Opening Ceremony - José Capel Ferrer

IRU XXVIII^th World Congress
Under the Patronage of the President of Romania, Ion Iliescu

Opening Ceremony

José Capel Ferrer
Director, UNECE Transport Division

"Creating a legal framework and partnership for economies to emerge"

Mr. President
Mr. Minister,
Mr. President of the International Road Transport Union,
Ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the United Nations and more particularly the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which I have the honour to represent here, I welcome this 28th IRU World Congress and, by my presence, offer it the full support of my organization.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe has been, as you know, the pioneering international organization in the field of transport in Europe. Since its creation in 1947 it has focused, as a primary objective, on facilitating international road transport while ensuring its safety. To this end, it has established numerous common rules and underscored their importance by incorporating them into international legally binding Conventions and Agreements.

In doing that, the UNECE has made a fundamental contribution to the facilitation of international trade in Europe, since it goes without saying that transport is vital for the well functioning of economic activities, for the production and distribution of goods as well as for trade.

But if all this legal work has seen the light of day, it is thanks to efforts made, not only by our Member States but also by dynamic non- governmental organizations such as the IRU, which have provided their experience and know-how to make these instruments technically possible, economically acceptable and applicable in practice. 

I am also pleased to point out at this stage certain historical and geographical similarities between our two organizations. The IRU, in fact, was born just a year after the birth of the Economic Commission for Europe and, likewise, Geneva is its city of operation. This is not so by chance. It was, from the start, a bet on the future, but also a sign of confidence and of the wish to cooperate on the part of your founders, which is very much to their credit.

This cooperation, I would say even this partnership, between UNECE and the IRU is still as active today and the results are there as witness to the wisdom of this cooperation. It has allowed, through the various legal instruments developed by UNECE, the development of mobility of persons and goods on European territory, thereby establishing the basis for the development of trade, growth and prosperity in Europe.

Since its creation, UNECE has put at the disposal of its member countries but also their industrialists, farmers, and other transport users, more than 50 international Agreements and Conventions, which constitute the indispensable common technical and legal framework for the development of transport in Europe.

Within this ensemble, the road sector occupies pride of place. The E road network, road traffic rules and road signs and signals, vehicle regulations, the contract for the carriage of goods, the ADR for the transport of dangerous goods by road and the « TIR » transit system, are some examples that demonstrate the diversity and the scope of our activities.

Developing and updating all these legal instruments, while taking into account new technologies and responding to society’s growing calls for greater safety and protection of the environment, is our constant task.  It is sometimes an arduous task because the only way that decisions are taken in our organization is by consensus. Nevertheless, with the help of government experts and in close collaboration with the European Commission, the ECMT and NGOs, among which the IRU occupies a pro-eminent position, we work towards the solution of these problems.

It is in this way that we have just completed the extension of the E road network to the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia, in fact to the borders of China. This extension is of great importance for those countries because it will contribute to the development of their road infrastructure and, in the end, to their economic growth and their integration into the European and world economies.

We are working to improve the parameters and standards of these roads, including on safety in tunnels, on the basis of the recommendations of the group of experts that we created following the accidents in the Mont- Blanc and Tauern tunnels. In parallel and with the support of the TEM and TER Projects, we intend to cooperate even more closely with the European Commission on the further development of the pan-European Transport Corridors.

At the same time, in order to make road transport more efficient and safer, we are currently preparing a whole package of amendments to the Vienna Conventions on Road Traffic and on Road Signs and Signals, which will make existing provisions stricter or introduce new norms such as the prohibition of the use of hand-held mobile phones while driving.  We are also promoting better protection of pedestrians and the introduction of a minimum alcohol level in blood, particularly for professional drivers.

We are also in the process of modifying the AETR Agreement, which is well known to all road transport professionals present here today, in order to introduce the digital tachograph that has already been adopted at the EU level and which new vehicles will be equipped with from 2004.

In the area of vehicle regulations, progress has been remarkable, both as concerns safety and protection of the environment. For example, these regulations have allowed the heavy goods vehicles and coaches built today to pollute 30% less than those built 5 years ago. And those built from 2005 will be 30% less polluting for the majority of emissions and 80% less polluting for particulate emissions.  Furthermore, our Working Party on the Construction of Vehicles, which has become the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29), is already working on the elaboration of global standards which will improve still further the efficiency, safety and emissions of road vehicles.

Finally, I would like to speak about the TIR Convention, which you know well since your organization has been for 50 years now in charge of its implementation. This Convention, which facilitates the transport of goods in transit thanks to a system of trust between customs authorities and an international financial guarantee system, is one of the key instruments for facilitating international trade, allowing the development of new markets and promoting the integration of the countries in transition. After some problems in the 1990s, we have undertaken a thorough revision of the TIR regime. This reform included, in the first stage, the introduction of the SAFETIR for the electronic checking of TIR carnets, but also greater control of access to the system, more transparency in the guarantee system and the creation of the TIR Executive Board. 

The second stage of this reform which entered into force very recently on 12 May aims to define the legal and administrative responsibilities of all those involved in the TIR regime.  A third stage, whose goal is the introduction of computerized data processing while preserving the basic philosophy of the TIR system as well as its legal and administrative structure, is currently underway.

It is clear that this reform is aimed at preventing certain criminal organizations, certain transporters or industrialists, whoever they may be, from using the facilities provided for in the Convention for fraudulent or other illicit ends. But it is also clear that, through your organization and in defence of the legitimate interests of honest transporters, you can contribute to the strengthening of the TIR regime. Moreover, I am sure that the countries Parties to the Convention need your cooperation and rightly appreciate it.

So far I have spoken a lot about the work of UNECE for the facilitation of transport and trade in Europe and the contribution of the IRU to that task. However, I would like to leave these words of complacency and congratulation aside for one moment. Road transport is suffering from a poor brand image, for various reasons, some justified, some less so, ranging from the great visual impact and heavy weight and volume of trucks and lorries, to their greater contribution to pollution, to the lack of respect for traffic rules by certain professional drivers, and to the increased gravity of accidents involving trucks or coaches.

It is true that the IRU has made an active contribution to the process of sustainable development by adopting on the occasion of the Congress in Budapest in 1996 a Charter and the 3 « i » strategy «incentive, innovation and infrastructure», which I welcomed at that Congress and which seems to me to respond fully to this concern. 

However, it is, above all, in everyday life that an image, good or bad, is forged. It is also in the everyday business of transport that we must redouble our efforts to improve this state of affairs.  We still expect a lot from you to achieve this goal. In fact, I consider that the IRU and all its members at the national level have a determining role to play in improving road safety and in ensuring that the rules governing road transport are applied and respected, which unfortunately is not always the case today as we know only too well.

You, road transport professionals, have in your hands basic tools of mobility and development, which allow you to occupy a key position in the economy and which give you a strategic role in society. But, on the other hand, the irresponsible behaviour of certain professional drivers, the heavy weight and bulky size of heavy commercial vehicles, the obliged sharing of the highway with other vehicles and the impact on public opinion of severe accidents involving trucks and coaches could put this strategic role in danger.

I invite you to fully recognise this situation and to do everything in your power so that your drivers give an example of respect for the rules and become models to be followed, real and true gentlemen of the roads. It is a challenge that your profession should focus on. For our part, we are ready to lend our support if necessary for any initiative in this direction which needs coordination at the international level.

It is with this invitation to act, and on these proposals for the future, that I will finish my speech but not without wishing in advance every success to this 28th IRU World Congress.

I thank you for your attention.

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