Latvian MEP Robert Zile says the road haulage sector needs to attract young workers to solve Europe’s chronic driver shortage. Truck, bus and coach companies in the EU are experiencing driver shortages, with a current Europe-wide shortage of 500,000 drivers.
The pressing recruitment issue was highlighted by the International Road Union at a dinner with members of the European Parliament in October, at which a manifesto for the sector was presented. The manifesto also highlighted problems with barriers encountered within the single market and difficulties with new green regulations, such as municipal low-emission zones.
Latvian MEP Robert Zile, a vice president of the parliament from the European Conservatives and Reformists group, was one of the MEPs listening to the stories from haulage companies across Europe. Euractiv spoke with Zile after the event.
One of the problems identified by the IRU manifesto is driver shortages. What can the EU do to tackle this issue?
We know that there are different living standards and different requirements for truck drivers in Europe, and of course, Western European companies are using Eastern European drivers those drivers are working in Western markets.
In my area, the Baltic states, we’ve been using more and more third-country nationals. They come with cheaper social conditions requirements from third countries, like the Philippines. It’s not a long-term solution; we need a solution.
It won’t be easy for the sector to increase the status of a truck driver with a younger generation of Europeans. But it’s not the only particular sector where that’s happening. It’s just very visible in road freight.
We have to find some kind of solution to increase the status of the profession. Perhaps there should be some public opinion surveys about whether young people want to be truck drivers. I don’t think it’s very popular. I think the sector should do some kind of influence campaign. It’s not only about salaries. In legislation, we did a lot of steps with social conditions for drivers. I don’t see what else we can do at the European level.
Some hauliers at the event said it would help them if hiring drivers from non-EU third countries were easier. You said you don’t think that’s a long-term solution. Would it be a good idea to make requirements easier for now?
I don’t think it’s a good idea, but it will go on until something changes in the sector. Because you have to earn money as a business, and you need the drivers, so you can find them from third countries. But this should be a member-state issue.
Okay, those drivers are driving anyway throughout Europe, maybe after they receive all the employment papers necessary to do this business. But I cannot imagine Brussels deciding for countries, in the Baltics, for example, about hiring third-country nationals. In that case, we would go against the treaties, and other sectors would start asking the same.
The sector has had difficulty attracting young drivers, and the existing drivers are approaching retirement. What about lower age limits or better vocational training?
The driving age is set by national legislation. There are some countries from 16 and some from 18. My good friend [Latvian commissioner] Valdis Dombdrovskis will be responsible for the simplification of the legislation. It means if we want to solve problems for freight business on the road, we don’t expect that much legislation would come from the Commission.
If he honours that part of his portfolio on simplification and sticks with one in and one out, I can’t imagine that each issue will be taken up at the EU level under this new Commission.
Businesses cannot expect that there will be much new legislation on the EU level, that wouldn’t be the right expectation.
Another issue identified at the event was the lack of safe resting places, with people saying the situation varies widely across Europe. Is there anything that could be done to make the safety of these spaces more consistent across the union?
I remember we discussed this issue 15 years ago. There was a pilot project that was initiated by myself, but we didn’t succeed. Close to the EU external border, there were pilot projects with EU money to create safe places where drivers were waiting because of the control line. And it was the same story during the mobility package debate.
It was discovered that companies working in high marketplaces were not so interested in financing safe parking lots for companies coming from the East.
So it’s also a market issue. And it’s not always in the interest of municipalities and national authorities to use taxpayers’ money on this. So it’s part of the not-complete single market.
Drivers, as far as I know from my communication some time ago, are not ready to be separated from their trucks overnight to sleep in a hostel because they are responsible for the contents.
The other two pillars of the IRU’s manifesto are the environment and the free movement of people and goods. On environment, they say their sector should be financially supported by ‘Green Funds’ because coach journeys reduce individual car journeys. Do you think coaches should get these funds?
It depends on what funds they mean.
For cohesion funds, the Commission just announced that only 5% of it in this multiannual financial framework period is spent. But that’s a member-state envelope; you can’t regulate how national governments use it.
In terms of other financing sources within the MFF, I don’t see what could be spent. Tenders are already out; there is no more money. The resilience and recovery facility could be used, but that’s a member-state decision. Maybe some member states would be ready to work with the companies to do it.
One thing the sector is watching is the phase-out of combustion engines by 2035, and there is currently political pressure to extend this deadline. Do you think that would help truck and bus companies?
I’m almost sure that it’s not possible to keep the 2035 deadline. Maybe the change won’t happen next year, but it should be done pretty quickly. We can’t wait until 2030. The automotive industry has to have long-term planning.
That’s why I think it would also be helpful for road haulage. Even trade union politicians on the left side of the parliament are also concerned. They point to the recent Volkswagen factory closure.
On the single market, haulage companies have raised concerns that the new temporary border checks that are being introduced by Germany, France, the Netherlands and elsewhere are going to hold up deliveries. Do you share this concern?
Yes. This is a dangerous moment if we have the Schengen area more and more controlled and more and more member states are taking this decision. I think it’s really dangerous.
But the solution is strengthening the EU’s external borders. If we are not serious about external border controls, then member states will do this for political reasons. If people are not happy, governments will do something. And they are using the simplest way; they say let’s dismantle Schengen around member states.
The turning point could be a revision of the migration pact, which was recently approved but not yet in power.
Many member state governments are saying we have to do something about it. So this is causing problems for road haulage, but the cause is illegal immigration. If you can’t fix it, you cannot expect that Schengen borders will not be controlled from time to time, creating delays for operators.
[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]
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Publish date : 2024-11-14 18:10:00
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