The Report on Cooperation obligations and practices in the enforcement of EU rules on International Road Transport in the EU contributes to ELA’s work and activities in the road transport sector by identifying and analysing specific cross-border cooperation obligations and challenges and providing recommendations to overcome these challenges.  

The report provides an overview of the key EU legislation related to the social aspects and to the cross-border cooperation obligations in the international road haulage and passenger transport sectors, followed by an analysis of the inter-institutional cooperation practices and challenges between and within Member States. The analysis considers the plurality of authorities involved in the enforcement of the legislation. The report also focuses on the use of the European Register of Road Transport Undertakings (ERRU) and the Internal Market Information system (IMI) as the most relevant tools for cross-border information exchange between the competent national authorities.  

The report contains three specific case studies addressing: 

1. cooperation strategies with a view to combating letterbox companies;  

2. information exchange through ERRU during and after roadside inspections;  

3. enhanced levels of cooperation: Benelux and the Confederation of Organisations in Road Transport Enforcement (CORTE). 

Furthermore, the report includes two clusters of operational conclusions: 

1. Actions to support national authorities and enforcement authorities in Member States: 

• ensure increased and more effective coordination and cooperation between different competent authorities in Member States; 
• continue to build the capacities of national competent authorities and enforcement agencies in Member States. 

2. Actions to support cross-border cooperation between Member States: 

• promote awareness and understanding of other Member States’ practices; 
• improve and expand the use of electronic systems for the exchange of information; 
• enhanced cross-border cooperation actions in the field of international road transport. 

ELA will take the detailed operational conclusions on board in the development of future activities related to cross-border cooperation in the road transport sector. The report will also provide valuable input to ELA’s IMI-PROVE programme that aims to improve the use of the IMI system, and the Transport Support programme, dedicated to improving cooperation in different transport sectors.