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A FAIR DEAL FOR THE MOTORIST |
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UNIVERSAL ROAD PRICING... BY STEALTH? Summary: The EU has long sought to introduce road
pricing covering all Europe’s roads. In 2011, a Transport White Paper covered
its vision, with action planned from 2016. However, recent developments have almost
all been under the guise of energy policy, and much under-publicised. There
is a very real prospect of road pricing being imposed on the UK’s drivers. Q: Why is the EU Transport
White Paper important? A: The European Commission sees UK roads as
part of a ‘Trans
European Network’ (TEN-T) governed at EU level. In 2011, the Commission
released a transport White Paper "Roadmap
Towards a Single European Transport Area". This was essentially a political initiative, pushing
towards a single European approach, including ‘new congestion and 'climate
change' taxes such as road pricing’. The EU has long been pushing for road
pricing to pay for its Galileo satellite, which has had financial problems. However, at the time it was under-publicised in the
national press, who were decoyed by a Commission Press Release into reporting
on less emotive suggestions to ban conventional cars from cities by 2050. |
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Q: What does the small
print say? A: The small print makes it quite clear that the
Commission is going to push for compulsory
European road user charges for 'all vehicles'. (Relevant wording - 'demand
management', p8; 'all
vehicles/passengers cars', p15; 'full
and mandatory charging', p29). The accompanying press release hinted that any moves
towards road pricing are ‘for national
governments’, which was rather disingenuous. The Commission reserved the right to go for drastic
action with creation of ‘a pervasive
command and control approach to mobility'. The Executive
Summary (on page 5) noted the EU's preferred actions as markedly reducing people’s mobility. The
White Paper warned that transport users are likely to pay more than today. The general thrust indicated road pricing ambitions for
major routes (TENs) and other main roads that 'compete' with them, then more
local roads that would take displaced traffic wishing to avoid tolls. This
confirmed that the plans are for all
vehicles on all roads. Interesting also that compulsion
is intended in the period from 2016. (David Cameron had only ruled out wider
road pricing in the UK up to 2015). Q: Is the White Paper still
relevant? A: Very much so. Last July, the European Parliament transport
committee reviewed it and by a majority of 38 votes to 3, urged
the Commission to Commission to create a Single European Transport Area with
a widespread framework of road charges. Only the UK(UKIP)
and Swedish delegates voted against. The Commission has committed to action in its work
plan this March. By coincidence, Jonathan Parker, a Director-General
at the Commission, has also commissioned a report
on the potential for raising money across the EU from ‘green taxes’. Q: What right does the Commission
have to act? A: The European Commission is the EU body that proposes
legislation. It claims various justifications for a ‘Single European
Transport Area’, such completing the Single Market, ‘undistorted competition’,
and ‘the elimination of tax distortions’. However, it is under no obligation to introduce measures
in any way that the UK government can veto, and has previously introduced the
Working Time Directive in a way to avoid it being vetoed. Measures are
typically now decided by majority voting, without a national veto, in areas such
as the Single Market, competition, environment and energy… The EU plans to introduce (legislative) proposals in July
2016 – coincidentally just after the UK’s referendum on EU membership. |
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Q:
But isn’t charging for road use a national matter? A: Some old Directives have allowed national choice on HGV
charges. The UK government already has a lorry road user charge for
some years, with a simple per day charge for HGVs, and a rebate on road tax
(VED) for British hauliers. However, it is not the ‘distance-based charging’ –
per mile or km - wanted by the EU. The Commission has suddenly taken legal
action against the UK government, claiming that the scheme is
‘discriminatory’. This might be a wake-up call to those who feel that
deciding road use charges is a national matter. Distance-based charging, the EU’s preferred approach,
would require detailed journey
tracking and recording. (It has been pointed out that introducing it for
lorries might be a softly-softly way of installing the nationwide tracking
and charging technology, which could then be extended to all vehicles). The
Commission says that issues being addressed by the White Paper are too big to
be dealt with just by Member States (Executive
summary, p4). However, it has also surprisingly included road pricing
ambitions deep inside proposals for an ‘Energy
Union Package’. In
November 2015, motoring magazine Drive
Europe News confirmed the Commission’s ‘secret’ road pricing plans,
noting “the prime mover is Energy, not Transport”. Q: Could ‘Energy Union’ be a
Trojan Horse for road pricing? What has the UK government’s position been on
both? A: Before the 2015
general election, the Transport
Network website sensed that the Con, Lib and Lab parties were distancing
themselves from road pricing. (However, when separately asked to rule it out
in the current Parliament, neither Con or Lab
parties would commit to this. David Cameron had only ruled out wider road
pricing in the UK ‘up to 2015’.) Energy Secretary Amber Rudd made a speech
in Nov 2015 in which she claimed ‘the
Prime Minister has been calling for an ambitious Energy Union for Europe’.
(For some reason ‘political content’ was edited out). She added “So we welcome the report out from the EU today
on the “State of the Energy Union”…And I can say to Europe that Britain
stands ready to help make this vision a reality.” The ‘State of the Energy
Union’ communication
mentions ‘fair and efficient pricing’ (the EU’s euphemism for road pricing). Key Energy Union proposals were made at EU level in October
2014, March
2015 and June
2015, with acceptance from UK
representatives. In Dec
2015, heads of government committed to “swift implementation”. Transport Ministers Patrick
McLoughlin and Robert
Goodwill were certainly aware of ‘Energy Union’ in transport discussions,
but did not report
back on the road pricing angle with any priority. |
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References: EU White Paper documents – COM(2011)144 etc (warning on dalekspeak!)
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/strategies/2011_white_paper_en.htm EU Energy Union documents
(warning on one-sided glowing imagery and flowery language used) http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/energy-union/ More about Trans European Networks, road pricing (‘ITS’) technology and
the Transport White Paper on www.fairdealforthemotorist.org.uk/euten.htm
This page was originally compiled on 11 Jun 2016. After the shock
caused by the UK referendum vote to leave the EU, the initiative was put on
hold, but resurfaced in May 2017.
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