Peter Agius, a former Nationalist Party candidate in the European Parliament, said Malta was late in opposing EU rules that would force trucking companies to give drivers longer rest periods.
Agius, a former spokesman for Italian MEP Antonio Tajani, said it was too late for Malta to complain about EU rules forcing trucking companies to give drivers mandatory rest breaks when it began discussing the rules in May 2017.
“It is certainly right for the Minister of Transport to meet with the private sector operators who will be affected by this regulation, but that is two years too late,” he said of Ian Borg’s meeting with Maltese coastal shipping companies Attrans, Falcotrans, Express Trailers and Fahrenheit.
Borg said Malta would support trucking companies and fight new EU rules that would affect Malta’s competitiveness.
The European Parliament recently voted in favor of amendments to EU rules forcing trucking companies to provide a paid rest period of about 45 hours every three to four consecutive weeks, at “the employer’s facility or at the drivers’ residence.”
Trucks will also have to return to company headquarters every eight weeks, in a move aimed at preventing transport companies from trying to register in other EU countries to take advantage of lower taxes.
The companies believe the rules will cost them between €500,000 and €1 million due to the need to buy more trucks and employ more people.
“The responsible committees of the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers where the Burg sites are located have already approved this regulation, which is expected to be adopted in the coming weeks,” Agius said.
“The European Commission’s proposal has been on the table since May 2017, has been discussed by MEPs five times in the European Parliament, and has been introduced without any amendments by Labor MEPs within the Transport Committee.”
Borg said Malta would voice its objections alongside Cyprus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, which have written to Commission Vice-President Timmermans and Transport Commissioner Adina Valian to abolish the rules.
“The pressure exerted by these countries will not be enough to change the rules,” Agius said. “I hope I am wrong and that the government can stop the rules within the Council or through a public vote in the European Parliament. But it will be difficult because our action comes too late. The Maltese government must learn how to better coordinate the early stages of such laws.” , meet systematically with stakeholders, and meet regularly with members of the European Parliament to coordinate Malta’s positions at the European level.
