Driving change: The future of energy infrastructure for road transport
In a three-part webinar series, IRU and POLIS brought together European leaders to advance the decarbonisation of heavy-duty freight transport within (peri-)urban areas and the European road network. Participants debated critical issues shaping the EU’s journey towards carbon neutrality by 2050.
European Parliament endorses a balanced solution on platform workers
The European Parliament has officially approved the provisional agreement with the Council on the Platform Workers Directive at today’s plenary session. Pending confirmation from the Council, the focus now shifts to Member States.
Drivers and cargo at risk: EU needs more safe and secure truck parking
Employers, trade unions and parking operators are urging the European Commission to maintain a focused approach to certifying, upgrading, building, and funding safe and secure truck parking areas in the EU over the next three years.
IRU, ETF call for EU action on third-country driver rights and conditions
IRU and ETF delivered their joint statement on third-country drivers to the EU Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner today. Both organisations commit to working together to enhance the working conditions of third-country drivers, in full respect of their rights.
The EU’s new carbon toll: Complexities, shortcomings and solutions
EU countries have started implementing the bloc’s new CO2 tolls. Whether they’re new or additions to existing systems, they will have a big impact on logistics. What will those be? We asked Axxès and DKV Mobility for their perspectives.
IRU at Connecting Europe Days: key insights
IRU addressed the urgent need for better alternative fuel options, secure parking solutions and road transport’s role in multimodal transport at Connecting Europe Days in Brussels.
Versatility on the road: unpacking the EU’s truck fleet
The EU has a remarkably versatile truck fleet consisting of over 6.75 million vehicles. This IRU Intelligence Briefing unpacks this figure, looking at vehicle age, distribution, configuration, usage versus capacity, and much more.
CountEmissions EU: Parliament confirms pragmatic reporting framework
IRU welcomes the endorsement of the CountEmissions EU report by the European Parliament’s plenary. The adopted text adds clarity on the steps that road transport companies are expected to take in order to report their greenhouse gas emissions.
Parliament backs EU’s overly ambitious new heavy-duty vehicle CO₂ targets
Despite a last-minute push for technology neutrality, the European Parliament’s plenary vote on CO₂ emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles fails to recognise other solutions that can play a role in decarbonising the commercial road transport sector.
Smart tachographs in the EU: The Dutch perspective
With the EU’s tachograph retrofitting process underway, we caught up with our member Transport en Logistiek Nederland (TLN) to get their perspective on how the industry is dealing with the new devices and where next for this technology.
Driving change: Key takeaways on zero-emission freight in and around cities
In the second of a three-part webinar series, IRU and POLIS brought together European leaders working to achieve carbon neutrality in road freight transport in and around cities. The group debated key issues on the complex road to 2050.
Platform Workers Directive: National implementation is now key
EU Member States have reached a last-minute consensus on the Platform Workers Directive, aiming to regulate the gig economy while accommodating diverse national models. The focus now turns to national implementation.
Parliament backs immediate smart greening of EU road transport
IRU welcomes today’s vote in the European Parliament’s plenary on the Weights and Dimensions Directive. The Parliament has improved the incentives that the European Commission had proposed to accelerate the uptake of zero-emission vehicles.
Drivers and cargo at risk: EU urgently needs more secure truck parking
IRU has reiterated the urgent need for more safe and secure parking areas at a conference in the European Parliament. The debate was followed by the European Truck Parking Award ceremony. The winners are located in France and Spain.
European Parliament adopts pragmatic, SME-friendly GHG reporting measures
IRU welcomes the joint committee vote in the European Parliament on the CountEmissions EU proposal. The committees’ report allows sub-contractors, which are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to use secondary data. It also rightly puts an immediate focus on reporting based on the ISO standard, as it is too soon for a switch to a life-cycle approach.
Driving change: Zero-emission freight webinar inspires European stakeholders
Europe’s road freight transport industry, cities and regions all agree on the need to become carbon neutral by 2050. Given the diversity of actors and challenges, which include the frictionless transport of goods, access to consumers, and the reduction of air and noise pollution, how to reach this goal is a more complex question.
Respect drivers: A targeted and intelligence-led enforcement for Europe
IRU outlined key measures to improve the treatment of drivers during roadside checks and to digitalise control documents at a high-level conference on road control organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Mobilising Poland’s road transport know-how for Europe and beyond
IRU member EwiCenter equips operators and drivers with information, data and software to set wages, navigate the EU’s Mobility Package and boost the attractiveness of the driver profession. We caught up with the company’s CEO, Mariusz Hendzel, to better understand how.
Farmer protests: governments must compensate damages
Many farmer protests across Europe have seriously disrupted logistic chains, blocking key routes, attacking trucks and destroying cargo, often with the police as a passive witness. The cost for drivers and transport firms is huge and growing. They need compensation.
Our young bus and coach drivers are safe and Europe’s future
A young bus or coach driver is often viewed – mistakenly – as being unsafe. But with the training that they undergo, they become skilled and reliable professional drivers on par with their older colleagues, safely performing a vital societal service. In this article, Meyering Verkehrsbetriebe’s Bus & Coach Business Manager and Trainer explains just why we need to revisit our perception of young bus and coach drivers.
Austria makes essential freight traffic captive to skiers
Austria has extended a weekend driving ban during the ski season on one of the EU’s busiest commercial routes, exclusively targeting freight transit operations. This further challenges the principle of the free movement of goods in the EU, just to clear the way for ski lovers. The European Commission must ensure that Austria respects fundamental EU principles.
Vote beyond myths: Back EU transport committee’s pragmatic licence position
Young professional drivers in the EU have been the target of a misguided safety campaign. The European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) provides concrete steps to address the EU’s youth unemployment and driver shortage while carefully considering and addressing road safety aspects. Its vision should be endorsed by the plenary.
EU transport committee OKs new CO₂ incentives but ignores proven solutions
IRU welcomes today’s European Parliament Transport Committee vote on vehicle weights and dimensions. They confirmed key CO₂ emission incentives, but, disappointingly, placed additional obstacles against wider use of European Modular System vehicles.
EU environment committee backs mixed deal on heavy vehicle CO₂ standards
IRU takes stock of today’s vote in the European Parliament’s Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) on CO₂ emission standards for new heavy-duty vehicles. It is a mixed bag for the commercial road transport sector.
Protecting animals during transport: EU needs better, more applicable rules
IRU’s EU goods transport members have unanimously approved the organisation’s position on the European Commission’s proposal to amend rules governing the protection of animals during transport.