Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 14 June 2018 - Strasbourg

7.8. Decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations: Amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards on minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs (A8-0205/2018 - Wim van de Camp) (vote)

– Vor der Abstimmung:

  Wim van de Camp, Rapporteur. – Madam President, this is the second part of Mobility Package I. After the posting of Ms Merja Kyllönen, we will have now driving and rest times for the drivers. To be honest, I have to fight today against fake news.

In this proposal, the actual driving and rest times of the drivers are not being changed. Everybody is giving us information that we are changing the driving and rest times, which is fake news. We are improving the labour and working circumstances and conditions of the drivers, and with our proposal a driver has to go home after the second week – so he goes home in the third week.

If you look at what is happening now with nomadic drivers, who stay away from home for seven or eight weeks, this is really an improvement in the drivers’ labour circumstances.

We will also give drivers the opportunity to spend their weekly and their daily rest times in proper parking places where there are toilets, the possibility to take a shower and possibilities to eat. This is not a small detail, this is the truth. And in addition to this, the enforcement of this regulation by the smart tachograph will be improved in 2024.

  Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D). – Madam President, I would like to say to Mr van der Camp that that was a very interesting speech for next plenary but Mr van der Camp, let me just give you the arguments why our Group will oppose the mandate, and it has nothing to do with the work of the people in the Committee on Transport and Tourism – Mr van der Camp and the other shadow rapporteurs. It has to do with a very important argument on democracy.

This is about the working conditions of more than one and a half million truckers in our Europe and the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has had a vote as well and it was a different vote. So it is important that we can express ourselves as a plenary, all together, and that is why we will oppose this mandate.

(Applause)

(Der Antrag zur Aufnahme von interinstitutionellen Verhandlungen wird abgelehnt.)