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

The European Parliament adopted by 680 votes to 4, with 3 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on 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.

The proposal is part of a package of temporary contingency measures to alleviate some of the major disruptions that will occur on 1 January 2021 in the event that an agreement with the United Kingdom is not yet reached.

Its objective is to establish temporary measures to regulate the carriage of goods by road and the provision of regular and special regular passenger services between the EU on the one hand and the United Kingdom on the other hand following the end of the transitional period referred to in the withdrawal agreement.

These measures are intended to maintain basic connectivity for a strictly limited period of 6 months (until 30 June 2021) provided that the UK provides the same guarantees to EU carriers.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, giving its support to the proposal.

However, the amended text underlines that after the transitional period and in the absence of a future agreement governing road freight transport between the Union and the United Kingdom, disruptions to traffic flows are likely to occur, particularly at border crossing points which are few in number and where additional checks on vehicles and their loads need to be carried out.

Such disruptions could lead to situations with a negative impact on critical supply chains which are deemed to be necessary to manage the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. To reduce the extent of such disruptions, United Kingdom road haulage operators should temporarily be allowed to perform a limited number of additional operations within the territory of the Union in the context of operations between the United Kingdom and the Union. Their vehicles would then not have to return to the United Kingdom immediately and would be less likely to be empty when returning to the United Kingdom, which would reduce the overall number of vehicles and hence the pressure at the border crossing points.

The amended text stipulates that following laden journeys from the territory of the UK to the territory of the Union, hauliers would be allowed to carry out, within seven days of unloading on Union territory, a maximum of two additional loading and unloading operations on Union territory during a period of two months from the first day of application of the Regulation, and one operation within seven days of unloading on Union territory during the following three months.