European Parliament — 2025-10-07
News from Brussels
On Tuesday, Parliament adopted a targeted change to EU road charging rules to extend the possibility to exempt green trucks and buses from road tolls until 30 June 2031.
MEPs have supported a Commission proposal to prolong the possibility to exempt zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, such as trucks or buses, from road tolls and user charges or to continue to apply significantly reduced charges for five and a half more years (from 31 December 2025 to 30 June 2031).
The European Parliament is convinced that this measure will help to strengthen the business case for investing in zero-emission trucks and buses, keep their operational costs lower compared with conventional vehicles, ensure their wider deployment, and help achieve the 2030 target of a 43% reduction in CO2 emissions for heavy-duty vehicles.
EU rules do not force EU member states to charge vehicles for using their roads. However, should they choose to do so, they need to follow the charging principles set out in the Eurovignette Directive. The road charging exemption for zero-emission trucks and buses remains optional.
This targeted change of the EU rules was backed by 458 votes in favour, 182 against and with 11 abstentions.
Next steps
To speed up the adoption of the amended rules, Parliament agreed during its last plenary session in September to deal with the file under its urgent procedure. To enter into force, the draft law now requires formal approval by the Council.
Background
According to European Commission, electric battery-powered heavy goods vehicles made up 0.1% of the EU fleet in 2023 (Denmark had the highest proportion with 1%). Electric buses made up 2.5% of the fleet (the Netherlands had the highest proportion with 17.7%).