European Parliament
Jan Andersson (PSE ). –
(SV)
Mr President, this directive is partly about driver health and safety, partly about road safety and partly about fair competition. I myself was responsible for the opinion of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, and I wish to thank Mr Markov for his constructive cooperation. I now think that we can feel satisfied. We did not perhaps completely resolve every issue, but the proposal we now have on driving and resting times is a good one. It is a good proposal that the digital tachograph be introduced to improve monitoring.
There is, of course, a problem with the Working Time Directive, but that is not something we can blame on these regulations. The problem is that it is not applied widely enough, and I want to say to the Commission and the Council that the Council too must agree to the proposal we have put forward here in Parliament concerning a new Working Time Directive. Therein lies the problem. It would therefore be a mistake to vote against the proposal. Instead, we must see it as a way of bringing pressure to bear. In this Chamber, we have agreed on a constructive regulation covering drivers, and now it is time to obtain a Working Time Directive that also meets Europeans’ expectations.
(Applause)

