London, UK: Operators are being urged to apply for their European Conference of Ministers of Transport permits for 2021 now as the application process, which began this week, ends on 20 November.
The permits allow operators to transport most types of goods (or drive an empty vehicle) through EU member countries.
The Road Haulage Association points out that full details on how lorries will be able to travel between the EU and UK from 1 January 2020 is currently unclear.
“In the absence of any other arrangement the fallback position would be that access for UK road hauliers would only be possible through the use of ECMT permits.
“It is vital that hauliers apply for ECMT permits now.”
The RHA’s policy director Rod McKenzie told the Scottish Parliament’s Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee that the information on ECMT permits was a “moveable feat and a huge obstacle to trade”.
Lawyers and trade associations have repeatedly warned there would not be enough ECMT permits available to meet demand in a no-deal Brexit situation.
Elizabeth de Jong, policy director at Logistics UK said earlier in the year: “There is a planned glide path to reciprocal arrangements – some reassurance that there won’t be a sudden market failure in this area.
“The ECMT permit system gives very little reassurance so it’s really important bilateral agreements are made. As only [2,000 of 8,000 UK hauliers] 1 in 4 UK hauliers could get a permit and they could only do one journey at a time with this permit.”
