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In action brought before CJEU, Romanian Gov't requests suspension of Mobility Package I requirement
The government of Romania referred on Wednesday to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) a request for the suspension of the enforcement of the Mobility Package I requirement for trucks to return to one of the company's operational centers within 8 weeks from departure, and which is to come in force on February 21, 2022, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI) and the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) inform.
"The submission of the request comes in continuation of the steps taken by the Romanian state before the CJEU in connection with the Mobility Package I. MTI and MAE point out that on October 23, 2020 Romania initiated three appeals for the partial repeal of the EU acts that make up the mentioned package. As already indicated (https://www.mae.ro/node/54005), the provisions targeted by the three actions concern aspects which, according to the government of Romania, will have significant negative implications for the internal market and will affect the competitiveness of freight transport in the Union, specifically: the ban on the normal weekly rest period on board the vehicle; the obligation for the driver to return periodically to the employer's operational center or to his place of residence; the obligation for the vehicle to return to one of the operational centers within 8 weeks of departure; the establishment of additional restrictions on cabotage operations; the establishment of specific rules on the posting of drivers," MTI said in the release.
Also, on February 11, 2021 (https://www.mae.ro/node/54904) the Romanian state intervened in 12 complaints against the same package, initiated by EU member states with similar interests to Romania (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Hungary).
All these steps of the Romanian authorities before the CJEU are part of the constant efforts of the Romanian authorities to counteract the restrictive and disproportionate nature of certain provisions of the Mobility Package I, the cited source states.
The three pieces of legislation that make up the Mobility Package I, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on July 31, 2020 and which are subject to partial repeal actions brought by the Romanian government are as follows: Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No. 561/2006 as regards the minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No. 165/2014 regarding positioning by means of tachographs; Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009, (EC) No. 1072/2009 and (EU) No. 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the road transport sector; Directive (EU) 2020/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67 /EU for posting drivers in the road transport and amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and Regulation (EU) No. 1024/2012.
Romania opposed the adoption of the three pieces of legislation, alongside another eight member states with similar interests in this area (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland). The Romanian state voted against the approval of the texts resulted from the negotiations with the European Parliament.