Conference Secured parkings in Europe
Cargo theft and holdups of truck drivers have become a major criminal phenomenon within the European Union. According to a European study, this leads to an estimated annual cost of 8.2 billion euros, not to mention the human impact (e.g., human trafficking, the physical endangerment of drivers). These crimes are often committed by gangs operating across borders. In other words, it is a singularly international problem and can therefore best be addressed jointly within the European Union.
On 25 and 26 October 2010 the Belgian Presidency will be organising a conference jointly with the European Commission in Brussels on Improving European Truck Parking. This event offers an ideal way to present the various initiatives within the Member States and to unveil the results of the European pilot project LABEL, which is designed to provide truck drivers with reliable information on the security and comfort of available parking areas.
Safe and reliable rest areas are of crucial importance for truck drivers, who are required by EU regulations regarding driving time and road safety to take regular breaks. However, the cargo transport sector and the social partners have pointed out the lack of adequate parking facilities, as well as the problem of criminals who target their trucks in parking areas.
This has led to a number of European initiatives aimed at expanding and coordinating the efforts at the local and national level to provide reliable and comfortable rest areas for truck drivers. It has also led to the launch of the LABEL project that is being co-financed by the European Union. The operational group of LABEL is developing a framework for providing reliable information on the security and comfort level of truck parking areas. The results of this project will be presented at the conference.
During its presidency, Belgium would like to emphasise the need for continued efforts on the part of the Member States to provide secure and reliable rest areas for truck drivers. To this end, the European Commission and the Belgian Presidency would like to bring together all parties involved from the public and private sectors. This includes governmental authorities, representatives from the transport sector, representatives from the insurance sector, parking lot operators, etc… Only by working from a genuinely interdisciplinary basis will it be possible to successfully address cargo theft. During the Presidency, a resolution will also be proposed (council resolution on a model agreement for secured parking areas for trucks).
Simultaneous translation into English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Polish will be provided.