Transport Committee votes for new driving times: What does that mean for everyone?

Transport Committee votes for new driving times: What does that mean for everyone?

The Transport Committee today unanimously approved the sixth amendment to the European Agreement relating to the work of mobile workers employed in international road transport (AETR). This primarily concerns the regulations on driving and rest times for professional drivers in cross-border operations and aims to bring these into line with applicable EU regulations. The motion was supported by the SPÖ, while the Freedom Party (FPÖ) at the same time called for an abolition of CO2 pricing, but met with widespread rejection from the other factions, such as ots.at reported.

At the same time, the controversial Lobau Tunnel remains part of the political debate. The Federal Administrative Court has applied to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling regarding the lack of legal basis in the Federal Roads Act. This is directly related to water rights proceedings that have not yet been completed. The spokesman for the BVwG announced that the legal situation would be submitted to the ECJ in order to clarify the conformity of the amendment with Union law. Asfinag is optimistic about approval and plans to apply for an accelerated procedure to avoid delays. Greenpeace attaches great importance to this decision as their legal concerns are now being heard, such as Small newspaper reported.

Environmental organizations sharply criticize the construction of the Lobau Tunnel and saw themselves encouraged by the court decision. In their opinion, the tunnel would not be able to bring the promised traffic relief and would instead lead to higher debts and increased CO2 emissions. Lukas Hammer from the Greens expressed the hope that the new Transport Minister Peter Hanke will now take the concerns seriously and focus on alternative transport solutions instead of investing in an environmentally harmful project. The discussion about the Lobau Tunnel will continue for a long time, while the political fronts are clearly defined.