IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto has been in the road transport industry for over 30 years. As he prepares to hand over the reins, we sat down with him to reflect on those three decades. The first part of the interview looks at the industry. The second is on IRU itself.

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to strengthen the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) for the EU emissions trading system covering buildings, road transport and additional sectors (ETS2), ahead of its full launch in 2028. The agreement backs the European Commission’s proposal to reinforce the existing safeguards designed to limit excessive carbon price volatility.

Protect the North American trade deal, modernise borders and keep goods flowing. That was the message from IRU’s recent North American Transportation Forum webinar. The discussion focused on the future of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), also known as CUSMA in Canada and T-MEC in Mexico, as the three countries move through the agreement’s six-year review process.

A new industry initiative is injecting fresh momentum into the uptake of eCMR, the UN digital consignment note standard, targeting interoperability across vendors, users and countries.

The Netherlands is not yet facing the same acute truck driver shortage seen in some European markets. But a deeper structural challenge is already taking shape. We spoke with Nadia Goverde, HR Director at IRU member Jan de Rijk, to better understand how Dutch operators are experiencing the shortage and preparing for the years ahead.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reinforcing its role as a key trade hub through its strong and continued support for the TIR system, led by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA). This commitment is translating into tangible and growing benefits, with faster and more efficient cross-border procedures and an expanding range of operational scenarios.

IRU brought the voice of commercial road transport operators to POLITICO’s Energy & Climate Forum in Brussels, joining European Commissioners, national policymakers, members of the European Parliament, industry leaders and energy experts in discussions on Europe’s energy, climate and competitiveness agenda.