The European Commission has issued its formal response to a complaint filed by the Italian government, which clearly identifies numerous violations of EU law by Austria. As the road transport industry has repeatedly pointed out, several of Austria’s traffic bans on heavy vehicles impede the free movement of goods by road through a key trade corridor, in violation of EU law.
IRU welcomes the European Commission’s reasoned opinion on Italy’s complaint against Austria’s ban on the movement of heavy goods vehicles.
It clearly defines violations of Articles 34 and 35 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. These articles do not allow Member States to impose quantitative restrictions between Member States.
“The European Commission’s position on the Austrian traffic ban is very clear,” said Raluca Marian, IRU Advocacy Director. “We congratulate Italy for its great initiative, taking action against abuses and keeping this essential trade corridor flowing.”
“However, this is just the beginning. The IRU, its members and the entire European road transport and logistics industry are keen to know what steps Italy, and in particular the Commission, will take to address the violations identified.
“The negotiations that have been taking place for a long time at government level have proven unsuccessful. We need to take action now. With this precious confirmation in hand, we expect Italy to fight this case further in the Court of Justice with the support of the European Commission.”
The reasoned opinion clearly confirms that the Austrian traffic ban is incompatible with the provisions of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The IRU and several national road freight transport associations have raised this concern several times over recent years without a satisfactory response from the European Commission so far.
Austria’s ban poses major obstacles to trade between Italy and other member states, including trade in essential agricultural products, prompting Italy to take action.
