In his Opinion of Advocate General Rantos in Case C-167/22, Commission v Denmark (Maximum parking time), he states the Commission has not proven the case against Denmark, and therefore, that the action be dismissed.
In the infringement proceedings, the Commission has alleged that Denmark has failed to fulfil its obligations under the freedom to provide road transport services set out in the regulation on common rules for access to the international road haulage market (Regulation 1072/2009).
The national measures that Commission states is problematic, in its view, is the ’25 hour rule’, whereby there is a maximum parking time of 25 hours for lorries at rest areas on the public motorway network in Denmark. It argues that given the road safety rules that set out maximum driving times and mandatory rest periods for drivers, this conflicts with the Regulation that has been in place since 2009. Denmark only introduced this ’25 hour rule’ in 2018. The measures primarily affects hauliers who are not resident in Denmark, who need parking and rest areas in Denmark, whereas hauliers with operating centres in Denmark can make it much easier for their drivers to comply with the Regulation.
Advocate General Rantos states,
‘I am not convinced that the limits on parking in public rest areas beyond the 25-hour limit imposed by the contested national legislation constitutes a genuine restriction on the freedom to provide services under EU law.’
para. 38.
For him, he believes the Commission is working on an mere assumption of an impact on the freedom to provide transport service under the Regulation, and does not satisfy the burden of proof, which in infringement proceedings, rests with the Commission to prove.
On the other hand, Advocate General Rantos also considered where the overriding reasons of public interest offered by Denmark could justify the measures, if the Court found the burden of proof was satisfied. For him, if the Court disagreed with his initial finding,
‘could be difficult to justify on the basis of the reasons put forward by the [Denmark]‘
para. 61.
The non-binding Opinion of the Advocate General is now in the hands of the Court, who will likely hand down its judgment before the end of 2023.
You can read the Opinion of Advocate General Rantos in Case C-167/22, Commission v Denmark (Maximum parking time) here.