Italy’s Salvini takes Austria to court over highway restriction

Rome is taking Austria to the EU courts over motorway restrictions at their shared border, a measure introduced to protect residents in Tyrol that has proved unpopular with lorry drivers heading to Germany.

Thousands of vehicles cross the Austrian-Italian border through the Brenner tunnel every day – much to the displeasure of the people of Tyrol, who suffer from the noise and air pollution, with the regional government having decided to restrict the number of vehicles allowed on the road.

After initially responding to the restriction with threats, Transport Minister Matteo Salvini of the far-right Lega party confirmed on Thursday that Italy would take the matter to the EU courts.

“Italy has officially asked the European Commission to move forward with the infringement procedure,” Salvini said on Thursday.

He vowed to put an end to “the harmful Austrian blockades of lorries on the Brenner” – arguing that restrictions imposed by Tyrol, such as limits on the number of lorries and bans at weekends and at night, violate EU rules on the free movement of goods.

The European Commission has up to three months to give a reasoned opinion on the complaint before Italy can take Austria to the EU’s top court.

But Salvini’s announcement has not deterred his Austrian counterpart, transport minister Leonore Gewessler.

“We have made a good case. Our measures are legally compliant and even necessary under EU law. We will also explain this to the Commission. So legally, I am very relaxed,” she said in a statement.

(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | Euractiv.de)