We are on the eve of the entry into force of the second phase of the Mobility Package, a phase that has quite an impact on the carrier, especially in the areas of cabotage and intermodal transport.

As of Feb. 2, border crossings must be registered and the new posting rules will also take effect. Just under three weeks later, the formidable return-home-vehicle-rule will take effect. These are rules that are supposed to start improving road safety, equal working conditions for drivers and fairer competition. However, since the day the package of measures was announced, there has already been criticism of its practicality. Or rather, its impracticability.

There are also serious doubts as to whether the measures will have the intended effect. The initiators aim to counter protectionist policies in many EU member states, but the new rules on cabotage and intermodal transport, in my view, completely miss the point. As of Feb. 21, there will be a four-day "cooling off" period for any cabotage. After a completed cabotage, the vehicle may not perform cabotage in the member state in question for four days. International transport remains possible. In addition, as of that date, member states may determine that initial and final sections of intermodal transport will also fall under the cabotage regime. Many member states will make use of this, including the Netherlands.

The latter surprised me, frankly. Indeed, a large part of the domestic transport from the port of Rotterdam is carried out by the so-called "white license plates. Exemptions for intermodal transport allowed these to cabotage in the Netherlands without restriction. An eyesore for many domestic carriers, it is said. On the other hand, it is very questionable whether there will soon be enough Dutch capacity to get these trips out of the seaport. In time the market will do its work, but at least in the beginning English conditions cannot be excluded.

On top of that, after the brexit, the UK was also already no longer covered by the EU exemptions for intermodal transport. Thus, the UK has been subject to a two-trip cabotage restriction since 2021, although Prime Minister Johnson has introduced a relaxation for cabotage rules since Oct. 28. The background is an acute shortage of road transport capacity. For a period of 14 days, there are no restrictions on the number of cabotage trips. That relaxation is valid (at the moment) until April 30, 2022.

So a lot is going to change for the transporter, although it remains to be seen how hot the soup will really be eaten. The criticism is strong and Brussels has no choice but to take another good look at a number of measures. In my view, some of them can be scrapped. To start with, the compulsory return of vehicles and certainly also the tightened cabotage rules. After all, Brussels is all about improving working conditions for drivers and ending distortion of competition in road transport. In my humble opinion, the revamped posting rules are already achieving these goals.

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