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The relationship between Switzerland and the European Union is not going well, to say the least. And now another “battle zone” could arise. Last week, the European Commission presented a bill to facilitate the cross-border use of extra-long trucks or gigaliners.

The mega trucks are 25.25 meters long and weigh 60 tons. With its plans, the European Commission is also causing unrest in Switzerland. Today, trucks with a maximum length of 18.75 meters and a weight of 40 tons are allowed on local roads. The Alpine Initiative fears that the EU will demand that the borders be opened for gigaliners.

“Gigaliners are clearly slowing down the successful model of Swiss relocation policy,” director Django Betschart told Watson. Because with trucks that are too long, price pressure will increase: “The cheaper the tonne is on the road, the more difficult it is for the railways to keep up with this unfair competition.”

“Greener freight transport”

The EU plans are not new. The Brussels Commission made a first attempt ten years ago, but failed due to opposition from the EU Parliament. Now she is trying ecological arguments. Gigaliners enabled “greener freight” because the same amount of goods could be carried in fewer trips.

Within the foreseeable future, only emission-free trucks will be driving around in the EU, is another argument for the mega trucks. The lack of truck drivers also plays a role. Django Betschart thinks little of it: The real contribution to CO₂-Completion is the shift to rail, which is “electrically operated here and now”.

Salamit tactics from Germany?

But what are the chances that you will try again? Gigaliners have long been part of the street scene in some EU regions, especially in Finland and Sweden, two large and sparsely populated countries. Elsewhere they are used on an experimental basis. In Germany, for example, they are allowed to operate on a few selected routes.

However, the network was constantly expanding. Nowadays, according to the NZZ, it is no problem to drive a Gigaliner from the Danish border to the Swiss border. This also causes alarm at the Alpine Initiative. There are fears of a kind of salami tactic, because Germany, as the largest EU country, has the corresponding weight.

Austria as «important partner»

However, there is still resistance to cross-border deployment across the Union. Above all, Austria, through which Europe’s busiest Alpine thoroughfare leads to Italy via the Brenner Pass, wants to fight the monster trucks, as Leonore Gewessler, Minister of Climate Protection and Transport van Groen, stressed.

According to Betschart, Austria is “an important partner” for the Alpine Initiative. In the fight against the gigaliners, she relies on cooperation with European environmental organizations and allied forces in the EU parliament. Even in Switzerland itself, the rejection of large trucks is broad and surprisingly unanimous. There are hardly any supporters.

Infrastructure critical

The company car association Astag, a frequent opponent of the Alpine initiative, does not want gigaliners. The Federal Road Agency (Astra) is also critical of a possible approval in an analysis, especially because of the infrastructure: “There are already critical points when entering Switzerland, since customs systems are not geared to gigaliners.”

Is that enough? It is reminiscent of the debate in the 1990s. At that time, there was a 28-tonne truck weight limit in Switzerland, but the EU pushed for the approval of 40-tonne trucks. The political debate and the resistance of the environmental organizations were fierce, but in the end Switzerland had to give in to the pressure.

Gigaliner as collateral for wage protection?

In the Land Transport Agreement, part of the Bilaterals I, Switzerland agreed to the 40-tonne trucks, but in return received important concessions from the EU. So she accepted the Swiss night driving ban and a transit fee that actually corresponds to the performance-related fee for heavy vehicles (LSVA).

Today, the Alpine Initiative fears that the wrangling over institutional issues and new bilateral agreements could have a similar outcome, but not in a positive way. There is a risk that the 60-tonne trucks will be brought in “for example as a guarantee for more wage protection”, says Django Betschart. However, an assessment is difficult.

Much about the approval of Gigaliners remains open. It is unclear whether Austria will stand against it once the Greens are no longer in government. However, Switzerland cannot afford another conflict with the EU.