EU countries and the European Parliament have agreed draft changes to the Eurovignette directive, the EU framework that governs road tolls and user charges for heavy-duty vehicles.
The provisional deal sets out “targeted amendments” designed to clarify how CO₂-based charging rules should be applied under new EU CO₂ emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles that apply from 1 July 2026, the Council of the EU disclosed on Tuesday.
Transport operators, tolling authorities and service providers need legal certainty as the new CO₂ standards are extended to more heavy-duty vehicles, Cyprus transport minister Alexis Vafeades said in the statement.
The Council noted the changes are intended to give clearer guidance for hauliers, national authorities and toll service providers on applying the rules to different vehicle categories and emission classes — in practice, the groups used to determine how much a vehicle pays.
The agreement includes clarifications to definitions linked to CO₂ emissions, including what counts as a “zero-emission” or “low-emission” heavy-duty vehicle, as well as vehicle groups and reference CO₂ emissions.
Trailer-based toll reductions dropped
EU governments would also be allowed to apply reduced user charges or infrastructure charges for low-emission vehicles, alongside measures supporting the uptake of zero-emission vehicles, according to the Council.
The draft revisions also clarify how “vocational vehicles” — such as garbage collection trucks and construction vehicles — are allocated to CO₂ emission classes for charging purposes.
Negotiators decided not to keep a proposed system that would have varied road charges for heavy-duty vehicles towing more “sustainable” trailers, citing administrative burdens and added complexity for tolling systems and electronic toll services, the Council said, adding that the European Commission has been asked to evaluate obstacles that remain.
The agreement must still be endorsed by the Council and the European Parliament before it can be formally adopted following legal and linguistic checks.
