The quiet before the storm

19 Jan 2009. Brussels is shy of a public discussion about mega trucks ahead of the elections in the European Union in June 2009. But this is just the quiet before the storm: The EU-Commission is planning another study about the admission of mega trucks. Also the the Swedish EU council presidency wants to agitate for mega trucks in 2009.

As a reminder: In July the EU-Commission presented intermediate results of a study concerning mega trucks, which had been assigned to a syndicate of consultants. Although the consultants confirmed the negative effects of an admission of mega trucks, they nevertheless came to the surprising result that the Gigaliners are a benefit for the society – because they make road transport cheaper.

After vehement protests of organisations involved in the No Mega Trucks Campaign and various EU member states against this terrible perception, it became silent in Brussels. The final results of the mentioned study have not been published until today – which should have happened already in august. Obviously the European Commission is shy of further public discussion of the topic before the elections in the European Union in June 2009.

But the supposed quietness is a false impression: The EU-Commission wants to assign another study concerning the admission of mega trucks in Europe. This study shall be available in the second half of 2009 – after the elections in the European Union and during the Swedish EU council presidency. The Swedish government has already announced to use its presidency for an approach in favour of longer and heavier trucks.

Meanwhile further countries accomplish facts on the national level – read more about this in the course of this newsletter. Thereby countries which are critical about mega trucks become more and more under pressure. This shows that taking a determined stand against the allowance of mega trucks is more important than ever. The forthcoming elections in the European Union are a good opportunity: the NO MEGA TRUCKS network will ask the candidates for clear answers during the election campaign.

More on the Commissions report on the introduction of LHVs: