Single Article - The Association of European Vehicle Logistics

New UK restrictions on EU hauliers no barrier for Girteka

trans.info — 2023-04-24

Land transportation

At the turn of 2023, the UK Department of Transport introduced new rules on cabotage and combined transport. The 3-month grace period allowing hauliers who breach the rules to go without being fined has now passed, which could be an issue for some EU hauliers transporting goods into the UK. However, the new rules are evidently no problem for logistics giant Girteka, who has declared on its website the continuation of its UK transport services.

For those unfamiliar with the changes, the UK has removed the following rights of foreign hauliers:

the right of operators based in EU Member States to conduct cabotage movements when entering the UK unladen;
the right of operators based in EU Member States to conduct combined transport (i.e., certain types of intermodal transport where goods are transported in the same loading unit or vehicle using two or more modes of transport);
the right of operators based in EU Member States to pick up goods in the UK and then go to a non-EU country to drop off those goods (known as “triangular
traffic”) through the use of a Community Licence.

Despite the above, EU hauliers can still conduct triangular transports without these rights if they hold an ECMT permit. The only problem here is the limited number of ECMT permits available.

For Girteka, this is clearly is no barrier, as the Lithuanian road transport giant has stated on its website that it has “acquired a sufficient number of ECMT permits to be able to perform seamless deliveries between Switzerland and Great Britain in accordance with the new regulations."

”Our main goal is to continue to deliver the business of our partners to their customers despite any turbulences in the market. Such approach helps us to proactively adapt to any changes in the market ensuring capacity flow and a service level that our clients have come to expect from us,“ said Beata Užienė, Head of Regional Business Unit at Girteka Europe West, commenting on the company’s acquisition of sufficient ECMT permits.