EU countries call for better road freight Brexit offer to UK

Member states’ ambassadors said to be continuing discussions today on more generous contingency plans, but EC and France said to oppose further concessions for a ‘no-deal’ exit.

Some EU countries are pushing for the European Union’s ‘no-deal’ contingency legislation to be more generous to the UK and offer road freight and aviation continuity that would be more similar to that currently enjoyed by UK companies in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, the BBC reported this morning.

As reported in December, the European Commission (EC) has proposed ‘bare bones’ contingency arrangements on aviation and road haulage if there is no deal that would allow UK road freight operators to continue to carry goods to and from the EU and UK airlines to fly in and out of the EU, until the end of 2019.

However, a group of EU countries want to expand these temporary privileges and give UK hauliers the right to operate limited ‘cabotage’ operations within the EU as well after dropping off their initial loads, as is currently allowed under the EU’s limited cabotage rules for road freight. Some also want UK airlines to be able to offer connecting flights within the EU, the BBC reported.

The issues were discussed at a meeting of member states’ ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday, with officials aiming to try to agree a compromise at a meeting today. But France is thought to oppose giving better terms similar to the benefits of the EU single market to a country that would no longer be in the EU.

“We have got to strike a balance between being prepared but not sending the message to the UK that no deal would be OK,” one diplomat told the BBC.

The European Commission, which co-ordinates planning for no deal at a European level, is opposed to expanding the scope of the legislation, saying it would give the UK some of the benefits of membership of the single market.

Source: Llody’s