CJEU mobility package ruling – truck return mandate overruled

On October 4, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on complaints filed by member states (including Poland) against regulations introduced as part of the mobility package.

Most of the complaints have been rejected and these included:

• drivers being prohibited from taking their regular weekly rest periods in the cabs of their vehicles;
• the obligation imposed on transport undertakings to organize the work of their drivers in such a way that during their work they would be able to return, every three or four weeks, to the operational center of the undertaking or their place of residence, to start or spend at least one of their regular weekly rest periods there;
• bringing forward the date of entry into force of the obligation to install second-generation smart tachographs;
• the four-day waiting period during which, following a cabotage cycle performed in the host Member State, (non-resident) carriers are not allowed to carry out cabotage operations with the same vehicle in the same Member State;
• the classification of drivers as “posted workers” when they perform cabotage operations, transport operations from one Member State to another, where neither is the Member State of establishment of the transport undertaking (so-called “cross trade” operations) or certain combined transport operations;

However, one of the provisions challenged by member states was overturned by the Court. The ruling annulled the mandatory return of a vehicle every eight weeks to the carrier’s operating base. The Court found this provision disproportionate and insufficiently justified.  As a reminder, as per the penalty tariff, should a vehicle fail to return to the base every 8 weeks, the entrepreneur could receive a fine of PLN 2000. Compliance with this obligation was verified by the Inspectorate of Road Transport during an inspection carried out at the company.

More information can be found on the Court’s official website:

CJEU ruling>>>

CJEU press release>>>