The Mobility package I aims to ensure a level playing field among EU Member States. However, its proposals on Posting of workers directive application, rest and work time as well as return home are going to create less favourable working conditions for drivers and hauliers from peripheral EU Member States.
The introduction of quantitative threshold to make posting rules applicable to international transport as well as obligatory return home to the country of the establishment on a regular basis will distort competition among peripheral EU Member States and those located closer to the centre of the EU.
Hauliers and drivers from peripheral states would have to allocate much more financial and administrative resources. They will work under pressure in terms of organizing their work and leaving host country within proposed threshold. In spite of this, posting rules would start to apply in force major situations: congestions, accidents, delayed loading/unloading or prolonged administrative procedures. Furthermore, drivers will spend weeks on wheels driving thousands of kilometres only to reach their company’s home base.
Setting up additional administrative hurdles would act as restriction on market access, in particular for SMEs not only from peripheral countries but also from across the EU. Very large operators are in a relatively better position to invest in new drivers accommodation networks and apply new types of operations practices than the smaller and medium sized operators. In addition, large companies having subsidiaries in several EU Member States will not have to comply with requirements on posting, return home etc. at all. As a consequence, the Mobility Package I will accelerate concentration in the EU road transport industry towards very large operators. Whereas, SMEs will likely largely reduce their cross-border activities, withdraw from such activities or even end up in insolvency.
