Eurovignette III

The Eurovignette III directive on the charging of heavy good vehicles (HGVs) was adopted in 2011 in second reading, following a standstill of almost two years. It broadens the scope of the 1999 Eurovignette directive, which was limited to the TEN-T network, to cover all motorways across Europe, and apply to all vehicles above 3,5 tonnes, with possible exceptions for lorries between 3.5 and 12 tonnes.

 

The main point of debate with the Council was the introduction of an external-cost element based on the cost of traffic-based air and noise pollution. Legislators agreed that Member States may charge external costs on lorries, complementing the existing infrastructure charge designed to recover the costs of construction, operation, maintenance and development of road infrastructure. Those charges are established on the basis of common principles and calculation methods. Member States may also modulate the infrastructure charge to take account of road congestion, with a maximum variation rate of 175% during peak periods.

 

In mountainous regions, a mark-up of maximum 25 % can be added to the infrastructure charge levied on specific road sections subject to acute congestion. The extra revenues will have to be spent on financing TENT-priority projects situated in the same TEN-T corridor. 

 

Parliament and Council decided that revenues generated by the directive should be used to benefit the road transport sector and optimise the entire transport system. In particular, revenues generated from external cost charges should be used to make transport more sustainable.

 

The most important progress, according to the Rapporteur, has been made on the transparency of revenues and investment, based on the ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) model.