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The Romanian authorities, through the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications (MTIC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), consider that the provisions of a "restrictive" and "disproportionate" character, included in the final version of the Mobility Package I adopted by the European Parliament on Wednesday and whose "negative" implications have previously been reported repeatedly by the Romanian authorities, "will affect" the functioning of the internal market and road transport activity in the EU, as well as the achievement of the objectives assumed by the Union in the field of climate change.
"The Romanian authorities find it regrettable that, despite the steps and arguments of the Romanian state and of other Member States affected by the Mobility Package I carried out and transmitted during the inter-institutional negotiations between the Council of the EU and the European Parliament, it was not possible to agree on texts that include proportionate and balanced measures in order to improve working conditions in the transport sector and support, at the same time, the competitiveness of companies, including Romanian ones, in the road transport sector," a release by the MAE sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, reads.
In this context, the Romanian authorities reserve the right to use all the options available to them, including to appeal at the Court of Justice of the European Union, the MAE reports.
Romania opposed the Final Package, along with the other eight like-minded Member States: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland, voting against the approval of the texts resulting from the negotiations with the European Parliament. However, the Final Package was adopted by the Council with the vote of the qualified majority of the Member States.
The European Parliament decided on the Final Package at its plenary session on 8 July and adopted the texts resulting from the negotiations with the Council. This is the last procedural step in the process of adopting the three pieces of legislation under Mobility Package I, which will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
In view of the vote in the European Parliament, the Romanian ministers of Transport, Infrastructure and Communications and Foreign Affairs, respectively, with their counterparts from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland, sent a letter to the Members of the European Parliament on 30 June highlighting the negative implications of the restrictive provisions of the Package and asked the EP to reconsider them in view of maintaining the competitiveness of road freight transport and its contribution to climate change objectives.
