The genesis of the new Eurovignette Directive

Abstract

The adoption Eurovignette Directive 2011 has reinforced the discussion on the highly contested ‘polluter pays principle’. This paper presents the course of the legislative procedure ab ovo ad malum and pinpoints instances of the legislator negotiating beyond the frame of publicity provided by the Treaties. At the same time it provides for a critical analysis of the novelties in the field of charging of heavy goods vehicles on the EU’s roads and reveals that the Council is the true decision-maker in this very legislative project, whereas the Parliament, and even more the Commission, were less able to push through their views. The new Directive has brought some progress in the development of European transport policy, but it could not meet the high expectations this legislative project was accompanied by from its very beginning.