The next milestone for the enforcement of the Mobility Package 1 is 2 February, when new European Union rules on the posting of drivers will become applicable in the 27 Member States.
Two weeks ahead of this deadline, IRU invited the most important actors for the effectiveness of the new rules to a workshop in order to evaluate their readiness.
The European Commission, which has a central role in the process, gave an impressive joint presentation of the various directorates involved. It confirmed it is ready by announcing two necessary steps:
- the imminent publication of the European Commission’s official clarifications to the new rules, a valuable Q&A IRU has long called for, and
- the successful testing and imminent launch of the Internal Market Information (IMI) system, a unique public interface for the submission and checking of posting declarations in the EU.
The European Labour Authority presented its supportive activities. They include training sessions and the development of centralised online information centres relevant for the Mobility Package 1. Also, they proposed a single window with references to Member States’ national posting rules.
With representatives of several Member States in the audience, the discussion inevitably covered the question of the transposition of the new European posting rules at Member State level. Participants were surprised to learn that, to date, only three Member States are close to finalising transposition. The European Commission expressed the view that the new rules could not be enforced in countries that are still missing national rules to specifically implement the EU framework and detail aspects such as the level of remuneration.
The transport operators and enforcers present at the event emphasised that the transposition of the new rules at national level and proper communication of this information to stakeholders remain critical issues to be solved. The actual registration of the hundreds of thousands of transport operators and their drivers in the IMI system will also be another test.
IRU continues to be a leading stakeholder in this transition. We will keep informing our members, and the wider road transport community, regularly on the progress made.