Common rules ensuring basic road freight and road passenger connectivity following the end of the transition period mentioned in the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community

PURPOSE: to lay down temporary measures to govern the carriage of goods by road as well as the provision of regular and special regular passenger transport services between, on the one side, the Union and the United Kingdom from the end of the transitional period referred to in the withdrawal agreement.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: this proposal is part of a package of contingency measures to prepare for a possible scenario of no agreement between the Union and the United Kingdom after the end of the transitional period.

At the end of the transition period, and in the absence of any special provision, all rights and obligations ensuing from Union law in respect of market access would be ended, insofar as the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Union and its Member States is concerned.

In such a situation, the international transport of goods and passengers by road between the Union and the United Kingdom would be severely disrupted.

PURPOSE: the present proposal thus has the objective to lay down temporary measures to govern the carriage of goods by road as well as the provision of regular and special regular passenger transport services between, on the one side, the Union and, on the other side, the United Kingdom following the end of the transition period referred to in the withdrawal agreement. These measures are intended to maintain basic connectivity for a strictly time-limited period of 6 months (until 30 June 2021) provided that the UK provides the same guarantees to EU carriers.

The proposal provides for:

- the unilateral granting of rights for bilateral carriage to road haulage operators established in United Kingdom so that they can continue to carry goods between their territory and the Union;

- the unilateral granting of rights for the bilateral carriage of passengers by coach and bus as part of regular or special regular services to bus and coach operators established in the United Kingdom so that they can continue to carry passengers between their territory and the Union;

- the unilateral granting of rights to pick up and set down passengers in the border region of Ireland in the course of international regular and special regular services between Ireland and the United Kingdom in respect of Northern Ireland.

In addition, the proposal:

- makes rights granted to United Kingdom road operators subject to conformity with the relevant Union law applicable to road freight and road passenger transport operators and equivalent rights being granted by the United Kingdom to Union road operators;

- lays down a mechanism to ensure that the rights enjoyed by EU road operators in the United Kingdom are equivalent to those granted to United Kingdom road operators under the proposed Regulation. If that is not the case, the Commission is empowered to adopt the necessary measures to correct the situation by means of delegated acts;

- lays down a flexible mechanism to ensure that Union road haulage operators and coach and bus service operators enjoy fair and equal opportunities to compete with United Kingdom road haulage operators and coach and bus service operators.