On 25 October MEPs voted in favour of new rules on road use charges in the EU to guarantee equal treatment of road users and to help member states reach CO2 emission reduction targets in the transport sector. French S&D member Christine Revault D’Allonnes Bonnefoy is the MEP responsible for steering the legislation through Parliament.

According to the new regulation, all light and heavy duty vehicles in the EU will be charged depending on their actual road use and the pollution generated. To this end, EU countries using time-based charges (vignette) will switch to distance-based charges (tolls) from 2023 in the case of trucks and buses, and from 2027 for vans and minibuses.

The changes will apply only to the 136,706km of roads and motorways making up the EU’s trans-European transport network and only where road charges already apply. Member states will still have the option not to levy tolls.