The deal for reforming the road transport sector
A deal between European Parliament and Finnish Presidency negotiators on reforming the road transport sector was approved by the Transport and Tourism Committee on January 21st. The revised rules for posting of drivers, drivers’ rest times and better enforcement of cabotage rules (i.e. transport of goods carried out by non-resident hauliers on a temporary basis in a host member state) aim to put an end to distortion of competition in the road transport sector and provide better rest conditions for drivers.
The agreement keeps the existing limits to cabotage (three operations within seven days), but in order to tackle fraud, vehicle tachographs will be used to register border-crossings. To prevent “systematic cabotage”, there will also be a “cooling-off period” of four days before more cabotage operations can be carried out within same country with the same vehicle.
EU-wide rules on posting of drivers will give a clear legal framework, so that these rules can be easily applied in the highly mobile transport sector, to prevent differing national approaches and ensure fair remuneration for drivers. The agreed rules stipulate that posting rules apply to cabotage and international transport operations, excluding transit, bilateral operations and bilateral operations with one extra loading or unloading in each direction (or zero on the way out and two on return).
New rules to promote water reuse in farming
Population growth, urbanisation and tourism have all contributed to the water shortages and droughts that are increasingly affecting many areas of Europe, especially the Mediterranean region. Water sources are under stress and the situation is expected to get worse because of climate change. According to an estimate, by 2030 half of Europe’s river basins could be affected by water scarcity.
In order to secure Europe’s freshwater supplies for the years to come, the members of the environment committee backed on 21 January an informal agreement reached with the Council on a proposal for the reuse of waste water. The new rules will still need to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council in order to become law. The new rules aim to promote the use of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation, which accounts for about half of the water used in the EU every year. Increased water reuse in farming could help reduce water scarcity.
First-stage consultation of social partners on Fair Minimum Wages in the EU
The European Commission has released a new consultation document on addressing challenges related to fair minimum wages. Fairness, along with environmental sustainability, productivity gains, and macro-economic stability, are the four pillars of the EU’s economic policy for the coming years.
Non-standard work including temporary employment, working multiple part-time positions, and on-call work has increased and increase the risk of in-work poverty. Ensuring fair minimum wages protects workers who earn that wage and at the same time have been shown to increase productivity. In a larger scale, minimum wage increases have been correlated with overall wage growth throughout the economy. Less workers in poverty and with a higher standard of living can bolster the economy by increasing domestic demand and support resilience in the economy.
Minimum wages must be assessed in relation to the conditions of each member country. Wages are considered adequate if they are fair when considering the wage distribution of the country and if they can provide a decent standard of living. Gross minimum wages are compared to gross median or average wage; strong collective bargaining systems (such as Italy and Denmark with nearly 80%) usually have higher wage floors compared to those countries that do not. Other factors to be taken into account when deciding if a wage is fair are prices levels in the country, take home wages in relation to gross wages, and the impact of taxes and social contributions.
Amendments regarding the mandatory automatic exchange of information in the fiscal field
On January 9, the Ministry of Public Finance launched the draft ordinance for amending and completing Law no. 207/2015 on the Fiscal Procedure Code, having regard to the adoption of Council Directive 2018/822 of 25 May 2018 amending Directive 2011/16/EU regarding the mandatory automatic exchange of information in the fiscal field related to cross-border modalities that are subject to reporting, as well as Romania’s obligation to transpose its provisions.
Through the draft ordinance it is proposed to establish the obligation of intermediaries to report to the tax authorities information on certain cross-border arrangements that could be used to obtain tax advantages (transfer of profits to more favorable tax regimes, decrease of tax due, etc.) according to the foundation note to the Government Ordinance for amending and supplementing Law no. 207/2015 regarding the Fiscal Procedure Code.