Transport Minister announces new help to renew vehicle fleet in 2025

MADRID. Representatives of the associations belonging to the Confederation analyzed the situation of companies in the road freight transport sector and presented recent developments such as the meeting with the Minister of Transport Oscar Puente or the development of the working groups of the National Road. Transport Committee (CNTC) under the Ministry of Transport.

During the Assembly, Miguel Camagno from the firm CCS Abogados explained the cooperation agreement that CETM entered into with the firm to process a claim for the economic part of the hydrocarbon tax paid from 2013 to 2018, following a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union. stated in its ruling that Community law had been violated.

On the other hand, Julián Conejo, Head of Sales at Repsol, and Marta Fructos, Distributed Generation Manager at Repsol, explained the extension of the agreement between the company and CETM so that its partners have greater advantages in the electricity, gas and solar energy sectors. .

The closing ceremony began with a speech by Carmelo González, President of Conetrans, who began his speech by emphasizing the role played by the Spanish Confederation of Road Transport Organizations, as it is not only present in advisory bodies at state level, but also. Thanks to its territorial organizations, it “maintains close contacts with local and regional administrations.”

González reflected on the challenges facing the Confederation and asked for an optimistic approach: “We are going to turn these challenges into opportunities.” The president of Conetrans took advantage of the presence of Transport Minister José Antonio Santano to make various demands, such as the need for the Ministry of Transport and Mobility to focus on the sector to achieve concrete progress in the face of the shortage of professionals, especially drivers, the harmonization of contracts, early retirement and the improvement of the Transport Chain Law.

In this regard, he stressed that companies and self-employed workers in the sector need certainty, and recalled that 95% of goods are transported by road, compared to 3% by rail, so the Ministry of Transport needs to focus on more than just the latter. “We are in for a tense lull, but we must start immediately, there is a limit to everything.”

Regarding the shortage of professional drivers, he noted that this activity needs to be promoted “without the pessimism with which we usually express our thoughts” and asked for “more appropriate” rules to be set so that drivers have more flexibility and can return to their jobs. Houses. Faced with this problem, he also demanded the participation of shippers and other groups. “All participants in the supply chain are responsible for pulling the trolley.”

Regarding the early retirement of drivers, he assured that the organization supports this through dialogue, and stated that he does not like that the Ministry of Labor is introducing rules that, moreover, are not in favor of the transport industry.

Also, the President of the National Road Transport Committee (CNTC) and Vice-President of CETM demanded greater legal certainty in the face of the huge number of regulations that companies and self-employed workers in the sector have to contend with. Regarding the state of infrastructure, he emphasized the need for road improvements, but referred to construction companies to make it clear that “they cannot plan their profit and loss accounts at the expense of transport”, thereby expressing his opposition to user fees .

Carmelo González also called for encouraging the use of eco-fuels and, given the inclusion of road transport in the trading of emission rights, that the amount collected falls on this sector, “otherwise we will be the most environmentally friendly in the graveyard.” Given the sale of 44 tons, Gonzalez recalled that companies will need financial assistance to adapt to the changes.

The President of Conetrans concluded his speech by assuring that “an associative world is essential” and emphasized that unity, commitment and passion are necessary to solve the industry’s problems.

The closing ceremony took place with the participation of the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, who recognized the “crucial role” of road freight transport. “Without him there is neither present nor future.”

He also emphasized the role of Conetrans “as a reliable interlocutor with strong advocacy and a spirit of dialogue” and stated that the Ministry of Transport is aware of the upcoming growth of freight transport companies. In this sense, he acknowledged that the development of rail will depend on its alliances with road transport.

The Secretary of State for Transport recalled the agreements reached between CNTC and the Ministry of Transport in 2021 and said that now “we must make a leap forward” as we look to the future.

Regarding the shortage of professional drivers, “our Achilles heel,” he noted that the Ministry of Transport is aware of this and is therefore working with the committee in the working group to solve the problem, as well as other groups that exist to improve the Transport Chain Act or decarbonization .

Regarding the latter issue, he assured that funds from emission rights will be returned to the sector, as the Ministry of Transport considers this “fair”.

To this end, Santano wanted to highlight that the road freight transport sector accounts for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions, compared to the 75% of greenhouse gas emissions associated with private vehicle transport.

Finally, the Minister of Transport said that following the announcement this week of the extension of the assistance for the conversion of vehicle fleets to 50 million of its own funds, the idea of ​​the Ministry of Transport is to continue along the same lines and attract more funds in 2025 and improve this assistance in response to the demands of organizations.