At an overall level, we welcome the mobility package, as there is a need for clear, fair, enforceable and
uniform European rules. However, we must not introduce a disproportionate and symbolic application of
the Posting of Workers Directive that will not ensure a stronger Single Market. This is why we disagree with
the Commission’s lex specialis proposal, which presupposes that international transport (transit, bilateral
transport and cross-trade) is subject to the Posting of Workers Directive, and which intends to create only a
marginal derogation.

Firstly, applying the Posting of Workers Directive to all international transports where hypermobile workers
cross borders every day goes against the rationale of the Directive itself, as the intention has been to apply
the posting rules to employees that carry out work for months or years in the territory of one Member
State other than the state in which the driver normally works. The posting rules are thus inapplicable to
drivers who work on a daily or even hourly basis in different Member States.

Secondly, applying the Posting of Workers Directive will not be enforceable due to the large and complex
administrative challenges it causes. The Directive will entail applying numerous national legislations to a
month’s salary – control authorities and companies will likely have to deal with up to 20 different national
legislations depending on the countries they operate in every single month with up to 50 different
minimum wages per legislation, depending on the seniority of the driver, on the truck, on the goods
being transported etc. Applying the Directive would further entail applying just as many different national
legislations regarding minimum paid holidays. Applying the Directive would disproportionately restrict
the activities of the vast majority of EU transport companies, especially the small and medium sized
companies, which have less flexibility and resources to lift the strict and heavy requirements; they will likely
largely reduce their cross-border activities, withdraw from such activities or even experience insolvency.
Accordingly, the complex regulatory proposal will also have adverse effects on the road transport market
as a whole and consequently on the functioning of intra EU trade, as it will become very burdensome for
small, medium sized and large transport companies to apply different national labour laws with different
remunerations systems, different compositions of minimum wage, different social entitlements, different
collective agreements etc. to cross-border drivers.

Thirdly, applying the Posting of Workers Directive to international transport would not ensure a stronger
Single Market. The proposal will potentially diminish growth in the EU, as it will increase costs of
international transport operations and thus lead to a decrease in cross border trade. This would weaken
the Single Market and negatively affect the overall financial state and employment rates of EU.

Finally, applying Posting of Workers Directive will become counter-productive, as it 1) will likely lead to the
creation of more self-employed drivers that do not need to comply with posting rules, which will lead to
unfair and even harder competition in the market, and 2) will likely also increase establishments in non-
EU countries to circumvent the posting rules or even lead to existing transport companies outside of EU
overtaking parts of the European market.

For these reasons, the Signatories to this Declaration are against the application of the Posting of Workers
Directive to international road transport operations and therefore urge the institutions to explicitly exclude
them from the scope of the Directive.

Signatures:

Associação Nacional de Transportadores Públicos Rodoviários de Mercadorias
ČESMAD BOHEMIA, the association of roadtransport operators
Hungarian Road Transport Association
The National Union of Road Hauliers from Romania
Association of Estonian International Road Carriers
Association for the Danish road transport of goods
Asociación del transporte internacional por carretera
Lithuanian National Road Carriers Association LINAVA
Association of International Road Transport Carriers in Poland
Hellenic Federation of Road Transport Apostolos Kenanidis
President, OFAE
Zentralverband Spedition & Logistik
Deutscher Speditions- und Logistikverband e.V.
European Association of Freight Forwarders,
Logistics Service Providers and Customs
Union des Entreprises de Transport et de
Logistique de France
Polish Association Of Coach Carriers
Croatian Chamber of Economy
Portuguese Commerce and Services Confederation
Croatian Chamber for Trades and Crafts
Belgian Courier Association
European Express Association
European Shippers’ Council
Confederation of industry of the Czech Republic
Freight Transport Association
Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers
The Road Haulage Association Czech Chamber of Commerce
The Romanian Employers’ Confederation
CONCORDIA
ČESMAD Slovakia Association Association of road carriers “Latvijas Auto”
Polish Nationalwide Union of Road
Transport Employers
Finnish Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association
Bundesverband Paket & Express Logistik B I E K
Transportindustriförbundet
The Irish Road Haulage Association
Association of the Bulgarian Enterprises for
International Road Transport and the Roads (AEBTRI),
The Bulgarian Association for Freight
Forwarding, Transport and Logistics
Automotive Industry Association of the Slovak Republic Polish International Freight Forwarders Association Finnish Bus and Coach Association Linja-autoliitto
Association of Logistics and Freight
Forwarding of the Slovak Republic
Česká Republika Svaz Spedice a Logistiky
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia Employers’ Federation of Road Transport
Freight Transport Association Ireland
Hellenic Chambers Transport Association CPC – Portuguese Shipper’s Council
The British International Freight Association
Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry