HGV Toll: Internalisation of External Costs (Directive)
The EU Commission's Proposal for a Directive enables Member States to incorporate costs of air pollution, noise pollution and congestion caused by heavy goods vehicles (HGV) in tolls paid for the use of public roads. The aim is to make transport more sustainable by way of internalising "external costs".
cepPolicyBrief
Petrol prices and taxes already provide strong incentives to increase efficiency which can hardly be heightened by additional tolls. Thus any significant increase in HGV toll charges without taxes being cut compensatory would merely lead to a levy effect. At the same time, distortion of competition in relation to other forms of transport can be expected if only HGV transport is charged. The extension of EU-wide rules for tolls and road user charges on roads of no trans-European relevance constitutes an infringement of the principle of subsidiarity.
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