Public hearing on the situation of the EU road haulage market

28 February, 10h00-17h00

Organiser: European Commission

Venue: Borschette Conference Centre, room 2D, Rue Froissart 36, B-1040 Brussels

The Commission is carrying out a review of the state of the EU road haulage market and will deliver a report on the subject at the end of 2013. In order to prepare the drafting of this report, Vice-President Kallas brought together a High Level Group of "wise men" pdf to provide a first independent expert opinion. This High Level Group is calling a public hearing on 28 February 2012 in Brussels to gather information from actors of the sector regarding the market situation.

This public hearing will bring together national and European trade associations from the road haulage sector, as well as other interested parties involved in the road haulage market. The hearing will be chaired by Prof Bayliss, chairman of the High Level Group, in the presence of the members of the Group.

Participation is subject to a compulsory registration procedure. Please note that the registration is only complete once a confirmation email has been received.

• Discussion of issues related to cabotage. Extent of cabotage, profile of caboteurs, organisation of cabotage operations, potential for growing cabotage, logistics efficiency and improving market conditions.
• Discussion of issues related to enforcement. Problems in enforcement of social rules, cabotage rules and other legislation, level of harmonisation of enforcement practices, levels of sanctions and penalties.
• Discussion of issues related to shortage of drivers. Extent of potential shortages, causes and solutions.
• Discussion of issues related to productivity enhancement. Potential for improvement and innovation in vehicle technology, fleet management, logistics and infrastructure, and barriers to innovation.

Members of the High Level Group

• Brian T. Bayliss, Professor of Business Economics at the University of Bath, chairman of the High Level Group.
• Monika Bąk, Associate Professor at the Chair of Comparative Research of Transport Systems at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Gda•sk in Poland, research adviser for the High Level Group.
• Pia Koskenoja from Finland, in her capacity as independent researcher, research adviser for the High Level Group.
• Marco Ponti, Professor in Transport Economics at the Politecnico Milano University in Italy
• Michel Savy, Professor at the University of Paris East and the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in France
• Dimitrios Tsamboulas, Professor at the Department of Transportation Planning & Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens in Greece.
• José Manuel Viegas, Professor at the Instituto Superior Técnico of the Technical University of Lisbon in Portugal.

More info: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/