organizations from six European countries, representing road transport operators exchanged opinions on the effects, tasks and challenges that have arisen in this sector since the time the European Union was extended. The representatives of the above organizations agree that they serve best the interests of their members and the trade's future, if they would attach special, importance during their work, to the problems affecting road transport service providers, and they endeavor to represent their solution both in domestic and in foreign arenas. It would not be expedient to rank common problems, as their weight differs from country to country, since the trade's historic and economic conditions are different everywhere. Yet a top priority should be the essential case of traffic safety. It needs to be clearly stated that as a result of the development in the design of vehicles over the past decade, road transport as a source of danger, has been reduced. To increase road safety, transport operation enterprises should place an ever greater emphasis on human factors. Businesses should effectively co-operate in the training and retraining of drivers. The participants of the roundtable agree with the European Union's 2003/59/EC Directive, and on their own part they will do their utmost to promote its content effectively. They request both the Commission of the European Union and their own governments to acquire support for the training that lays another burden on the trade. Otherwise it may well be that the training of new drivers will either decrease or stop within the Community, and as a common phenomenon, appearance of drivers from third countries will become common. Increasing the competitive edge of road transport enterprises and its promotion is a sovereign decision by each country. It may bring about an unfair competitive advantage if the number, profundity and distribution of checks differ in extent on the common transport market. This especially concerns the checking of social rules, and particularly the checking of driving and resting times. In order to promote an increased adherence to and control of social regulations, our organizations will act jointly to have the authorities in member states sanction those violating rules within a uniform procedure. They support introduction of digital tachographs also in the case of countries outside the European Union. They request the Commission of the European Union to speed up the introduction of digital tachographs also in third countries in such a way that an extra transit. The representatives of the six transport organizations all agree that an economic policy considering road transport a permanent and even increasing source of state revenues is incorrect. The participants suggest that the tax content of fuel prices currently varying be approximated. They request the Parliament of the European Union to create a rule of law ensuring in general that in the event of repeated price booms of fuels for motor vehicles, individual member states may temporarily reduce the excise tax content. Thus they will be able to prevent a further deterioration of the transport trade's competitive situation. They agree with the idea of introducing fees proportionate to the use of roads, but only in the event that the individual member states will be able to spend the revenues thus collected, in full or in major part, for the development and maintenance of their road network. The participants of the roundtable consider their meeting most useful, and in the future they intend to make all efforts to strengthen the direct exchange of information between their organizations, as well as to formulate and represent a common standpoint in European actions affecting the future of the road transport trade. Francesco del Boca Confartigianato Trasporti UPTR Associazzione Nazionale Autotrasporto Union Professionnelle du Transport par route Fédération Nationale des Transports Routiers Section for Transport

Source: http://www.nit.hu/kepfeltolt/20060215_Kerekasztal_nyilatkozatVeglegesB_angol.pdf