Romania submits to CJE Registry requests for annulment of Mobility Package I provisions

Several requests regarding the intervention of the Romanian government in 12 actions for annulment of some provisions in Mobility Package I brought by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Lithuania, Malta, Poland and Hungary have been submitted to the Registry of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The requests, drawn up by Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) through the Government Agent for the CJEU in close collaboration with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, are designed to support the arguments/conclusions put forth in the actions for annulment brought before the EU court by the aforementioned member states, according to a MAE press statement. The latest approach is said to be in addition to three actions for partial annulment of the EU legislative acts in Mobility Package I that the Romanian Government brought on October 23, 2020. The provisions of the EU pieces of legislation subject to the action for annulment brought by the Romanian Government and other EU member states with similar interests are the following: scrapping the normal weekly breaks aboard the vehicles; driver's obligation to return periodically to the employer's operational centre or place of residence; the obligation to return the vehicle to one of the operational centres eight weeks from the departure; setting additional limitations when performing cabotage operations; setting of specific norms regarding the posting of drivers. According to the "constant" position voiced by Romanian officials, the said provisions in Mobility Package I are "restrictive" and "disproportionate," having "significant" negative implications on the internal market and the competitiveness of road transport companies. The EU legislative acts that make up Mobility Package I are the following: - Regulation (EU) 2020/1054 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 as regards minimum requirements on maximum daily and weekly driving times, minimum breaks and daily and weekly rest periods and Regulation (EU) No 165/2014 as regards positioning by means of tachographs; - Regulation (EU) 2020/1055 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 amending Regulations (EC) No 1071/2009, (EC) No 1072/2009 and (EU) No 1024/2012 with a view to adapting them to developments in the road transport sector; - Directive (EU) 2020/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 July 2020 laying down specific rules with respect to Directive 96/71/EC and Directive 2014/67/EU for posting drivers in the road transport sector and amending Directive 2006/22/EC as regards enforcement requirements and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012. In the EU legislative process, Romania, along with eight other EU member states - Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Poland, has opposed the adoption of these three normative acts. On October 23, 2020, the Romanian Government brought before CJEU three actions for partial annulment of EU legislation in Mobility Package I. The other EU member states with similar interests having also brought similar actions and the number of actions is as follows: Bulgaria (3), Cyprus (2), Lithuania (2), Malta (1), Poland (3), Hungary (1). AGERPRES (RO - author: Oana Ghita, editor: Claudia Stanescu; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)