MTI experts report - professors from France, Austria and Poland, prepared for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction presents the administrative barriers in selected Members of the Community, which threaten the industry of international road transport.

- The Paris Alliance destroys the balance on the transport market and represents a denial of the fundamental principles of the functioning of the European Union - said the deputy minister of infrastructure and construction - Jerzy Szmit.

On the 8 of February, 2017 in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction was held a press conference devoted to the situation of international road transport industry and administrative barriers created by the Member States of the EU that threaten the single transport market of the Community.

The deputy ministers of infrastructure and construction: Justyna Skrzydło and Jerzy Szmit presented the main threats and challenges for the road transport industry, resulting from the difficult situation of Polish entrepreneurs in connection with the introduction, by some countries, like Germany, France and Austria, the changes in law.

Poland is critical about so-called road alliance concluded in Paris on 31 January 2017 by 9 European countries. According to the MIC it is a harbinger of the efforts to deepen the differences on the road haulage market and sanction the protectionist practices at the EU law level, previously used only by some Member States.

Jerzy Szmit presented the reasons for which the Ministry decided to prepare a report, by international experts, on the impact of regulation of the road transport sector on the entrepreneurship and economic development of the European Union.

The report, which was developed in collaboration with the Motor Transport Institute, shows that almost 62% of the EU transport market belongs to the 5 countries, with Germany occupying a dominant position. Prof. Konrad Raczkowski, who presented the results of the report, pointed out that most EU countries are not able to adapt to the German and French regulations on minimum wage. In the 17 EU countries the minimum wage is much lower than the minimum level of remuneration adopted by the MiLoG Act and a social dumping is an excuse to defend the competitive position and the construction of two-speed Europe. He added that enacted legislation can contribute to the expansion of the shadow economy in the EU. The analyses presented in the ITS report show that the introduction of unfavourable solutions to the Polish entrepreneurs, among the others, led in 2016 to the growth of the shadow economy in the EU of 1.4 billion Euro. The ITS experts - professors from France, Austria and Poland, estimate that this figure will rise in the coming years. According to the authors of the report, the regulations introduced by, among the others, Germany and France appear to be directly contrary to the Article. 56 and Art. 58 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, violating the principle of freedom to provide services.

The deputy Minister J. Skrzydło stressed that social issues in transport and the road initiatives started by the EC is a fixed point in the talks of Minister Andrzej Adamczyk with his counterparts from other Member States, and in conversations with the Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc. She recalled that the government consistently implements its strategy, whose aim is to protect the Polish transport sector, including Polish companies in this industry that have worked out a strong position on the European transport map. She also discussed the current actions by the  MIC at the EU related to the deepening crisis in the industry and pointed to the need to use the conclusions of the report in the negotiations on the legal solutions prepared by the European Commission (including the directive on the posting of workers as part of providing the services).

- The coalition of states supporting the Polish position conducts regular consultations and is very active. We have developed a comprehensive plan for the next action. In addition, the government conducts a dialogue with representatives of the EU institutions in Brussels, as well as with the social partners in the country. We believe that the common interest should be to solve real problems that face the European transport market - summed up J. Skrzydło.

The MIC efforts to protect the interests of the Polish transport industry will continue. One of the planned activities will be a conference in Brussels, with the participation of experts - "The liberalization or protectionism - opportunities and threats to international road transport".

Motor Transport Institute has for many years actively supported Polish entrepreneurs engaged in international road transportation, as exemplified by the report presented to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction.

Source: mib.gov.pl