Facilitation
Road transport, thanks to its unique door-to-door services which are available to everyone, everywhere at all times, is the backbone of strong economies and dynamic societies. Increased competition resulting from the liberalisation of trade in goods and services in a globalised economy requires ever more efficient logistics systems.
There is today an increasing need to harmonise legislation governing transport worldwide, across countries and among the different transport modes, in order to optimise the efficiency of the transport system at regional and global level.
With this view, the IRU fulfills its role by providing its expertise and assistance to legislators in order to guarantee the most rational and efficient regulations and advocates placing a greater emphasis on the enforcement of existing rules, industry-own initiatives and promoting and implementing best practices, rather than providing a regulation for every transport challenge, if we are to achieve commonly held economic, environmental, safety, social and operational goals.
Harmonising legislation and removing non-physical barriers
While the industry pursues the objective of offering better rather than more road transport, it is nonetheless crucial in the interest of economies and society as a whole, that this land transport mode, which is instrumental in driving economic prosperity and social progress everywhere in the world, is not penalised.
Facilitation of road transport aims to harmonise, as much as possible, all legislation currently governing road transport, in order to ensure interoperability, avoid duplication, and unnecessary confusion leading to costly delays, law infringements and fines.
Restrictions and bans on the free movement of trucks and coaches should also be harmonised, reduced and, wherever possible, eliminated. Moreover, the proper implementation of existing laws is also crucial, before creating any new ones.
Facilitation of road transport also aims to increase national and international trade and tourism by removing the administrative, fiscal and physical barriers which impede road transport and, consequently, economic development.
Balancing security, safety and free-flowing traffic
Facilitation therefore requires striking the right balance between effective security, fraud prevention and road safety on the one hand, and streamlining legislation and administrative formalities on the other, including at border crossing points.
International procedures, particularly at borders, constitute major barriers to trade, tourism and transport and require targeted measures in order to maximise the use of the scarce political, financial and administrative resources available. Long waiting times at borders cause huge disruption of logistics and mobility chains, cost billions to the economy annually, not to mention the social and sanitary implications of endless border queues.
While road transport vehicles and employees waste time at borders, consumers and society ultimately pay the bill for such barriers that reduce the efficiency of the global economy and delay much-needed economic development in less favoured regions of the world.
It is therefore in the interest of society that road transport is not penalised and that its vital role as the engine of economic and social development is better known and supported by all national and international policy-making bodies. All actors, authorities and businesses thus have a common interest to work in public-private partnership to promote and further facilitate road transport.
IRU Resolution to actively promote a multilateral approach to trade, tourism and international road transport facilitation to achieve economic development - 2011.
In today’s globalised economy, professional road transport is no longer merely a mode of transport, but a vital production tool for goods transport and tourism programmes that contributes considerably to social and economic prosperity while ensuring the achievements of the UN Millennium Development Goals. To ensure that the road transport sector can play its role in driving EU growth, the IRU and its Members therefore call upon Governments to end protectionist measures which impede international trade, travel and road transport, hence economic development, and harmonise market conditions through appropriate measures.
