Malta objects to higher hauliers' road tolls

Malta defended its long-distance hauliers and stood its ground against a new EU directive granting member states the right to increase road tolls to compensate for negative environmental effects.

Infrastructure Minister Austin Gatt, intervening during the EU Transport Council in Brussels, said that although Malta agreed with the spirit of this directive, it disagreed with the methodology used as it would translate into costs for Maltese hauliers and additional expenses for Maltese exports.

"Malta cannot support this directive. Effectively, it means Malta will become less competitive. Being an island on the periphery, Malta has no option but to use the sea and road modes in full to transport its goods," Dr Gatt told his counterparts.

"If more costs are added in the form of road tolls, then Maltese hauliers and exporters will be paying more than they are already doing," he said.

Council sources said that Malta's peripheral status in this case was considered a double-edged sword. Malta only had outgoing traffic and was not a transit country in continental Europe like many other member states and, secondly, it did not apply any road tolls. The majority of member states also disagreed with the directive, which targets congestion, noise and pollution, citing different reasons.

According to the Commission, the directive was intended to encourage freight transport operators to buy cleaner vehicles and improve their logistics and route planning.

Road transport is responsible for 75 per cent of the emissions of nitrous oxide from transport and congestion costs are estimated at 1.1 per cent of the EU's gross domestic product. Road freight transport is expected to double between 2000 and 2020.