Several Austrian restrictions on heavy goods vehicles along the Brenner route violate European Union law, an adviser to the EU’s top court said on Thursday, while backing the legality of Austria’s controversial lorry metering system.
Advocate General Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said Austria’s nighttime driving ban, winter driving ban and restrictions on the transport of certain categories of goods are incompatible with EU law.
However, he found that the “block clearance” system, which limits the number of lorries allowed to enter the Brenner route each hour, is lawful.
The opinion is not binding. The ECJ’s judges are due to deliver a final ruling at a later date.
Italy brought the case against Austria, arguing that four restrictions introduced in the Austrian state of Tyrol unlawfully impede the free movement of goods.
Austria has defended the measures as necessary to protect the environment, public health and road safety.
According to the advocate general, the nighttime driving ban does not achieve its stated objective because it merely shifts traffic to daytime hours rather than diverting it to alternative routes. He also found the winter driving ban discriminatory because it is applied depending on a vehicle’s destination.
By contrast, limiting the number of lorries entering the country to no more than 300 per hour – a system known as truck metering or “block clearance” – is permissible if it effectively amounts to a traffic flow restriction rather than a broader transport ban, he said.
Tyrol Governor Anton Mattle rejected the opinion, saying the state would not back down on transit restrictions.
“Tyrol will not give way on transit,” Mattle said, adding that it was now up to the ECJ judges to decide whether to prioritize public health or the interests of freight operators. He said Tyrol would continue to take measures to protect residents from excessive transit traffic.
The Brenner Pass is the Alps’ most important north-south transport corridor and a vital route for trade and travel between Germany, Austria and Italy, but it has long suffered from severe congestion.
Traffic on the route continued to increase in the first half of the year, according to Austria’s motorway operator. A total of 6.57 million vehicles passed through the Schönberg toll station, up 2.3% from a year earlier, while truck traffic rose by nearly 3.6%.
Austrian Transport Minister Peter Hanke acknowledged that, given the Brenner corridor’s importance, the dispute over Tyrol’s restrictions could ultimately only be resolved through dialogue with Germany and Italy.
The opening of the Brenner Base Tunnel, which is expected to become the world’s longest railway tunnel, is intended to ease road traffic on the corridor in the coming years.