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September 17, 2002
EU Enlargement makes tougher access rules a “must”
Hanover – The IRU and the German automobile manufacturers association VDA are joining forces to stage a seminar entitled Enlargement of the EU – Challenge for Freight Transport on 18 September 2002, as part of the IAA international motor show, in Hanover, Germany, organised by the VDA.
Rudolf Bauer, Chairman of the IRU’s Economic Affairs Commission, said: “EU Enlargement will bring many big opportunities but also some difficult challenges, which is why the IRU recommends a ‘step-by-step’ strategy, with progressive market opening in line with implementation by candidate countries of the EU acquis communautaire. The IRU is also calling on the European Commission to set up a road transport market monitoring mechanism, as it has already agreed for the rail sector, to look out for malfunctioning of the market and initiate corrective action. Where existing regulations are inadequate, they will need to be tightened.
In particular, stricter criteria for admission to the occupation of road transport operator are needed to discourage unsustainable competitive practices by marginal ‘cowboy’ operators.”
When the EU road transport market was liberalised back in the 1980s, quantitative limits on the number of operating companies were replaced with three “qualitative” criteria, all subject to national interpretation and variations. The result is that with only EUR 9,000 of bank loans, a police certificate declaring no major crime and a couple of weeks training to pass the Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) exam, anyone can set up a fully legal road transport company. Mr Bauer noted: “This cannot be the right formula for ensuring quality and professionalism in the road transport sector.”
Recent events have shown these criteria are totally inadequate. With vehicle leasing contracts readily available, it is all too easy to set up small, one vehicle transport enterprises, which are then obliged to take on any work they can get, even at unsustainable prices, in order to pay the rental. As a result, overall prices are forced down to levels where the honest, law-abiding majority of operators are hard pressed to offer a high-quality, professional service and still make a decent return, which is good for neither the sector nor for society.
The IRU Academy has been created as an industry initiative to help harmonise and strengthen training, starting with a standardised international CPC curriculum, with optional modules covering areas in which the mandatory CPC contents are inadequate, such as accounting, logistics, human resources and employment, quality systems, fleet management, advanced driving and driver assessment.
The IRU Academy’s Accredited Training Institute programme, together with the individual IRU Academy Diploma scheme, form a powerful and effective Quality Control system, which includes periodic re-evaluation to ensure training and examination standards are maintained.
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IRU - 3, rue de Varembé - CH-1211 GENEVA 20
Phone: +41 (22) 918 27 00 - Fax: +41 (22) 918 27 41
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