The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on amendments to the Eurovignette Directive, which sets the framework for road tolls and user charges for heavy-duty vehicles across the EU.

The agreement is intended to strengthen legal certainty, simplify implementation and support more consistent application of CO₂-based charging rules, following the introduction of new CO₂ emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles from 1 July 2026.

The amendments clarify how Eurovignette rules should be applied to different vehicle categories and emissions classes, including zero-emission vehicles, low-emission heavy-duty vehicles, vehicle groups, emission reduction trajectories and reference CO₂ emissions. They also allow member states to apply reduced user charges or infrastructure charges for low-emission vehicles, alongside measures to support the uptake of zero-emission vehicles.

According to CLECAT, the European association representing freight forwarders, logistics service providers and customs agents, member states will be able to apply toll reductions of up to 75% for low-emission heavy-duty vehicles until 30 June 2031, provided stronger incentives remain in place for zero-emission vehicles. From 1 July 2031, the maximum reduction for low-emission vehicles will be limited to 50%.

The agreement also clarifies how vocational vehicles, such as refuse collection trucks and construction vehicles, should be allocated to relevant CO₂ emission classes. However, the co-legislators decided not to retain a proposed system of road charge variation for heavy-duty vehicles towing more sustainable trailers. According to the Council, the approach was judged likely to create additional administrative burdens, increase tolling-system complexity and affect the rollout and enforcement of electronic toll services. Instead, the European Commission has been asked to assess the remaining technical and operational obstacles before any future legislative proposal on trailer-based differentiation.

CLECAT said the Commission is expected to present that assessment by 30 June 2029. Alexis Vafeades, Cyprus’s minister of transport, communications and works, said the agreement would provide legal certainty for transport operators, tolling authorities and service providers, while supporting more harmonised implementation across the EU. IRU, the global road transport organisation, welcomed the provisional agreement, describing it as an important step toward greater legal clarity on CO₂-based road charging for heavy-duty vehicles across the EU.

Raluca Marian, IRU EU advocacy director, said the agreement sends “a positive signal” to the commercial road transport sector. IRU said the agreement supports a more harmonised approach to vehicle classification and enforcement, including improved exchange of vehicle classification data and mutual recognition of CO₂ emission classes across the EU.

However, the organisation said further discussion on how efficient trailers and semi-trailers can be reflected in road charging systems has been postponed pending the Commission assessment. CLECAT also welcomed the agreement, saying it reflects many of the practical concerns raised by the sector during the legislative process.

The organisation said the decision not to proceed with trailer-based toll differentiation avoids unnecessary administrative burdens and legal uncertainty for cross-border freight transport operations, while still allowing member states flexibility to incentivise lower-emission and zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles. AETIS (the Association of Electronic Toll and Interoperable Service) has also stressed the need for the Eurovignette framework to remain technically feasible, interoperable, proportionate and legally predictable.

The association said CO₂-differentiated tolling can support road transport decarbonisation, but that the framework must be clear enough for member states to implement, service providers to integrate and transport operators to use across borders.

AETIS said new requirements should be assessed against their environmental benefit, technical feasibility and impact on cross-border tolling, and warned that unclear rules, inconsistent timelines or diverging national approaches could create unnecessary complexity for transport operators, toll chargers and service providers. The provisional agreement must now be endorsed by the Council and Parliament before being formally adopted following legal-linguistic revision.