Road transport: Who’s in the driving seat? (Special Reports)

Special reports written by EurActiv in September 2013.

A controversial proposal to end cross-border restrictions for mega-trucks and allow a 50% increase in their weight across the EU is looking increasing unlikely to see the light of day in the current European Commission.
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A letter to the head of Russian customs from the EU's top tax official, Algirdas Šemeta, has put a last ditch and temporary stop to a costly dispute that had seen European cargo emptied at the border, according to the EU Commissioner.
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The new head of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) has mounted a philosophical case that economic growth and transport demand are two sides of the same coin.
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Seven years after the 'Eurovignette' directive, the European Commission is planning to permanently shift its method for measuring road pricing away from the time that a vehicle has spent on a motorway and towards the distance it has covered, according to a draft directive proposal seen by EurActiv.
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The road transport lobby is casting admiring glances at Bogotá’s rapid bus transit system as it looks to vastly increase the number of people using public transport in the EU by 2025.

• Primary Source

EurActiv, 16.09.13: Mega-trucks proposal runs into political roadblock http://www.euractiv.com/transport/mega-trucks-proposal-runs-parlia-news-530431

EurActiv, 17.09.13: Russia backs down from costly customs dispute, for now http://www.euractiv.com/transport/russia-backs-costly-border-dispu-news-530495

ESO: Background Information: Lithuania seeks EU support on Russia border clampdown http://www.europeansources.info/record/lithuania-seeks-eu-support-on-russia-border-clampdown/

EurActiv, 18.09.13: Haulier boss: Growth and road transport ‘cannot be decoupled’ http://www.euractiv.com/specialreport-road-transport-dri/iru-boss-growth-road-transport-d-news-530490

ESO: Background Information: Speech: Making the best and fairest use of Europe’s roads http://www.europeansources.info/record/speech-making-the-best-and-fairest-use-of-europes-roads/

EurActiv, 19.09.13: After Eurovignette, EU asks: ‘For whom the road tolls?’ http://www.euractiv.com/specialreport-road-transport-dri/eu-asks-road-tolls-news-530550

EurActiv, 20.09.13: EU public transport could learn from Bogotá, road lobby suggests http://www.euractiv.com/transport/eu-public-transport-learn-bogota-news-530589

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