Transport Policy

Access to the market Admission to the occupation   Road haulage General rules Cabotage Driver attestation Hired vehicles   Passenger transport General rules Cabotage

Non-EU countries General Land transport agreement with Switzerland EEA Agreement Interbus agreement

Road charging Infrastructure charging Vehicle & fuel taxes Tolls & user charges for vehicles (including Eurovignette)

Social provisions Driving time & rest periods Tachograph [List of Workshops] Working time Enforcement Form of attestation of activities

Relations with non-EU countries

The land transport agreement with Switzerland

Almost half of all road transport of goods with third countries is carried out with Switzerland. The EC/Switzerland land transport agreement covers goods and passenger transport by road and by rail. It has entered into force on 1 July 2002. Its aim is to liberalise access to the contracting parties’ transport markets. As concerns the road transport, EC hauliers and Swiss hauliers are free to carry out transports between a Member State and Switzerland and vice versa. Regarding rail, Switzerland has taken on the obligation to liberalise its rail transport market by enacting the Community’s rail liberalisation packages. Under the terms of the Agreement Switzerland also abolished its weight restrictions for heavy goods vehicles: since January 2005 the maximum permissible weight in Switzerland is 40 tonnes (the same as in the Community). Also, the Agreement provided for the introduction of the Swiss distance based heavy vehicles road charge.