European Commission proposal on dangerous goods is anti competitive

The IRU recently denounced the EC proposals on dangerous goods saying that they would harm the industry and Europe's competitiveness

The latest amendment for a Regulation on dangerous goods, which will be voted on at the European Parliament’s Strasbourg Plenary session on 4 September 2007, would give Member States the possibility to impose not only the use of prescribed routes, but also to prescribe modes of transport for dangerous goods.

The IRU is totally against imposing on business the mode of transport to be used. Besides being anticompetitive and therefore questionable vis-à-vis European law, this will also gravely penalise the entire chemical goods industry, its competitiveness and especially the carriers of dangerous goods themselves.

Mr Paul Wauters, President of the IRU’s Expert Group on Dangerous Goods (GEMD) and CEO of Wauters Tanktransport n.v stated that, "imposing modes of transport is something we would have expected from the former Soviet Union, not from the EU which is all about creating a single free market! For all ADR transport, it is imperative that the consignor, carrier and consignee maintain freedom of choice for the means of transport used. If we start to dictate such measures for our dangerous goods sector, we are certain to see the Chemical industry leave its European production plants to produce in countries outside the EU, hence impacting employment. All that will be achieved by the imposition of a prescribed mode of transport on prescribed routes, will be a huge penalty on the end customer, and on Europe’s productivity and competitiveness”.