The aim of the EU’s land transport policy is to promote mobility that is efficient, safe, secure and environmentally friendly.
The EU’s policy objectives for road transport are therefore to promote efficient road freight and passenger transport services, to create fair conditions for competition, to promote and harmonise safer and more environmentally friendly technical standards, to ensure a degree of fiscal and social harmonisation, and to guarantee that road transport rules are applied effectively and without discrimination across the EU.
Existing EU legislation in this area establishes common rules on access to the profession and to the market, sets minimal standards for working time, driving time and rest periods (including enforcement, and the use of the tachograph for professional road transport, and sets minimum annual vehicle taxes, as well as common rules for tolls and user charges for heavy goods vehicles. Moreover, it harmonises the maximum weights and dimensions of road vehicles and promotes increasing the number of safe parking areas along the trans-European road network.
Key rules for the EU road transport sector
Ensuring a level playing field
Protecting the rights of professional drivers
Ensuring compliance with driving and rest times
Common standards for heavy-duty vehicles
Creating a network of safe and secure parking areas
International agreements on road transport
Criteria for EU transport operators
Rules for bus and coach transport
Taxation, tolls and vignettes
Taxis and private hire vehicles
Towards zero road deaths by 2050
Latest EU studies and reports
News
For better road safety and air quality across the EU, the Commission is proposing a comprehensive overhaul of the EU’s road safety and vehicle registration rules.
According to a new European Commission study, the EU is facing a critical shortage of Safe and Secure Parking Areas (SSPAs) for professional drivers, with a current gap of 390,057 parking spaces that is expected to grow to 483,000 by 2040.
The European Road Safety Charter, the largest civil society platform dedicated to road safety and led by the European Commission, has officially opened applications for the 2025 Excellence in Road Safety Awards.
Measures designed to help Member States, transport operators and workers continue transport operations and support the transport of refugees