The new adopted rules will increase the digitalisation of the freight transport and will reduce transport costs.
The European Council has adopted new rules to make it easier for freight transport companies to provide information to authorities in digital form. The legal act needs to be adopted by the European Parliament at second reading before being published in the Official Journal.
The new rules will create a uniform legal framework for the use of electronic freight transport information for all modes of transport.
All relevant public authorities will be required to accept information provided electronically on certified platforms whenever companies choose to use such a format to provide information as proof of compliance with legislative requirements. The companies will still be able to present the information in paper format if they prefer, as currently most freight transport companies, and other transport business stakeholders use paper documents.
By increasing the digitalisation of freight transport and logistics, the costs will be significantly lower while transport services will be more efficient and sustainable.
A provisional agreement was reached between the presidency and the European Parliament on 26 November 2019. The agreed text was endorsed by member states’ ambassadors meeting in the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) on 18 December 2019, and the Council confirmed the political agreement on 18 February 2020.
Share on:
